VANCOUVER, British Columbia – UFC execs can’t really play favorites but, as a fellow Canadian, UFC head of international Dave Shaw could perhaps be forgiven for being particularly enthused by the performance of his countryman Tristan Connelly at UFC on ESPN+ 16 on Saturday night.

Connelly (14-6 MMA, 1-0 UFC) negotiated a tricky opening round against high-flying, back-flipping Brazilian Michel Pereira before getting to work employing his gritty, high-pressure gameplan to eventually seal a unanimous decision victory after stepping in, and stepping up a weight class, on five days’ notice.

It earned Connelly a six-figure bonus and the adoration of the Rogers Arena crowd. But it also resonated with the man running the show that night.

Speaking to reporters, including MMA Junkie, backstage after the fight, Shaw said he connected with Connelly’s performance for personal reasons.

“With Tristan Connelly, the best thing about him was he was just so Canadian,” Shaw said with a smile. “He seems like he was five of my buddies. He’s the guy that I think can click well with a lot of people across the country.

“I think his gameplan was executed perfectly. He didn’t get rattled by Pereira’s tactics. He remained pretty calm, and when the time was right, took him down and ground-and-pounded him in the third round and sealed it. It’s going to be fun working with him in the next little while.”

Shaw revealed that Connelly had predicted the scene inside the Rogers Arena when the aspiring debutant texted him to stake his claim for the vacant spot on the card. And the UFC boss said that the Canadian debutant’s performance may well earn him a spot on a fight card before the UFC returns north of the border in 2020.

“Other than the main event, that was definitely the crescendo of the evening,” said Shaw. “The place was going bananas; it was unbelievable. It was that David and Goliath story like he predicted in his text a few weeks ago when he was calling out for the fight.

“Do you book him on the next Canadian event? We’re not sure when the next Canadian event is. We’re going to have three next year (and) we’d like to have one earlier in the year because it’s just nice to have them spaced out.

“But, given his performance, (UFC president) Dana (White) might want to put him in earlier than that. Will he be on the next Canadian card? There’s probably a pretty good chance, but depending on when that is, there might be an opportunity for him to fight earlier.”

To hear more from Shaw, check out the video above.