UFC prospect grapples with technique
With just two MMA fights, New Zealander Navajo Stirling believes he’s ready for one of the toughest international promotions, following the path laid out by former UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya.
“The UFC is where I want to go,” Stirling announced in the cage after his emphatic first-round finish at last weekend’s Shuriken Fight Series (SFS). The two-time King in the Ring kickboxing champion has spent the past year rounding out all aspects of mixed martial arts.
“I train all weapons — striking, wrestling, jiu-jitsu — and because wrestling isn’t my background, I’ve been doing more of that than my actual striking training, so I put that on display in the fight.”
With a lack of opponents on the regional scene, Stirling says the big leagues are his only option.
“My plan was to be 3-0, 4-0 before going to the UFC,” Stirling told the Weekend Herald. “But what else am I supposed to do? If no one outside the UFC wants to fight me, the UFC is the only place for me to go.”
SFS promoter Jay Vorster expects Stirling to get a call from the UFC “any day now”.
“Being a heavyweight, training with Izzy and all of these top guys, it’s only a matter of time.
“When you have guys like that, with so many kickboxing fights on their record, their path to the UFC is so much shorter.”
Vorster’s promotion has long served as a proving ground for New Zealand fighters kick-starting their UFC careers. Stirling’s coach Eugene Bareman has already seen seven of his pupils achieve international success.
“I believe I’m ready,” Stirling said. “I’m rubbing shoulders with the best.”
“The best” includes Adesanya, light heavyweight Carlos Ulberg and welterweight Kevin Jousset.
“When I first started, they just let me know, ‘Wow, I am good’. If this is the best, I’m up there. And I’m not even near my potential.
“I’m just try to get creative when I’m sparring them. If I can be creative against these guys who are really good, I know I can be the best ever.”
Stirling says these UFC veterans kept him humble.
More than a year after his first MMA bout, Stirling finally found a willing opponent in Kelvin Fitial, 40, who was flown in from the Northern Mariana Islands. With wins over former UFC heavyweights across 32 pro fights, the man known as “The Big Hit” was a big step up in competition for the City Kickboxing prospect.
Stirling wasn’t fazed by his opponent’s record. He was more concerned with trying new techniques he had learned with sparring partners of the calibre of Adesanya, Jousset and Ulberg. But he didn’t get much of a chance, dismantling Fitial in under three minutes.
Flexing the improved wrestling acumen he will need to display to find a place in the UFC, Stirling survived an early flurry from Fitial before slamming him to the canvas and finishing the fight with ground strikes.
“He started out hard — one of his right hands wobbled me in the first 30 seconds. Once I tied him up [and] got my bearings about me, I was able to go to work and finish.”
“I’m pretty happy with my performance, but pretty gutted I didn’t get to fight longer.
“For most people it’s, ‘Nah, we’re trying to get the W and get out’, but not me.
“I want to work on stuff and toy with [my opponents], not just go out there and try to win. Winning just comes to me eventually.”
With rumours of the UFC eyeing a return to New Zealand in 2024, Stirling said says he’s desperate to get on the card.
“I would be screaming for it. What else do I have to do? It would just be pain not getting there.”