Former NFL practice-squad player Anthony Wint earns UFC contract with 34-second knockout on Contender Series

Anthony Wint, a former New York Jets practice-squad linebacker, finished Matt Adams by TKO in 34 seconds of the first round to headline the season 10 opener of Dana White’s Contender Series on Tuesday, August 11, 2025, at the UFC Apex. The win improved Wint’s professional MMA record to 7-0 and earned him an immediate UFC contract offer from UFC CEO Dana White.

How the main event ended

Wint, who fought collegiately at FIU before landing on the Jets’ practice squad, opened with leg kicks and pressed forward against Adams, an LFA veteran who came in at 6-2. When Adams shot for a takedown, Wint stuffed it and reversed position, driving Adams to the canvas near the corner. From there Wint unloaded ground-and-pound strikes without letting Adams recover, prompting referee Herb Dean to step in and stop the fight at 34 seconds.

White called Wint “a f—ing tank” afterward and praised his explosiveness and “killer instinct,” noting a longstanding relationship with Wint’s coach, Robbie Lawler. According to CBS Sports, Wint told White after the fight he wanted to book his next bout in Philadelphia, or alternatively Los Angeles. At 30 years old, Wint is being described by outlets covering the card as a notable new addition to a UFC heavyweight division that has recently added other prospects such as Olympic gold medalist Gable Steveson, Valter Walker and Josh Hokit.

The rest of the card

Three other fighters also received UFC contracts from the same episode. Bantamweight Bilal Hasan, who entered as a heavy favorite at -5000 odds according to MMA Fighting — reported by outlets as the largest favorite in Contender Series history — knocked out Mridul Saikia with a right hand in under a minute (accounts vary slightly, with CBS Sports citing 45 seconds and MMA Mania citing under a minute) before celebrating with a moonwalk. Hasan improved to 9-0. Featherweight Thomas Pagliarulo overcame an early rocky stretch against Ananias Mulumba, survived a heavy first-round assault, then took Mulumba’s back in the third round and finished him via ground-and-pound. It was a second straight Contender Series loss for Mulumba, who also lost on the show a year earlier against Marwan Rahiki. Middleweight Joseph Kropschot also earned a contract; his bout on the card was against Jon Kunneman, who entered undefeated at 10-0 with Kropschot at 7-0.

Not every fighter left with a contract. In the co-main event, undefeated Abe Alsaghir (8-0 entering) defeated Fabrizio Escarrega (9-1 entering) by split decision, with scores of 27-30, 29-28 and 29-28, in a back-and-forth lightweight bout that included multiple scrambles, reversals and momentum shifts but no contract was mentioned for either fighter in the source reporting.

What’s next

The Contender Series season 10 is scheduled to run for 10 consecutive weeks on Paramount+, with this episode serving as the season opener. No specific date has been set publicly for Wint’s promotional debut, though he expressed interest in fighting on upcoming UFC cards in Philadelphia or Los Angeles.

Sources

• MMA Mania — Highlights! Former NFL player Anthony Wint demolishes Matt Adams in just 34 seconds | Contender Series 10, Ep. 1 · UFC ‘Contender Series’ results, live coverage and full fight highlights | Season 10, Ep. 1
• MMA Fighting
• CBS Sports

Featured photo: Marty Rockatansky (talk) via Wikimedia Commons (Public domain)