The UFC has some more excitement in the featherweight division with one of its newest additions to the roster, that person being Steven ‘The Ninja’ Nguyen. Nguyen is a featherweight finisher who boasts a record of nine wins and just one loss. Of his nine wins, he’s finished three by submission and four by way of KO/TKO, including his contract-winning fight just last month on Dana White’s Tuesday Night Contender Series.
Nguyen is no stranger to fighting in front of Dana White at this point. He’s now fought on DWCS three times, going 2-1. He lost his first fight on the Contender Series after going to war with Aalon Cruz. He bounced back with a 30-second KO win in LFA and then fought again in the UFC Apex.
His sophomore performance in the Apex was enough to get the win, but just a bit shy of earning a UFC contract. The contract wasn’t secured but fuel was added to the fire. A two-year hiatus didn’t show ‘The Ninja’ competing, but he was putting in work behind the scenes. Nguyen put his hard work on display in his third DWCS performance; this time, a contract would not escape him.
Steven Nguyen Exclusive Interview
Steven Nyugen proudly represents Fortis MMA, Vietnamese fighters and Wichita, Kansas. With myself also having ties to Wichita, I had to ask about his trip back home to get things going.
How was the homecoming in Wichita?
“It was good, man! I had all my friends and family come out. We had a big party at my mom’s house and it was a good time. We had, like, a live DJ, my cousin’s a chef so she was cooking up some good food. You know, just good vibes overall.”
We then jumped a bit deeper into how the past few weeks have gone for ‘The Ninja’.
How’s life post-UFC contract for you? I know it’s pretty fresh still, but how’s it been going?
“I feel good. Right now, I’m not going to lie, I’ve just been eating a lot of really good food; enjoying all the food and the homemade cooking. My girlfriend’s Mexican, so her mom’s making a lot of good Mexican food this weekend.”
The DWCS Performance and Aftermath
On a scale of 1-10, 10 being Dana White saying “You’ve got the contract”, feeling good-wise, where does Mike Perry giving you a congratulations rank on there?
“Well, the thing is, Mike Perry is a guy that I’ve trained with before in Florida, I used to train in Florida for a few years in my amateur career. I trained with Mike Perry for a few years while I was there. But, yeah, that’s my bro! It felt good, he’s a legend in the game, but at the same time, I’ve known him for awhile. It’s been a long time coming, we both knew that I belonged in the UFC.”
Steven Nguyen is no stranger to fighters of Mike Perry’s caliber. He trains at Fortis MMA, which is one of the most talent-rich gyms in the scene right now.
At Fortis MMA, you’re surrounded by studs and a lot of them are in the UFC. Is any of this kind of surreal to you? Do you have any sense of “I’m kind of star-struck” now that your DWCS clip blew up?
“Training at Fortis, I’ve been prepped to be in the UFC for so long. The past two or three years since I started with everybody. I think we have, like, five featherweights in the UFC. I’m training with these guys daily, I’m going toe-to-toe with them daily. So, I know that I belong in the UFC just training with them and getting a lot better.”
Nguyen then delved the unique situation he was put in. Not a lot of people get second chances, but the UFC brass saw something in ‘The Ninja’ and he was offered a third chance to fight on the Contender Series.
“This is exactly where I belong. Especially with being on the Contender Series three times, you know? Fighting at the Apex, going through all the motions; I even recognize some of the staff now. I’m exactly where I need to be and I feel good.”
We then moved on to talk about his breakthrough performance in front of Dana White.
You said that you deviated from the game plan a little bit. This third time going in there, you wanted to stick and poke, be light on your feet, but you ended up going to this “kill or be killed” mindset. Does that happen a lot or was that just you, you know, like “I need this.”
“That was the first time that happened! Well, the thing is, I always knew I had it in me; like, I’ve always known that if it gets down to it, I’ll bite down on my mouthpiece and we can have a battle. We can see who’s the last one standing… It’s just, I’m a smart fighter, I want to win flawlessly, I don’t want to get it.”
There was a bit more weight on this one. Considering that Steven had already won on the Contender Series but still left without earning the title of UFC fighter, Nguyen knew that a win here wasn’t enough, he had to show that killer instinct.
“It was my third time [on the Contender Series]. Right before that bell rang, I just flipped a switch in me. All the hard work from the past few years, all that killer instinct, all of that just clicked. I have to single-handedly take this win from this guy, and that’s what I did.”
