With South African MMA booming, Chad Hanekom is looking to stake his claim on Dana White’s Contender Series.
Hanekom (9-2) will fight for a UFC contract when he meets Cam Rowston (8-2) on Sept. 5 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.
The former BRAVE CF title challenger is coming off a highlight-reel knockout that was featured on ESPN’s “SportsCenter” and is looking to further put South African MMA on the map.
“There are some killers that are coming up through the ranks, and I intend on being one of those,” Hanekom told MMA Junkie. “I have a well-rounded, solid overall style. I believe that with the correct experience in the UFC and some solid outings that allow me to become comfortable with the environment, that I’ll be able to bring a new interesting flavor that fans and staff will enjoy seeing.
“I have a really cool product and story to sell, and ultimately, I believe the UFC is the perfect platform to do this. The UFC and world are curious about South Africa. It’s our time to show them what we have to bring to the market.”
Dricus Du Plessis and his teammate Cameron Saaiman currently are leading the South African MMA charge in the UFC. As a fighter who was born and raised in South Africa, Hanekom admits it hasn’t always been easy to hit the big stage.
“To be honest, the UFC was not really something that was on my immediate radar,” Hanekom said. “I had other goals that I was looking to accomplish within my martial arts career. The UFC has always been a far reach for any South African or Africa-based fighter purely based on our geographic challenges that we’re faced within getting there.
“It’s been difficult to even consider that as a goal or ambition. However, now that the opportunity has arisen once again, I am extremely grateful for it. After all, the UFC is the gold standard of the sport. It is the Olympics of fighting. It is something reserved for the elite percentage of fighters out there.”
Hanekom will be taking on City Kickboxing’s Rowston, who’s unbeaten in his past five fights – and “Superman” likes the matchup.
“I think that it’s a good matchup,” Hanekom said. “I think stylistically, he will be an interesting puzzle for me to solve. I don’t focus too much on my opponent, though. I have massive respect for his coach Eugene (Bareman) and his team. I will impose myself on him, and I don’t think that he’s faced the kind of adversity in there that I will bring. I think he’s a good athlete and fighter, but I think that it’s a bad time for him to be running into me.”
