LAS VEGAS – It’s a rarity for UFC president Dana White to come into the cage after a fight for anything other than a belt presentation.
So when Vinicius Salvador (14-4) saw the boss walk in after his second-round finish of Shannon Ross (13-6) at Dana White’s Contender Series on Tuesday, he knew it had to be a good thing.
“It was surreal that he came up there,” Salvador said at his post-fight news conference at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. “Maybe I could be the first bonus in the Contender Series – I asked for that. I come from knockouts. I always knock people out. But if it goes down to the ground, it’s going to be a submission. This is how it’s always been, and you can rest assured that’s how it’s always going to be going forward.”
Salvador, who fought for the first time outside his native Brazil, maintained his 100 percent finishing rate with the knockout, giving him 13 of his 14 wins by KO or TKO to go along with a lone submission.
He was one of five winners at DWCS 48 to get UFC contracts from White in the second event of the season – a week after White gave out only one and issued a warning to future DWCS fighters that they probably should come prepared to impress him.
Now Salvador wants to keep impressing his new boss, and the rest of the flyweight division, and get back to work in a hurry.
“I’m so happy. It’s a dream come true, and I can’t wait to actually be fighting in a UFC event,” Salvador said. “I can’t let this opportunity go. … I’m ready for everything. I’m not a guy who believes in process. You can bring on the best. You can bring top 15, you can bring top five, you can bring anybody. I’m ready to go, and I said it: I’m going for the top, and I’m going to be the new flyweight champion.
“I’m ready to fight right now. They have (UFC 279 on Sept. 10). It can be here, it can be in Sweden, it can be a top 15 (opponent). Just bring them on. I’m ready to fight.”
