It was supposed to be a showcase as the lone heavyweight bout of Dana White’s Contender Series Season 9, Week 10, promised fireworks with a clash of finishers with contracts on the line. Azamat Nuftillaev came in with 12 finishes from 13 wins, while Jovan Leka, just 23, carried the weight of youth and a three-fight win streak. On paper, it looked like chaos waiting to unfold. Inside the cage, though, chaos turned into a crawl.

The early promise faded fast. What began as a test of power dissolved into a grind of position battles and half-hearted scrambles. The tension inside the Octagon was thick, but not from excitement. It was from the sound of patience wearing thin, and then, just before the final horn, Dana White stood up. The boss didn’t wait for the bell. Cameras caught him walking away, his expression saying more than words ever could.

Dana White walks away before Contender Series bout ends as experts chime in

So, what went wrong? According to MMA journalist @RealKevinK on X, “Jovan Leka wins via unanimous decision on #DWCS in a fight that makes Dana White get up and stop watching with the last 30 seconds left  Leka will NOT earn a contract.” That single moment, White’s silent exit, told the story of a fight that simply failed to deliver.

Adam Martin didn’t hold back either. “This guy is fighting the exact opposite style that Dana White likes,” he wrote on social media. “Wrestle with no finish = no UFC contract #DWCS.” And when he added, “This fight is horrendous #DWCS,” fans knew exactly what kind of performance they had just watched.

It wasn’t that Leka didn’t dominate; he did. After surviving a rough start, he reversed momentum, mounted his opponent, and even came close to ending the fight on multiple occasions. But what he didn’t do was finish. Dana White‘s Contender Series isn’t about risk-free wins. It’s about statements, knockouts, submissions, and drama. And this one? It was a grind that tested everyone’s endurance, including the man signing the contracts.

Leka’s unanimous decision win (29-28, 29-27, 29-27) looked good on paper, but not in the eyes of the UFC head honcho. It’s not the first time he’s walked out before the final bell, but it’s rare enough to send a message: if you can’t keep fans glued to their seats, you probably won’t get a call up to the big leagues. Some fans argued that Leka showed resilience, control, and a clear ability to dictate the pace. But others echoed Martin’s words — “Wrestle with no finish.” The message was clear: in DWCS, winning isn’t enough. You have to impress.

White offered rare double bonuses and contracts in a fight with “no loser”

Just one week earlier, two fighters did exactly that, so much so that Dana White didn’t even wait for the final review. He made his decision right there! Week 9 of Dana White’s Contender Series wasn’t about control or caution. It was about chaos. Adrian Luna Martinetti and Mark Vologdin went to war, delivering what many are now calling the greatest fight in the show’s history.

For 15 minutes, it was pure madness, fists flying, blood spilling, and neither man taking a backward step. When the final horn sounded, both had to be carried out of the cage and straight to the hospital. Yet somehow, both walked out as UFC fighters. Speaking to Laura Sanko, the UFC boss confessed, “Yeah, you know, the kid Mark ate, I don’t know how many knees to the face and knees to the body, and he kept coming forward even when he was down and just getting smashed. He was trying to throw elbows at him from behind. Neither guy had any quit in him. You know, it’s one of those fights that you don’t want to see a loser.”

White added that both men not only earned contracts but also $25,000 each, a rare $50K reward for sheer heart and brutality, as he continued, “And when the fight ended, there was no loser. I mean, both guys gave it everything they had, and I’m honored to have two guys like this fight in the UFC.”

That’s the difference, isn’t it? Jovan Leka may have won on paper, but Martinetti and Vologdin won the moment. They bled, they brawled, and they turned a fight into a story fans will talk about for years. Leka, on the other hand, turned a fight into a lesson that dominance without danger doesn’t move the needle. On Dana White’s Contender Series, skill alone isn’t the ticket to the UFC. It’s the flair, spectacle, and the willingness to risk it all for a finish that seals the deal.