What a fun night of Contender Series as Week 3 provided some great finishes and the biggest upset in the show’s history. So far, every winner bar one has been signed to the UFC, and that continued into this week. We have five new UFC fighters, and to everyone’s surprise, Bella Mir is not one of them.
Nick Galanti vs Carlos Petruzzella
We all knew what Petruzzella was coming into this fight, and that is a can crusher. He proved it again tonight after getting his second step up in competition, once again being slept in the first round. Most knew that Galanti was a level above Petruzzella, but I don’t think anyone saw him winning the way he did. I at least thought he would be able to wear Petruzzella out with relentless grappling attacks, leading to a late first-round or early second-round finish. However, after getting his first takedown attempt stuffed, Galanti unleashed a nasty right hook that put Petruzzella down. From there, some ground-and-pound finished the fight.
I definitely think Galanti has the skill set to get wins in the UFC. He has decent striking and clearly a bit of power, which he can use to get in on takedowns to employ his BJJ. While I do think he can find himself some wins, I do not think he will be able to make a run at the rankings. Guys with good takedown defense and better striking than Galanti will be able to take advantage of that to beat him.
Ronald Humphrey vs Alexis Miranda
Your new favorite fighter, Ronald Humphrey, put on a show on the Contender Series. Both in the octagon and on the mic, this guy is electric. Now, I do have to be honest, Miranda did better than I expected him to. I think that has more to do with Humphrey still being green as opposed to Miranda being better than I thought. With only five fights under his belt, Humphrey definitely has room to grow and get better. It didn’t seem to bother him much, but Miranda was able to do some good work to the body at times. Instead of using footwork to get out of the way when Miranda would throw punches, Humphrey would just shell up and wait until he was done. At range, I think Humphrey’s striking can improve, but man is he nasty in the clinch and with his ground-and-pound. After withstanding some brutal punishment, Miranda had his back taken, and Humphrey scored himself a Round 1 submission victory.
One of the biggest unanswered questions about Humphrey is his cardio. He never looked like he was slowing down with all the output and big takedowns, but it will be interesting to see how he looks if a fight gets dragged to the third round. Along with the next winner I will talk about, I think Humphrey is one of the most exciting prospects on this season of Contender Series. I can’t wait to see how he continues to develop as a fighter, and I can’t wait to see him in the UFC octagon for the first time.
Sean Clancy Jr. vs Gary Balletto
No disrespect to Gary Balletto, but Sean Clancy Jr. was just levels above him tonight. Clancy Jr. started a bit slow and tentative, but was still able to land some good technical shots. His head kicks were nice in Round 1, but I do think he was overswinging at times, and I would’ve loved to see him land punches in combination. However, his range control was good as always, and he got to work in Round 2. Clancy Jr. got to show off how well-rounded he is, as he took the fight down pretty early in Round 2. He passed into full mount, and from there, the fight was over. After some slicing 12-to-6 elbows, Clancy Jr. let off a barrage of punches, and the ref had to stop it.
As I said in my prediction write-up for this fight, Clancy Jr. is one of the best prospects this season and one of the few ready for high-level action right away. Despite this, Clancy Jr. is only 23 years old, so they don’t need to throw him into the deep end immediately. If this guy is given a few years to continue his growth, I can only imagine how good he will become. Sean Clancy Jr. is destined for the UFC rankings, and I hope title contention as well.
Guilherme Uriel vs Mario Piazzon
Well, at least this one is over. There isn’t much to say about the fight other than Piazzon shoved his head into a standing guillotine pretty much as soon as the fight started, and Uriel took advantage. Easily one of the worst matchups of this season, but thankfully, the better guy won. Uriel is a former Hokit victim, and we saw that if the fight even slightly extends, he doesn’t have the gas tank to support himself. Maybe getting into the UFC will be the awakening he needs to figure out his cardio, but for now, he will be a low-level first-round-or-bust type fighter in the UFC.
Alex Apodaca vs Bella Mir
I completely expected to be writing about how Bella Mir ran over Apodaca en route to a Round 1 submission and a UFC contract, but that is not the case. As a two-time NCAA wrestling finalist and 2026 champion, it was wild to see how much of a non-factor her wrestling was in this fight. Mir really didn’t go for a takedown until Round 2, but Apodaca sprawled really well to get back to her feet. Towards the end of the third, Mir was finally able to get one takedown but was already exhausted, and with the little time left, she didn’t do anything significant with it. Apodaca was great at using her kicks and a long jab to keep Mir at range. After the first round, it seemed Mir wasn’t nearly as dangerous or confident, and Apodaca took over. She backed Mir up pretty much the whole fight and used her long-range weapons to score points. In the end, she secured herself a decision win as the biggest underdog in the history of the Contender Series and UFC.
However, even with this win, unless she drastically improves at 32 years old, I don’t see her sticking around for very long. She doesn’t really stand out anywhere and isn’t dangerous. I think more athletic girls with the experience Mir didn’t possess will be able to beat her, and girls with solid striking can as well. In my opinion, at best, she steals a split-decision win, but looking at the roster, I’m not sure who that would be against.
