UFC: Maheshate becomes first Chinese fighter to win contract on Dana White’s Contender Series
- ‘This is a dream come true. But I have another 50 per cent to conquer. I want to be a champion,’ says the 21-year-old lightweight prospect
- UFC president White praises ‘special’ UFC China Academy star – ‘he’s going to need some work, but he’s got a lot of promise’
Lightweight prospect Maheshate will board the long flight home from Las Vegas to China with a UFC contract tucked into his luggage – and a little piece of history to his name.
A member of the UFC China Academy at the promotion’s US$13 million, state-of-the-art Shanghai Performance Institute, the 21-year-old Maheshate (6-1) became the last of 39 fighters to earn a spot on the UFC roster on season five of Dana White‘s Contender Series, beating Achilles Estremadura (7-1) by unanimous decision on Tuesday night.
“He‘s young, he’s going to need some work, but man, he’s got a lot of promise,” UFC president White said of Maheshate at the event’s post-fight press conference.
“That kid’s definitely special,” White added. “He’s 21 years old, fighting a 29-year-old. Basically a boy fighting a man. He kept his composure, and ends up breaking him, and he was the biggest betting underdog on the card tonight [at +1,000].”