Just 22 years old, Saaiman is already 2-0 in the UFC and poised to make the walk to the Octagon for the third time this weekend in a bout with short-notice replacement Terrence Mitchell.
Mature beyond his years, Saaiman impressed in his DWCS win over Joshua Wang-Kim last fall, working through a slower first round to find his rhythm and collect a third-round stoppage victory. His promotional debut was somewhat similar, as he fell behind Steven Koslow, and was forced to rally, once again doing so, ending the fight before the judges needed to weigh in.
Last time out, “MSP” barely made it out of the Octagon with his unbeaten record intact, edging out Mana Martinez by majority decision despite losing a point in the opening round of an inadvertent low blow. It’s the second consecutive point where the South African bantamweight has incurred a point deduction; something he’ll have to clean up and keep to a minimum going forward.
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Initially scheduled to face fellow young upstart Christian Rodriguez, Saaiman will instead share the Octagon with Mitchell, a former Ultimate Fighter contestant. The 33-year-old, who lost to Kai Kara-France in the opening round of the flyweight competition on Season 24 of the long-running reality TV program, is 15-2 overall, entering on a four-fight winning streak that includes three first-round finishes.
This is a good opportunity for Saaiman to show his class and put himself in a position to garner a step up in competition next time out, or at least keep him in line to face Rodriguez once he’s ready to return. Mitchell is more than 10 years his senior and has shown tremendous finishing skills on the regional circuit, but a poised, technical fighter like Saaiman should have opportunities to win and earn style points on Saturday.
