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

Weak: Who inspired Canaan Kawaihae to get into combat sports? Was it Bruce Lee? Was it Anderson Silva? Was it Muhammad Ali? None of the above. Thanks, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Thanks, Batman. Kawaihae wanted to do karate or taekwondo, but his mother was against the idea of ​​hitting and being hit, so he had to settle for jiu-jitsu at the age of seven. Wrestling, kickboxing, and the like continued. Kawaihae turned pro in 2016. Two years later, he fought on Dana White’s Contender Series, losing to young fighter Chase Hooper by unanimous decision. Two fights and two wins later, Kawaihae returned to the DWCS, but was again unsuccessful when he was knocked out by a kick from Jonas Bilharinho. This setback didn’t deter Kawaihae either. He’s gone 3-0 since then, with wins over fighters with records of 6-0, 9-2, and 6-1. His last two fights lasted a total of 85 seconds.

In his own words: “Even though I lost two fights and I lost both times, I didn’t let it get me down either way. My first thought was, ‘I’m better than them. They just got lucky.’ That was the first thing that came to my mind with both losses. They got lucky this time. Come back, I’ll beat them. It wasn’t my time. It was their day. That’s it. … I feel like a UFC opportunity has been knocking on the door for a while, but this could be the end of it. I’m not holding my breath for anything, but if it’s this one, it would be great. … If I get the short notice call, I’ll be ready for it. That’s what I’m expecting. After this fight, if I win, I’m going to have to stay ready because I think an opportunity will come pretty quickly.”