22-year-old Soares snatches UFC contract with 63-second DWCS demolition of Miyaguchi

Mateus Soares punched his way into the UFC roster on Tuesday, stopping Ryuho Miyaguchi in just 63 seconds at Dana White’s Contender Series Season 10, Week 9 at Meta Apex in Las Vegas. The 22-year-old Brazilian bantamweight improved his record to 12-2 with the finish, leaving Miyaguchi at 7-2.

Soares dropped Miyaguchi with a sharp right hand before unloading a barrage of follow-up strikes to force the stoppage at the 1:03 mark of round one. The brevity of the bout belied its impact — Soares had entered the night needing to impress Dana White and the UFC matchmaking team, and the explosive finish left little room for debate.

Visibly emotional in his post-fight interview with Laura Sanko, Soares spoke through an interpreter about what the moment meant to him.

“I can’t believe I’m here,” Soares said. “I’ve been dreaming of this since I was seven years old.”

When asked about White’s praise for the performance, Soares made clear he intends to make the most of his opportunity on the sport’s biggest stage.

“It felt like a dream coming true,” he said. “I came here to fight the best because I believe I am the best.”

Soares is one of the younger fighters to earn a UFC deal through the Contender Series, and his combination of finishing instinct and composed aggression in a high-pressure environment will likely draw attention from bantamweight matchmakers as they slot him into the roster.