DWCS 90: Adam Darby breaks Rivera down, five UFC contracts handed out

The fourth night of Dana White's Contender Series season 10 ran last night at the Meta Apex, and it was the second in a row to go clean: five fights, five winners, five UFC contracts. On top, Ireland's Adam Darby wore Patrick Rivera down over three rounds until the doctor called it off.

Who won the DWCS 90 main event?

Adam Darby wins by KO/TKO on a doctor stoppage, at 2:42 of round three, over Patrick Rivera.

The fight was won at the legs. Darby piled up low kicks round after round and never let Rivera take back the centre of the cage, and the American lost the mobility he needed to land the hands of a former kickboxing world champion. In the third, Rivera's eye had swollen so badly that referee Kerry Hatley waved the doctor in, and the doctor ended his night.

The 27-year-old out of Team Reyno in Dublin takes his seventh straight win and his seventh career finish (8-1), seventeen months after his last fight, following a layoff caused by hand and finger injuries. Rivera (13-5), 34, takes his first defeat since 2023 and leaves without a contract, despite carrying the deepest resume on the card — Crazy 88, former Shogun Fights regional champion, former kickboxing world champion and professional boxer.

What else happened on the card?

Fifteen seconds were enough for Modestino Rodrigues. The 22-year-old Brazilian, fighting in the United States for the first time, opened with a leg kick on Brandon Holmes, followed with punches and had nothing left to do: the quickest finish of the night.

Silvestre Sanchez bullied Liam McCracken for three rounds. The Mexican out of the Performance Institute imposed his frame on the Aspire Combat Sports Academy man from Liverpool, a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt who had never let a fight go the distance, before finishing him with a left hook at 2:44 of the final round. McCracken takes the second loss of his career, two years after the bus accident that nearly ended it.

Gabriel Lourenco did not need the end of round one. The Chute-Boxe heavyweight caught Charlie Cleveland with a looping right, stuffed the desperation takedown, then finished with an elbow to the temple and hammerfists, at 2:02.

Adam Livingston was the only one to go the distance. The Long Island lightweight beat Hunter Smith by split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28) in the closest fight on the card, and earned a contract on his second Contender Series appearance.

Full DWCS 90 results, 1 September 2026

PATRICK RIVERA vs ADAM DARBY

ADAM DARBY wins by KO/TKO (doctor stoppage) in Round 3 (2:42)

BRANDON HOLMES vs MODESTINO RODRIGUES

MODESTINO RODRIGUES wins by KO/TKO (punches) in Round 1 (0:15)

LIAM MCCRACKEN vs SILVESTRE SANCHEZ

SILVESTRE SANCHEZ wins by KO/TKO (punches) in Round 3 (2:44)

CHARLIE CLEVELAND vs GABRIEL LOURENCO

GABRIEL LOURENCO wins by KO/TKO (elbow and hammerfists) in Round 1 (2:02)

ADAM LIVINGSTON vs HUNTER SMITH

ADAM LIVINGSTON wins by split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28) in Round 3 (5:00)

Five fights, five winners, five UFC contracts handed out: Adam Darby, Modestino Rodrigues, Silvestre Sanchez, Gabriel Lourenco and Adam Livingston all join the roster.

How many contracts has the UFC handed out this season?

Twenty in four nights. Four in week one — Anthony Wint, Bilal Hasan, Tom Pagliarulo and Joseph Kropschot — then six in week two, the most generous of the season: Kaik Brito, Trent Miller, Cristian Perez, Alik Lorenz, Roman Puga and Taner Trembley.

Last week, five fights had already produced five contracts: Alex Apodaca, Guilherme Uriel, Sean Clancy Jr., Ronald Humphrey and Nick Galanti. Apodaca earned his by beating Bella Mir, the biggest favourite in the history of the show.