Former UFC security guard Sal Everett blocks out Dana White's bias to chase Contender Series contract

Sal Everett steps into the UFC APEX in Las Vegas on Tuesday night carrying an unusual backstory: until recently, he was standing ringside as a UFC security guard rather than competing inside the cage. The undefeated welterweight faces fellow 4-0 prospect Ozzy Martin on Dana White’s Contender Series, with a UFC contract on the line.

White has openly admitted he will find it difficult to remain neutral when Everett competes — a sentiment he previously expressed about Bella Mir ahead of her own Contender Series appearance. For Everett, who spent years working directly for the UFC CEO, the praise is something he has learned to tune out.

“Yeah, it’s completely blocked out,” Everett told MMA Fighting. “I think that helps with working for him and over the years of just getting comfortable being around him. I used to be nervous around him and sweat when I would talk to him a little bit. But yeah, I feel like over the years, just understanding him as a person — he’s human, and Dana’s no different from any of us.”

Everett, 29, left his security role specifically to pursue this opportunity, describing the potential contract offer as “the best promotion I ever got in my whole life.” His professional record includes all four wins coming by first-round finish while competing for Tuff-N-Uff, among them a four-second knockout.

The time spent around White also left a lasting impression on Everett’s own work ethic. “I mean, I feel like he’s a straight hustler,” Everett said. “As far as powerful as he is as a man, he’s still busting his ass every single day and showing up to work before a lot of people that I see. Dana is just exactly who you see — he doesn’t hide nothing, don’t fake nothing.”

Standing across from him will be Ozzy Martin, a 24-year-old from New Hampshire who is also undefeated and has finished all of his opponents, most recently with a 30-second knockout at Cage Titans 77 in July. The matchup pits two finishers with identical records against each other, with both men knowing a dominant performance is the clearest path to impressing White and his team.

Everett is under no illusions about what the night means. “By any means necessary, I’m getting that contract,” he said. “Hell yeah, that would be the best promotion I ever got in my whole life. I need this.”