Sundell outpoints Aline Pereira to seal UFC deal Dana White almost withheld

Smilla Sundell claimed a UFC contract at Dana White’s Contender Series Season 10, Week 10 at Meta Apex in Las Vegas on 14 October 2026, outpointing Aline Pereira by unanimous decision — three judges scoring it 29-28 — in a women’s bantamweight contest that almost never led to a deal.

The 21-year-old Swede, unbeaten at 3-0 in MMA and a former One Championship muay Thai titleholder, pressed forward from the opening bell, mixing her strikes to keep Pereira (3-3) on the back foot. Pereira found pockets of success with counters and scored a takedown in the third round, but Sundell worked back to her feet and maintained her forward pressure until the final horn.

The contract itself was not straightforward. UFC CEO Dana White had reservations about Sundell’s MMA experience and initially wanted her to accumulate more fights outside the promotion before signing. Matchmaker Mick Maynard intervened and persuaded White to offer her the deal.

At the post-fight news conference, Sundell pushed back on any suggestion she is not ready for the UFC, pointing to a lifetime in combat sports that predates her MMA career by nearly a decade.

“I have been fighting since I was 12,” Sundell said. “I know how it is to fight and I know how it is to get hit. I have been taken down. I know I belong here.”

Aline Pereira is the sister of UFC light heavyweight and former middleweight champion Alex Pereira, adding an extra layer of attention to the matchup. Her 3-3 record and the competitive nature of the fight will do little to quiet debate about whether Sundell’s three-fight résumé is sufficient preparation for the world’s top MMA promotion — but Maynard’s backing and a clean unanimous verdict were enough to settle the question on the night.