Cameron Alexander Saaiman (born 20 December 2000) is a South African

mixed martial artist Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full-contact fighting sport based on striking and grappling; incorporating techniques from various combat sports from around the world. In the early 20th century, various inter-stylistic contests took place t ...

who competes in the

Bantamweight Bantamweight is a weight class in combat sports and weightlifting. For boxing, the range is above and up to . In kickboxing, a bantamweight fighter generally weighs between . In mixed martial arts, MMA, bantamweight is . The name for the class ...

division of the

Ultimate Fighting Championship The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promoter (entertainment), promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority owned subsidiary of Endeavor ( ...

Background

Saaiman was born on 20 December 2000 in

Pretoria Pretoria ( ; ) is the Capital of South Africa, administrative capital of South Africa, serving as the seat of the Executive (government), executive branch of government, and as the host to all foreign embassies to the country. Pretoria strad ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

. He began training in

kickboxing Kickboxing ( ) is a full-contact hybrid Martial arts, martial art and Boxing (disambiguation), boxing type based on punch (combat), punching and kicking. Kickboxing originated in the 1950s to 1970s. The fight takes place in a boxing ring, norma ...

and

mixed martial arts Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full-contact fighting combat sport, sport based on strike (attack), striking and grappling; incorporating techniques from various combat sports from around the world. In the early 20th century, various inter-s ...

at the age of 12. Saaiman was a South African champion in

K-1 K-1 is a professional kickboxing promotion established in 1993 by karateka Kazuyoshi Ishii. Originally under the ownership of the Fighting and Entertainment Group (FEG), K-1 was considered to be the largest Kickboxing organization in the worl ...

kickboxing before focusing on MMA. His nickname, MSP, stands for "Most Savage Player" and was given to him by his coach.

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

Saaiman won his first five MMA bouts in the South African promotion

Extreme Fighting Championship Extreme Fighting Championship (EFC) is a South African mixed martial arts promotion company established since 2009. It is the largest MMA promotion company on the continent of Africa and features on its roster professional fighters from across ...

. In his fifth fight, Saaiman defeated Sindile Manengela by unanimous decision to win the EFC Bantamweight Championship. On 23 August 2022, Saaiman faced Josh Wang-Kim at Dana White's Contender Series 51. Saaiman knocked out Wang-Kim with a punch in the third round and was awarded a contract with the UFC for his performance.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Saaiman was scheduled to make his UFC debut against Ronnie Lawrence on 10 December 2022 at

UFC 282 ''UFC 282: Błachowicz vs. Ankalaev'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship. It took place on December 10, 2022, at the T-Mobile Arena in Paradise, Nevada, part of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Area, United S ...

. However, Lawrence withdrew and was replaced by Steven Koslow. Saaiman won the fight by technical knockout in round three. Saaiman then faced Leomana Martinez on 4 March 2023 at UFC 285. He was deducted a point in round two for a low blow, but nonetheless won the fight via majority decision. Saaiman was scheduled to face Christian Rodriguez on 8 July 2023 at UFC 290. However, Rodriguez pulled out in late June due to injury and was replaced by promotional newcomer and former The Ultimate Fighter: Tournament of Champions cast member Terrence Mitchell. He won the fight via technical knockout in the first round. The match between Saaiman and Christian Rodriguez was rescheduled for 14 October 2023, at UFC Fight Night 230. At the weigh-ins, Rodriguez weighed in at 140 pounds, four pounds over the bantamweight non-title fight limit. The bout proceeded at catchweight and Rodriguez was fined a percentage of his purse, which went to Saaiman. Saaiman lost the fight via unanimous decision. Saaiman faced

Payton Talbott Payton Anthony Talbott (born September 9, 1998) is an American professional mixed martial artist, currently competing in the Bantamweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). A professional since 2021, he earned his contract with ...

on 23 March 2024, at UFC on ESPN 53. He lost the bout in the second round via technical knockout. Saaiman faced promotional newcomer Malcolm Wellmaker on 26 April 2025 at UFC on ESPN 66. He lost the fight by knockout in the first round.

Championships and accomplishments

Mixed martial arts

** Performance of the Night (one time) *

** EFC Bantamweight Championship (One time)

Mixed martial arts record

, - , Loss , align=center, 9–3 , Malcolm Wellmaker , KO (punch) , UFC on ESPN: Machado Garry vs. Prates , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:59 ,

Kansas City, Missouri Kansas City, Missouri, abbreviated KC or KCMO, is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri by List of cities in Missouri, population and area. The city lies within Jackson County, Missouri, Jackson, Clay County, Missouri, Clay, and Pl ...

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 9–2 ,

, TKO (punches) , UFC on ESPN: Ribas vs. Namajunas , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 0:21 ,

Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 9–1 , Christian Rodriguez , Decision (unanimous) , UFC Fight Night: Yusuff vs. Barboza , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 9–0 , Terrence Mitchell , TKO (punches) , UFC 290 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:10 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 8–0 , Leomana Martinez , Decision (majority) , UFC 285 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 7–0 , Steven Koslow , TKO (knees and punches) ,

, , align=center, 3 , align=center, 4:13 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 6–0 , Josh Wang-Kim , KO (punch) , Dana White's Contender Series 51 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 2:52 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 5–0 , Sindile Manengela , Decision (unanimous) , EFC 94 , , align=center, 5 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu language, Zulu and Xhosa language, Xhosa: eGoli ) (colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, Jo'burg or "The City of Gold") is the most populous city in South Africa. With 5,538,596 people in the City of Johannesburg alon ...

, South Africa , , - , Win , align=center, 4–0 , Roevan De Beer , TKO (punches) , EFC 92 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, N/A ,

, South Africa , , - , Win , align=center, 3–0 , Billy Oosthuizen , Submission (rear-naked choke) , EFC 85 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 2:05 ,

, South Africa , , - , Win , align=center, 2–0 , Zwelibanzi Ngema , TKO (punches) , EFC 84 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 3:29 ,

, South Africa , , - , Win , align=center, 1–0 , Corne Blom , TKO (punches) , EFC 83 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:25 ,

, South Africa ,

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Saaiman, Cameron 2000 births Living people South African male mixed martial artists Bantamweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing kickboxing Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters South African male kickboxers Martial artists from Pretoria 21st-century South African sportsmen