LAS VEGAS – The third time was the charm for Steven Nguyen to finally realize his UFC dream.
Nguyen (9-1) earned a UFC contract Tuesday at Dana White’s Contender Series 62 after he finished A.J. Cunningham (10-3) in their featherweight bout by Round 2 TKO.
Nguyen had already competed twice on DWCS, getting knocked out by Aalon Cruz in July 2019 then defeating Theo Rlayang by unanimous decision in September 2021. After getting his third opportunity at a contract on Tuesday, Nguyen knew winning wasn’t enough.
“The contract aspect, it’s been a very long road for me,” Nguyen told reporters during the DWCS 62 post-fight news conference. “It’s been, I think, four years since my first Contender Series fight, so I just had to keep going. That was the main thing. I knew there was a lot of pressure coming into this fight. I had to finish this fight. It was my third time around, so I went in there with that mindset: Kill or be killed.”
Like recent contract winner Abdul-Kareem Al-Selwady, Nguyen watched numerous of his Fortis MMA teammates make it to the UFC. After two failed attempts on DWCS, Nguyen admits he was starting to lose hope but credits those around him for always believing in him.
“Obviously I’ve seen my teammates. Everybody’s in the UFC at Fortis. And being on Contender’s twice and winning and still not getting the contract, I was in a dark, dark space for a little bit,” Nguyen said. “I didn’t really know where to go at that point, but I have the best coach, I have the best manager, Jason House, coach Sayif, my family, my girlfriend. Everybody that has supported me and said, ‘Just keep going.’ Because of them, I’m where I’m at now.”
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for DWCS 62.
