LAS VEGAS – Dana White contemplated giving Jonas Bilharinho a UFC contract after his spinning wheel kick finish on Tuesda but ultimately decided against it.
The decision wasn’t an easy one for the UFC president, who loves nothing more than a highlight-reel knockout. But leading up to Bilharinho’s third-round TKO of Canaan Kawaihae at Dana White’s Contender Series 46, the fight didn’t gauge White’s interest a whole lot.
However, Bilharinho, who once served as Jose Aldo’s training partner for the Conor McGregor fight, is certainly on White’s radar moving forward.
“I literally looked at Mick and Sean and said, ‘I was 100 percent not interested until right now. Now I don’t know what I am,'” White told reporters, including MMA Junkie, at the UFC Apex. “Now I’m confused because obviously you saw the kid has speed, he has hands, he’s a talented guy. The spinning kick was a spectacular finish, plus you can tell he’s fighting a guy who has a great chin because he took some big shots in there and even the spinning wheel kick didn’t knock him out, but it hurt him and had him on crazy legs.
“The kid’s stock went up tonight. He’s 9-1, maybe one of these other organizations pick him up, which we talked about before, they’re not very bright so they probably won’t. He’ll pick up a couple of fights in LFA or one of those type of shows, and we’ll take a look at him again. He definitely – landing that kick tonight put him in a good spot. He’s a free agent right now, he can do what he wants, and we’ll look at him again.”
To see the full interview with White, check out the video above.
