Tag: DWCS 62

DWCS 62 winner Julia Polastri: ‘I needed to show all my potential’ to get UFC contract

After falling short once on Dana White’s Contender Series, Julia Polastri knew she had to perform.

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LAS VEGAS – After falling short once on Dana White’s Contender Series, [autotag]Julia Polastri[/autotag] knew she had to perform.

That’s exactly what Polastri (12-3) did when she submitted Patricia Alujas (9-3) in Round 2 of their strawweight bout to earn a UFC contract Tuesday at Dana White’s Contender Series 62.

Polastri’s first opportunity at a UFC contract came against Jasmine Jasudavicius in September 2021, but she lost the fight by unanimous decision. She rebounded with three straight wins before getting another shot at DWCS, and she wasn’t about to waste it.

“I think I grew a lot in my personal life since the fight, and I needed to learn many things that I hadn’t an idea in that time,” Polastri told reporters during the DWCS 62 post-fight news conference. “Learning all those things clearly made all the difference right now, because I think I’m a person with the mind in the right place now. I got in there, and I knew I needed to show all my potential, all I’ve got to get the contract, and that’s what I did.”

For her UFC debut, Brazil’s Polastri hopes to make a quick turnaround and squeeze in a fight before the end of the year.

“I’d really like to fight this year yet, but now I’m going to have a break of about one or two weeks to relax a little,” Polastri said. “I came to a very long camp since the beginning of the year, and I’m going to take that break. But I’m ready to, when they need me, I’m here, and I hope I can fight before the year is finished.”

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for DWCS 62.

DWCS 62 winner Jhonata Diniz issues warning to UFC heavyweight division: ‘The bad dreams is coming’

Jhonata Diniz could soon make some noise in the UFC heavyweight division given his kickboxing experience.

LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Jhonata Diniz[/autotag] has a stern warning for the UFC heavyweight division.

Brazil’s Diniz (6-0) punched his ticket to the UFC on Tuesday at Dana White’s Contender Series 62 after he knocked out Eduardo Neves (7-2) in the first round at the UFC Apex. The undefeated former kickboxer has finished all his professional fights in the first round and is ready to continue taking people out in the octagon.

“I just have one message to all heavyweights in my division: The bad dreams is coming,” Diniz told reporters during the DWCS 62 post-fight news conference. “I’m the most dangerous heavyweight, and I’m coming to this division.”

Diniz may be inexperienced in MMA, but he has over a decade’s worth of experience competing in kickboxing against the likes of Glory champion Rico Verhoeven and Hesdy Gerges, which has given him confidence as he embarks into his MMA career.

“I don’t care against who, I will fight,” Diniz said. “If they give me a top guy to fight, I will face him because my whole life in kickboxing, I’m fighting tough guys. I don’t care against who I will fight. If the UFC gives me an easy fight, I will do it. If they give me a hard fight, I will also do it. I’m here for work, and I don’t care against who I will fight.”

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for DWCS 62.

Dana White clarifies stance on Sean Strickland vs. Israel Adesanya rematch, admits ‘lots of options’

Dana White won’t 100 percent commit to Israel Adesanya getting an immediate rematch vs. new UFC champ Sean Strickland.

LAS VEGAS – UFC CEO [autotag]Dana White[/autotag] won’t 100 percent commit to a [autotag]Sean Strickland[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Israel Adesanya[/autotag] rematch.

Strickland (28-5 MMA, 15-5 UFC) upset middleweight champion Adesanya (24-3 MMA, 13-3 UFC) by unanimous decision in this past Saturday’s UFC 293 headliner at Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney. In the post-fight news conference, White said a rematch should be next. But when asked about other contenders such as Dricus Du Plessis and Jared Cannonier, White said he never meant a rematch was set in stone.

“If you remember that night, people said, ‘Well, what do you think? You think there’s a rematch?’ I was like, ‘Yeah, the rematch sounds great,'” White told MMA Junkie and other reporters following Dana White’s Contender Series 62 at the UFC Apex. “I saw the stupid f*cking sh*t that was written by all these stupid f*cking websites.

“Never once did I say, ‘Yes, we’re going to f*cking do this rematch.’ I said, ‘Yeah, rematch sounds – you know, we’ll see what happens.’ There’s obviously lots of options out there, and we’ll see what happens. But, yes, I’m still not opposed to an Israel rematch. We’ll see how it goes.”

Strickland has options for his first title defense. If not an immediate rematch with Adesanya, original title challenger Du Plessis is waiting in the wings. There’s also Cannonier, who weighed in as a backup for Strickland vs. Adesanya and recently holds a close main event win over the champion.

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for DWCS 62.