“The UFC is where I want to go,” is what Navajor Stirling announced in the cage right after his first-round finish at the Shuriken Fight Series. A year later, after completely dominating the regional scene, Stirling has now grabbed his 1st win in the promotion by knocking out Phillip Latu in the second round of his fight at the Dana White Contender Series.

A left hook is all it took to help Stirling add a sixth win to his 5-0 record. The two-time King in the Ring champion is now headed toward a main run in the promotion, following in the footsteps of Conor McGregor, a man whom he looked up to. Just like McGregor, he too can now call himself a UFC fighter, since Dana White has now offered him a full-time contract with the promotion after the exciting win. After witnessing the event, the UFC head honcho announced that he was offering a contract to Stirling after his recent fight.

He said, “The last fight of the night. Obviously Sterling looked incredible. He is 26 years old, he’s 5-0, he’s 6’4; he’s a true light heavyweight, and he did impress me tonight. He was obviously in there with a very tough guy; he was mixing it up very well. And he delivered tonight. I’m interested; I want to see what he can do in the UFC. Congratulations, you’re in.” This is textbook Dana White signing since he is known for hiring fighters he finds interesting. The reason why he did not sign Turkish fighter Yousri Belgaroui, is that he wasn’t a big fan of his match tonight.

But McGregor isn’t the only man Stirling would be looking up to. Israel Adesanya, Carlos Ulberg, and Blood Diamond share major similarities with the fighters. They too were King in the Ring champions before they made their way to the UFC. So it would be interesting to see if Stirling too manages to earn gold sometime soon in the lightweight division.

Stirling has been trained by Eugene Bareman, a man who truly unlocked his full potential. Sterling truly utilizes his three years’ worth of jiu-jitsu and grappling skills, along with his kickboxing ability to truly demolish his opponents inside the Octagon. Something that even UFC fans are well aware of after the fight. And according to Bareman, Stirling is very similar to a former UFC champion.

Eugene Bareman believes Stirling is similar to his most decorated student

After having Stirling as his student, the major trait that the famed MMA coach noticed was the UFC fighter’s ability to grasp things quickly. Stirling is easy, capable of learning new techniques and applying them in a short amount of time. Something very similar to a former student of Bareman, Israel Adesanya. In an interview, Baremen said, “He’s a very fast learner. He can be very comprehensive in a technique very quickly, and in terms of the application, he can do it fast. I’m not going to say quite at the same rate as an Israel [Adesanya] who’s a bit of a freak at that thing, but Navajo is up there.”

According to the coach, the 26-year-old is one of the most consistent fighters out there. One who gets over the repetitiveness of the training schedule and is always willing to work hard in the sessions. “The thing that gets you to the top is just consistency. And that consistency is driven by just a very good work ethic and just dedication… I’ve seen signs of that in Navajo.” Now, we can all see how it is all paying up for the new UFC signee. What do you think? Will Stirling find success in the promotion? Let us know in the comments.