In impressive fashion earlier today, Western Australian Cody Haddon earned himself a UFC contract on Dana White’s Contender Series.
Haddon was first up on the card and put down a statement, dropping American Billy Brand with a combination before pouncing on the ground with ground-and-pound and finishing it with a rear-naked choke.
The end came only 3:09 into the contest as the 25-year-old Luistro Combat Academy fighter moved his professional record to 7-1 while his opponent dropped to 5-2.
“I’ve always dreamt of this moment. I’ve watched this s**t on TV so feels so surreal to be here.”
“20 years. Since I was 6 years old, this is all I’ve ever want to do. Dana, hopefully I’ve impressed him to get a contract,” Haddon told presenter Laura Sanko post-fight.
Cámara lenta que vale la pena ver 🤯🔥 #DWCS pic.twitter.com/aLxj2NzvMw
— UFC Español (@UFCEspanol) August 20, 2024
Dana White at the completion had nothing for praise for Haddon, awarding him a contract in the UFC.
“This fight came highly recommended by Sean Shelby [UFC matchmaker]. Sean Shelby was so pumped for this fight and let me tell you, not much excites Sean these days,” White said in the episode.
“He was so pumped for this fight and loves both of these kids [Haddon & Brand] and obviously if you look at the performance Cody put on, you know the answer.”
It was a tough night in the cage for Australian Cameron Rowston with the City Kickboxing middleweight losing a unanimous decision Torrez Finney. After going down the opening two ronds, Rowston was able to bounce back to win the last round however it wasn’t enough.
Despite a second win for Finney at Dana White’s Contender Series, he was unable to secure a contract.
