Charles Byrd competed in twice in Season 1, collecting a pair of victories and entry into the UFC’s middleweight ranks, while light heavyweights Ryan Spann, Alonzo Menifield and Kennedy Nzechukwu all fought in each of the first two seasons and came away with contracts following their sophomore efforts. So too did Geoff Neal, who turned a short-notice finish at middleweight on Season 1 into a pair of impressive stoppages back down at welterweight in 2018.

“That fight is harder than the UFC because you’re not going there to win — you’re going there to destroy!” said Saud. “You’ve got to annihilate the person across from you and show that you’re ready to go and that’s what we preach for those fights. It’s a one-round fight.

“When you’re watching the Contender Series and it gets out of the first round, you’re like, ‘All right, they’re not getting picked.’ Almost every time, you’re like, ‘This guy’s not getting picked,’” he continued. “We’re in the back watching it — and I’ve been back there so many times now — and you’re looking and you know it’s not over after the fight is over because you’ve got to see what the next guy is going to do.

“Is the next guy going to throw a spinning head kick knockout? If so, forget it — you’re out of there. Is the Sean O’Malley kid going to come out there and look great, entertain? You don’t know what’s going to happen and it’s not enough to win. So we tell the guys, ‘This is a one-round fight and it needs to be all pressure and all tempo.’ I think that’s the style you see our team fighting.”

One thing you won’t see from anyone representing Fortis MMA is a sense that they are greater than the team because they are competing in the UFC and starting to get a modicum of recognition beyond the regional scene, and that’s because Saud has built a culture centered on accountability and stressed that everyone in the gym is equal, whether they’re preparing to make their professional debut or getting ready to compete on one of the biggest UFC cards of the year.

He likens the approach to the way Bill Belichick runs the New England Patriots, putting the system ahead of the individuals and validating that premise by consistently producing quality results.

“I coach with what resonated with me and I had a multitude of amazing coaches and teammates, but what always resonated with me was accountability,” explained Saud. “You don’t have to say anything if everybody has the same mindset of being accountable; the standards are set.

“The other part of that process is that if we treat a guy who walks in for his first fight differently than the guy who is getting ready to fight in the UFC, the whole structure fails because the whole system is one where everybody is the same and everybody puts in the work. That’s what I think makes it beautiful.

“It’s like the Patriots — it’s the system that wins, and if you do the work, you’ll probably have a good result,” added Saud, who is quick to recognize the efforts of the collection of coaches and specialists who work with the team on a regular basis, including strength coach Mike Scaccia and Dr. Travis Mann. “There is some volatility and variability, absolutely, but the system wins. So nobody is above the system and nobody is above the work. Once the attitude is set in motion, all the other athletes maintain that and they maintain that with winning. When people constantly win, it reaffirms that mindset and everybody is energized.

“That’s the culture we have.”

