Gabriel Lorenco needed just over two minutes to turn his Contender Series opportunity into a UFC contract, knocking out Charlie Cleveland in the first round at Meta APEX in Las Vegas.
The official result was Lorenco over Cleveland by knockout at 2:02 of Round 1. The Brazilian heavyweight found the opening with a looping right hand, attacked the scramble with an elbow, and continued with hammerfists until referee Chris Tognoni stopped the fight.
Watch the official clip below:
RIGHT HAND HITS HOME 🏠
Gabriel Lorenco gets the TKO in R1 for a huge win!
[ #DWCS | LIVE on @ParamountPlus ] official media
— UFC on Paramount+ (@UFConParamount) September 1, 2026
Cleveland tried to recover by changing levels after the knockdown, but Lorenco stayed balanced and denied him room to reset. The follow-up elbow landed as Cleveland reached for the leg, and the final ground strikes ended a fight that had barely moved beyond its feeling-out phase.
Lorenco Extends His Finishing Run
The win moved Lorenco to 8-1 and extended the run that began after his professional debut loss. UFC preview material noted that the 27-year-old entered Week 4 with seven straight victories and six finishes, making a decisive heavyweight performance the clearest argument he could present to Dana White.
Cleveland arrived at 6-1 after four consecutive wins and a regional victory over Nyle Bartling. His size and football background gave the matchup a power-heavy profile, but Lorenco reached the target first and never allowed the American to rebuild his stance after the initial right hand.
Five UFC Deals Follow DWCS Week 4
Lorenco joined Adam Darby, Modestino Rodrigues, Silvestre Sanchez, and Adam Livingston among the Week 4 contract winners. Darby closed the show with a doctor-stoppage win over Patrick Rivera, while Rodrigues produced the fastest finish of the night by stopping Brandon Holmes in 15 seconds.
The result followed last week’s Alex Apodaca upset of Bella Mir and another full set of deals. The season has quickly added depth across several divisions, including the welterweight arrival of Ronald Humphrey after DWCS 89.
Heavyweights can move quickly once they enter the UFC system, but Lorenco now has to translate a short showcase into a full roster test. His first-round finish supplied the highlight, and the contract gave him the next assignment he came to Las Vegas to earn.
Week 4 also added another chapter to the Tuesday series surrounding stories such as Kevin Holland disputing Dana White’s mystery-fighter clue. This time, the cage result left no mystery: one right hand changed the fight, and Lorenco left with a UFC deal.
