Dana White’s Contender Series: Ananias Mulumba vs Tom Pagliarulo Preview & Prediction
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Ananias Mulumba returns to the Contender Series in search of redemption, taking on the dangerous Tom Pagliarulo at 145 pounds.
Ananias Mulumba vs Tom Pagliarulo facts
What time are Ananias Mulumba and Tom Pagliarulo expected to walk out?
Where is DWCS – Season 10, Week 1 taking place? Meta Apex, Enterprise, USA
What TV channel is DWCS – Season 10, Week 1 on? UK – Not televised / USA – Not televised
Where can I stream DWCS – Season 10, Week 1? UK – UFC Fight Pass / USA – Paramount+ & UFC Fight Pass
DWCS – Season 10, Week 1 card
Anthony Wint vs Matt Adams (Heavyweight)
Fabrizio Escarrega vs Abe Alsaghir (Lightweight)
Bilal Hasan vs Mridul Saikia (Flyweight)
Ananias Mulumba vs Tom Pagliarulo (Featherweight)
Jonathan Kunneman vs Joseph Kropschot (Middleweight)
Ananias Mulumba: Can Mulumba earn a contract after a devastating loss in his first appearance on the show?
Making his sophomore appearance on the Contender Series after finding himself on the wrong end of a comeback for the ages against Marwan Rahiki, Ananias Mulumba (10-3) returns following a thunderous one-punch first round KO in UAE Warriors. “Metal” has a 100% finishing rate, with most of his victories coming by way of KO. He has one-shot power in his hands and extremely nasty GNP, hammering away at his opponents once he has them hurt with murderous intent. While he’s a little undersized for the weight class at 5’5”, the Congolese fighter is built like a fire hydrant.
Tom Pagliarulo: "The Phenom" looks for another highlight reel stoppage
Arriving on the Contender Series in the wake of four consecutive first round KOs, Tom Pagliarulo (10-2) is clearly not a fan of lengthy fights. He’s scored finishes in nine of his ten professional wins, with eight of those coming in the very first round. Long and rangy for the weight class at 6’0”, “The Phenom” is a hyper-aggressive striker first and foremost, leveraging his lanky frame to land sharp shots; his straight right in particular lands like a piston more often than not. The American also has excellent kicks and knees, and will even occasionally use his strikes to set up takedown attempts.
Ananias Mulumba vs Tom Pagliarulo prediction
This is a tricky one to call.
At 6’0”, Pagliarulo has a significant size and reach advantage over a much shorter fighter in Mulumba. He’s an extremely fast starter and could well end up swarming “Metal” to overwhelm him with strikes at range. Mulumba is just one fight removed from an exceedingly brutal KO loss, after all.
With that being said, said loss came against Marwan Rahiki. “Freaky” looks to be an extremely promising prospect at 155 pounds and Mulumba was literal inches away from finishing him before the unlikely comeback. Moreover, he’s consistently fought higher levels of competition than Pagliarulo throughout his career and has a nasty submission game to go with KO power. Pagliarulo has only ever been finished once in his twelve professional fights, but that defeat did come by way of tap out.
There’s always a chance that “The Phemon” just cracks Mulumba with an early flurry and puts him away in the first round, but we’re leaning towards the Congolese fighter’s edge in high level experience here. Mulumba weathers an early storm before eventually taking over; I like his chances to ground Pagliarulo and find a finish on the mat somewhere in the first two rounds.
Prediction: Ananias Mulumba to win by finish
