DWCS Week 9 results, Magomedsharipov's RAF debut, a Shevchenko title report, and Oct. 10 prices for UFC Fight Night: Allen vs. Duncan, Wednesday, Oct. 7.
Four fighters, one of them a former UFC employee, won UFC contracts on Week 9 of Dana White's Contender Series on Tuesday at Meta APEX in Las Vegas, UFC.com reported. Mateus Soares, Roque Conceicao, Salhahuddin Everett and Preston LaGrange each won by first-round finish, which takes the Season 10 total to 42 contract winners.
In the featured bout, LaGrange knocked out the unbeaten Nell Ariano with a punch at 2:24 of Round 1, UFC.com said. LaGrange stepped up a weight class on two weeks' notice, it added. The UFC.com text we read gives method and time for that fight only; we did not find method, round and time for the other three finishes.
Zabit Magomedsharipov, the former UFC featherweight who went 6-0 in the promotion, has signed with Real American Freestyle and will meet fellow UFC veteran Giga Chikadze at RAF Abu Dhabi on Nov. 14 at Etihad Arena. MMA Fighting said promotional officials confirmed the matchup. Sherdog attributed the multi-fight deal to his manager, Ali Abdelaziz. RAF is a wrestling promotion, not MMA; Magomedsharipov's last MMA fight was in November 2019. Bloody Elbow noted it is unclear whether he will keep competing in ACBJJ as well.
Valentina Shevchenko did not give up the flyweight title willingly, according to Ariel Helwani, who said on The Ariel Helwani Show on Oct. 5 that the UFC "needed a title fight" and told her she would get one on her return: "Did she willingly give up that belt, no. Absolutely not." Bloody Elbow, which carried the comments, also said her coach has described the title as vacated because of a long recovery from injuries. Natalia Silva won the vacant belt at UFC 332. We found no second outlet with its own reporting, and no UFC statement. Treat it as one reporter's account.
Shavkat Rakhmonov appears to want a fight between two undefeated welterweights, MMA Fighting reported, based on a TikTok caption that does not name Michael Morales; the outlet drew the link from the fighters' matching 19-0 records. MMA Fighting said nothing is official. Rakhmonov has not fought since December 2024 because of knee injuries, and Morales has had no booking since beating Sean Brady in November 2025. We found no second outlet or UFC statement.
Prices, Oct. 10 main card, decimal with American in brackets, from BestFightOdds. Opening is the first sportsbook price our archive holds (Oct. 2, 15:53 UTC, FanDuel for every bout); current is the best sportsbook price in the 01:53 UTC Oct. 7 snapshot, with the book named. Prices only, not betting advice.
For FightIQ's read on each fight, see the UFC Fight Night Allen vs. Duncan card page.
Still current, announced earlier in the week: UFC 333 is Oct. 24 in Abu Dhabi with Petr Yan defending against Merab Dvalishvili (MMA Fighting, Oct. 5). UFC 335 is Dec. 12 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, with Charles Oliveira defending the BMF title against Diego Lopes and Alex Pereira facing Sergei Pavlovich (UFC.com, Oct. 3-4). Ian Machado Garry said on Oct. 5 that a Michael Morales fight is agreed; we found no UFC announcement (Bloody Elbow, Oct. 5).
Next card: UFC Fight Night: Allen vs. Duncan, Meta APEX, Las Vegas. Prelims 10 p.m. UK Saturday, Oct. 10 on UFC Fight Pass; main card 1 a.m. UK Sunday, Oct. 11 on TNT Sports. Main event: Brendan Allen vs. Christian Leroy Duncan, middleweight. Co-main event: Jai Herbert vs. Matheus Camilo, lightweight.
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