Athletes
Billy Elekana | For Susie, Always
Light Heavyweight Reflects On First Year In UFC, Honoring His Late Mother In The Octagon
Billy Elekana is carrying a ton of emotions into his UFC 325 clash with Junior Tafa on Saturday at Qudos Bank Arena, as his business trip to Sydney to begin his second year on the UFC roster has come at a heavy time for the emerging light heavyweight.
When Bruce Buffer introduces Elekana this weekend, it will come just a handful of days after the eighth anniversary of his mother’s passing due to cancer, as well as falling on her birthday, January 31.
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“My mom’s birthday is January 31, and my son’s birthday is on the first, so I’ll be fighting technically on both my son and my mom’s birthday,” said “Son of Susie” earlier this week, relaxing in his hotel room just a few days ahead of his fourth UFC appearance. “It’s special for me; it should be a good fight.
“Everything — it means everything,” Elekana said when asked about the promise he made to his late mother in an Instagram post on the one-year anniversary of her passing to “be the fighter you always knew I would be and always give everything my all.”
Seven years later, he had made his UFC debut, and now, he’s carrying a two-fight winning streak into the start of his second year on the roster.
“Growing up, she was everything. All this fighting I do, that’s through my mom —she really saw some s*** in me and my brothers, really kind of got us into fighting when we were fighting each other, fighting kids on the block, fighting in school all the time. I pay my respects back to my mom in that sense.
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“It’s crazy!” he said with a laugh about being in his current position as we reminisced about speaking ahead of his short-notice debut against Bogdan Guskov last January at UFC 311. The fight came together hastily, and while it didn’t go his way, it was a foot in the UFC door for the Las Vegas native. “It’s wild, but it’s a good spot to be in. I’m grateful for everything and I’m happy I’m going down the road I’m going down right now.
“She really believed in us, thought that we could make it this far, so being here? It all paid off.”
While competing this week carries so emotional heft for Elekana, being in Sydney, competing against Tafa brings some unique feelings as well.
Like his opponent, the 30-year-old Elekana, who resides in Las Vegas, where he trains at Uprising MMA and Porrada Training Center, is of Samoan heritage, and being in the bustling Australian metropolis is giving him a real “I could get used to this” vibe heading into the weekend.
“It’s cool to see a lot of Islanders out here; I like it out here,” said Elekana, whose only other trip abroad to compete came last year in his win over Ibo Aslan in Abu Dhabi. “Everything about out here I like: the weather, the food. Maybe this is where I was supposed to be is out here.’
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“I think everybody wants to see the two Samoans in there banging, but you can see that every Samoan barbecue anywhere,” he added with a smirk, shifting his attention to the pairing with Tafa, a combat sports veteran that has gone 2-4 inside the Octagon and is making his second start in the light heavyweight ranks. “That’s what the people want, but we’ll see; I don’t know what I’m gonna do.
“Every fight, I say certain things, but when I get in the fight, I kind of go according to how the fight is going, so I could say whatever and it may sound good or not, but when I’m in there, I just go off whatever cards are played; I go according to what I gotta do.”
Though he’s coming off a pair of victories and his first finish in the UFC —a first-round submission win over Kevin Christian in November —Elekana is admitted still getting his footing in the promotion, still acclimating to life competing on the biggest stage in the sport. Each appearance is easier, more familiar, but 2025 was a whirlwind, and Susie’s boy believes he has much more to offer going forward.
“I just think I can do so much more —I can perform a lot better, be a lot more free and loose out there,” he said. “One year in the UFC, you’re real cautious, it’s the big stage, you’re traveling; everything is new. When I’m settled and ready, I think I’ll do a lot better. I’m still in the beginning phase of this stuff and I think I have a lot more to give to this sport.
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“Honestly, I have so much more to prove, so whatever the UFC wants to do with me, whoever they want to give me, I’m open to anything. I’m in a place right now where if you throw them at me, I’ve got to set them down. Whoever they throw at me, I’m up for it. I would even maybe like to get some heavyweight fights; throw me in the heavyweight bracket too.
“Each time, every time I go out feels a lot better,” he added. “I just need to stay focused and keep going. Throw me in the fire and we’ll go from there.”
Though he’s still a little wide-eyed and finding his place, Elekana is also extremely aware of how fleeting all of this truly is; not in a negative sense, but in terms of understanding the importance of enjoying the moments as they’re happening.
“It’s wild —my anniversary just came up,” he said with a smile, looking back on everything that has transpired in the last year and change. “This will be my fourth fight; it’s wild.
“It all goes by so fast, so while you’re in it, you’ve got to enjoy it because soon you’re gonna be looking back like ‘I was really out there doing that s***!’ I’m just trying to soak it all in, live in this moment and just be here.
“I’m two feet in now, we’re riding the wave now. I’m gonna do the best I can while I’m in it and we’ll see where it goes.”
That’s all anyone could ask.
UFC 325: Volkanovski vs Lopes 2 took place live from Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney, Australia on January 31, 2026. See the final Prelim & Main Card Results, Official Scorecards and Who Won Bonuses - and relive the action on UFC FIGHT PASS!
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