Salahuddin Everett, Dana White‘s personal runner, has earned himself a UFC contract after producing a brutal first-round knockout in the Contender Series.
Everett slept welterweight prospect Ozzy Martin inside two minutes to a huge ovation, not least from UFC president White who was already his boss coming into the fight.
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Everett, 29, has spent years climbing the UFC corporate ladder, initially hired through a third-party agency in April 2023 to work as a graveyard security guard, before rising through the ranks to become White’s assistant.
Everett went 4-0 at professional level to earn his shot in Dana White’s Contender Series – which pits prospect fighters against each other for a shot at being signed by the UFC – and the American grasped the opportunity with both hands.
“We’ve had title fights in here [at the Meta Apex], I don’t know if it’s ever been as loud as it was tonight for your fight,” White said. “Everybody at the UFC loves you. You’re a great kid, forget about the whole fighting and the contract, you’re a great human being, this could not happen to a better person.
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“You have worked your way from the bottom up and let me tell you what. All the Boston guys were texting me tonight saying your boy’s in trouble, this guy’s [Martin] a real guy he’s fighting tonight, but you could not have won more impressively.
“It’s kind of weird because you’re already at the UFC, but welcome to the UFC.”
Despite now having a UFC contract in his name, Everett says he wants to continue his day job as White’s runner rather than solely focus on training.
“I want to stay in this building,” he said. “I love it here. I feel like don’t fix what’s not broken and we’ll just continue to keep working.
“I’m here to work and here to fight.”
