Perth is no stranger to big UFC moments. In the last two years we’ve seen an electric fight between Alexander Volkanovski and Islam Makhachev, and then Dricus du Plessis emerge victorious over Israel Adesanya. So it’s no surprise that this Sunday’s (AEST) Fight Night card is slipping a little under the radar.
After all, the traditional big guns of ANZ MMA are going to be cageside instead of in the Octagon, with Volkanovski and local boy Jack Della Maddalena waiting for their first title defences, and Adesanya as well as Rob Whittaker, Kai Kara-France, and fan favourite Tai Tuivasa, all yet to plot their next move after recent losses.
But look beyond the obvious headliners, and UFC Perth offers something else. A glimpse, not only of the future for MMA, but a snapshot of the journey ANZ fighters have taken over the past decade, as 13 fighters from either side of the Tasman Sea line up at RAC Arena.
Jake Matthews knows this journey as well as anyone. The welterweight is in his 12th year as a UFC fighter. At the still relatively young age of 31, Matthews is able to consider how far the sport has come.
“When I got into the UFC, the Octagon was illegal in Melbourne, so all of my pro fights were in boxing rings.” says the Victorian.
“The first time I fought in an octagon was in the Ultimate Fighter. So I had one fight at the Ultimate Fighter, and then I had my debut in the UFC. Now, you know, you’ve got a gym on almost every corner, like there’s parts of Melbourne where in a five kilometre radius, you’ve got five or six gyms.”
Matthews, on a three-fight win streak, faces the experienced Neil Magny in a fight that could see the Aussie catapulted into the Top 15 rankings. “The Celtic Kid” represents the “vets” on the card, along with Jamie Mullarkey and Justin Tafa.
Elsewhere, it’s an opportunity for UFC debutants, Michelle Montague, Brando Peri i, and Cam Rowston and fighters still at the fledgling stage of their pro career like Navajo Stirling and Tom Nolan. There are those on the comeback trail to reclaim their former promise, like Jack Jenkins and Jimmy Crute. And of course, it’s all headlined by the next star: Carlos Ulberg, on the cusp of a title shot, and headlining for the very first time.
For Rowston, an Aussie fighting out of Auckland’s City Kick Boxing gym and the latest of late additions after a stunning Dana White Contender Series victory, it is a dream come true.
“Sitting here as a UFC fighter is very special. It’s something I’ve been working to for a long time, and I’ve seen a lot of people at the gym in front of me get to this level as well, and it’s something I’ve really been striving for, and doing everything in my in my power, really, to get here.” Rowston said.
“I am the first Australian that moved over to CKB full time to pursue this. It was a big eye opener when I got there. It was sink or swim really, like the room, the calibre of athletes in the room, like who aren’t just in the UFC, but the rest of the training partners, is extremely high, probably the best in the world, and that’s why we’ve created so many good fighters, and we have so many guys coming into these cards.”
Tom Nolan is another who, despite 21 fights throughout his MMA career, is still early in his UFC journey, The rangy lightweight is 3-1 in the promotion and faces Amercian Charlie Campbell on Sunday. Nolan’s own journey has been inspired by the struggles of those that have gone before.
“I remember being an amateur and seeing some of these guys with huge records and titles and fighting on the best promotions and not getting the call-up. I remember thinking to myself as a kid like, Oh, this is gonna be a hard dream to chase, and it hasn’t gotten any easier, but I think it’s become more available for us Aussies.” the 25-year-old said.
“Times have really changed. I think there’s been a real change in the level of respect that we get globally. I think Volk has a lot to do with that, but also as a unit. Now we’re all starting to push through. I think this weekend is going to be a perfect example of it. People are going to watch them and think, OK, these guys are a problem.”
Another local debutant is New Zealand bantamweight Michelle Montague. The 31-year-old has taken the long road to the UFC, via stints in domestic New Zealand rugby and two trips with the Commonwealth Games wrestling team. Now training out of American Top Team in Florida, she finally got the call.
“The moment (I got the call) I was actually crook as a dog in the medicine aisle of some shop in Florida, and I was crouching down and trying to pick out what was going to fix me. And then my phone rang, and it was my manager, and he says, ‘We’ve got bad news and good news’. And I said, ‘All right, well, what’s the bad news?’ And he said, ‘Well, we’re probably not going to be going on contender series’. And at that point, I already knew there wouldn’t be a featherweight fight on there for girls. So what’s the good news? And then he told me about September 27 in Perth and, like, I literally started crying, not even sick tears, like actual happy tears, in the aisle crouched down there. It was like a crazy moment. And I think my car was at the mechanic, so I walked all the way home. I was just like,’ What the heck we did it!’
Montague is the newest fighter on the card and a trailblazer as the first ever Kiwi woman in the UFC, another layer to an event that will showcase the breadth and depth of ANZ MMA. And the man who has seen it all since that debut in Auckland in 2014, Jake Matthews, knows that is is only scratching the surface.
“It’s just a showcase of what’s to come for Australian and New Zealand MMA because there’s a lot of guys that are coming up. I have a good insight into the regional circuit, and we haven’t even seen half of the guys that are coming up, some real killers that are coming up.” he said.
“I hope they just listen to us older guys. We all have the issue of not listening when we’re younger, and I was the same, but hopefully we can try and impart some knowledge and help them not make the mistakes we made. And I think that that would probably be the next evolution of Australian MMA is guys just dialing in younger…..so we just need to get that unity, being able to learn from each other, the older guys teaching the young guys, and I think we’ll see another wave, a next level of Aussie fighters.”
The last word belongs to the star of the show, Ulberg. Headlining and now transitioned from promising newcomer to the star attraction.
“There are so there is so much more to come out of New Zealand and Australia. The Anzacs definitely have what it takes.”