LAS VEGAS – Cameron Saaiman shined on Dana White’s Contender Series 51 but questioned if the UFC boss would sign him because of his age.
Saaiman (6-0) scored a third-round knockout of Josh Wang-Kim on Tuesday. The finish was undoubtedly a great one, but because the South African fighter is only 21, he wasn’t sure if the UFC would take a chance on him.
“There was still like a little bit of a question mark just because of my age,” Saaiman told reporters, including MMA Junkie. “But my head coach was happy, so I was happy. My team was happy, so I was happy with my performance, and once he said we got that contract, that was also a massive sigh of relief.”
Not only did White decide to sign him, but he named Saaiman as one of the most impressive fighters of this season, and Saaiman is happy to have notched a win over a formidable opponent in Wang-Kim.
“Very relieved,” Saaiman said. “A lot of pressure coming into this fight. I rate Josh Wang-Kim a lot. I respect him a lot. He’s a very good opponent and like I said, he’s the perfect opponent to make a Contender Series debut against, and it couldn’t have gone better, so I’m very grateful.”
