The plan has come together for Navajo Stirling.
The mixed martial artist was at a loss when Covid-19 settled in and ended his plans of pursuing a career in the sport overseas. He had been training out of the Lion Pit in Wellington, was fresh off of winning the 2020 heavyweight King in the Ring kickboxing title and was weighing up his options when, in early 2021, the pandemic hit and closed the borders.
“I needed to look for the next big thing and I knew I couldn’t go anywhere,” he told the Herald.
Instead, he got in touch with Eugene Bareman, the head coach at Auckland’s City Kickboxing gym, to discuss moving up to train with their stable and work towards his dream of being a UFC athlete.
As he prepares to make his debut with the world’s top MMA promotion this Sunday in Florida, the conversation is one Stirling remembers well.
“He just said if I moved up, he would get me there. If not in there, then UFC-ready [in] two to three years.
“Two to three years later, we’re here.”
Stirling was awarded a UFC contract in September after a second-round knockout win on Dana White’s Contender Series, and had his debut booked for this weekend’s card before he left Las Vegas to return home.
Stirling will meet Englishman Tuco Tokkos in the opening bout of the main card on this weekend’s fight night – the UFC’s final show of the year – meeting an opponent with the tools to test him in every area of the sport.
Stirling joins the UFC with a 5-0 pro record, with four of those wins coming by knockout. Tokkos comes into the bout with a 10-4 record, with eight wins by stoppage (six KOs, two submissions) (0-1 UFC).
“I’m looking at this fight like my do-or-die fight,” Stirling said.
“I mean, because they all are. I never overlook anybody, no matter who they’ve fought or who they’ve lost to or what kind of run they’re on.
“I just always know that most fighters, when they fight me, they’re the best version of themselves because I bring that fear factor to these fights and they really feel that.”
While he hasn’t racked up a huge record since making the move to Auckland, Stirling has worked hard to develop his abilities into being more than simply an elite striker.
While he hasn’t yet had to show many of his other tools in his career to date, he said he would be ready when the time came to step outside of his comfort zone.
“I had a goal to become an all-round fighter, not just a striker. I wanted to be a complete MMA fighter in that light heavyweight division, which is essentially like a strikers’ division right now. I think if, with my youth and my potential, I could take that grappling advantage and just utilise my athleticism as well, I think I’ve got a real big shot,” Stirling said.
“It does play in on your mind a little because you don’t know how good you are when you’ve been training for so long and you haven’t been fighting, especially with the grappling. It’s not necessarily the same as striking, but I just always wanted to get that feel for that squeeze in the cage.”
This week, the 27-year-old has been soaking in everything about his first official UFC fight week.
He said although the feeling going into fight week was the same, there was a noticeable difference in the external factors around him that came with being in the promotion.
“It’s definitely a relief. I can just invest more time into focusing on the fight, I don’t have to worry about the small stresses that are around. I’ve got everything I need and anything I do need I can get it on hand pretty quickly,” Stirling said.
“It’s an amazing experience. It makes me feel like I’ve become a professional athlete; it’s the way I used to envision myself being a professional athlete when I used to go work a job and fight on local amateur shows.”
Christopher Reive joined the Herald sports team in 2017, bringing the same versatility to his coverage as he does to his sports viewing habits.