UFC could sign these 10 fighters with August wins

Record: 9-2
Age: 26
Height: 6’0″
Weight: Featherweight
Birthplace: Kailua, Hawaii
Next fight: Aug. 30 vs. Sheymon Moraes (15-6) at United Fight League 5 in Chandler, Ariz. (Kick)

The skinny: Who inspired Canaan Kawaihae to get into combat sports? Was it Bruce Lee? Was it Anderson Silva? Was it Muhammad Ali? It was none of the above. Shoutout, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Shoutout, Batman. Kawaihae wanted to do karate or taekwondo, but Mom was against the idea of hitting and being hit, so he had to settle for jiu-jitsu at seven years old. Wrestling, kickboxing, and the likes continued. In 2016, Kawaihae turned professional. Two years later, he fought on Dana White’s Contender Series and lost to a fellow youngster, Chase Hooper, by unanimous decision. Two fights and two wins later, Kawaihae returned to DWCS but came up short again when he was knocked out by a Jonas Bilharinho kick. That setback did not deter Kawaihae either. He’s 3-0 since with wins over fighters with 6-0, 9-2, and 6-1 records. His most recent two fights have lasted a combined 85 seconds.

In his own words: “Even though I lost those two fights and I have two losses, both times I didn’t let that break me down. My first thoughts were, ‘I’m better than them. They just got lucky.’ Both losses, that’s the first thing that popped into my head. They got lucky this time. Run it back, I’ll beat them up. It wasn’t my time. It was their day. It is what it is. … I feel like a UFC opportunity has been knocking for a little bit but this might seal the deal. I’m not going to hold my breath on anything, but if this is the one, that’d be great. … If I get a short notice call, I’ll be ready for it. I’m going to be expecting something like that anyway. After this fight, if I win, I’m going to have to stay ready, because I believe an opportunity is going to strike pretty quick.”