Unbeaten Ronald Humphrey earns UFC deal with first-round submission at DWCS and targets welterweight gold

Ronald Humphrey (5-0) secured a UFC contract on 25 August 2026 after submitting Alexis Miranda (9-3) in the first round of their welterweight bout on Week 3 of Dana White’s Contender Series 2026. Humphrey slammed Miranda early, dropped him with a jab, and finished the fight with a rear-naked choke.

The finish was not without its dramatic edge. An elbow from Humphrey opened a significant cut on Miranda, leaving Humphrey bloodied by the end of the round. In his post-fight interview, Humphrey acknowledged the gory scene with characteristic bluntness, comparing the taste of Miranda’s blood to chicken blood and saying he did not mind it.

Humphrey wasted no time announcing his ambitions after earning his UFC deal, delivering a direct message to the entire 170-pound roster.

“My f*cking existence is a declaration to warn any and everybody who’s gonna try to stop my title run,” Humphrey said. “Get in my way. It’s up… Each and every one of you all are finished; you’re burned. Whoever is at 170 pounds, you’re burned. Remember my name.”

The finish was Humphrey’s fifth in as many professional fights. He has gone past the first round only once across his entire career, underlining a finishing rate that will demand attention in the UFC’s welterweight division.

Miranda entered the bout with a 9-3 record and represented a credible test on the Contender Series stage, but Humphrey’s combination of wrestling and striking proved too much. The UFC welterweight division, already one of the promotion’s most competitive, now has another unbeaten finisher to factor into its landscape.