Athletes
Cam Rowston | The Sacrifices Were Worth It
DWCS Season 9 Grad Discusses Promotional Debut Opposite Middleweight Stalwart
It’s fitting that Cam Rowston’s loss in his first appearance on Dana White’s Contender Series last season came against Torrez Finney, because his approach to getting back to Las Vegas earlier this year and claiming his place on the UFC roster was precisely what the UFC President suggested Finney needed to do after he again failed to secure a contract following their Season 8 encounter.
“That was a necessity,” Rowston said of logging three fights between trips to the UFC APEX while posted up in his hotel room in Perth, where he takes on Andre Petroski in his promotional debut this weekend at RAC Arena. “It was very important to bang out three fights like that because you never know. Unless you see it in writing and you sign on the dotted line, nothing is guaranteed in this sport.
RELATED: Rowston DWCS Spotlight
“I’m not a spring chicken — I turned 30 at the start of the year — and I can’t go off and have one fight and expect the UFC to come and sign me up again for Contenders. I had to make myself undeniable.”
White famously knocked Finney, who earned a second-round stoppage win the previous season, for making just one appearance after falling short of earning a contract, urging him to show a greater sense of urgency before ultimately bringing him back for a third fight, which he won in dominant fashion, punching his ticket to the UFC roster.
Rowston didn’t need any such urging; he simply looked at those who had traveled the path before him and committed himself to earning another late summer trek to the States, then went out and secured three wins and two finishes to ensure himself a place on Season 9 of the annual talent search series.
“I looked at guys that are in the UFC now that have been in similar situations, where they’ve lost the first time on Contender Series and either been signed by the UFC or re-signed with Contender Series again, and they were very active,” added the Australian middleweight. “I looked at that and thought, ‘The proof is in the pudding. If you want to get back in there again, I just have to do what these boys are doing.’ Activity was a necessity.”
Meet Us In Perth? UFC Fight Night: Ulberg vs Reyes, Tickets On Sale Now
On the second episode of the season, Rowston rolled into the Octagon and ran through Brandon Holmes, dispatching the American in a touch under three minutes to earn his fourth consecutive victory. In his post-fight interview backstage with Laura Sanko, the City Kickboxing man lobbied White to not only give him a contract, but to get him on the card in Perth as well.
At the end of the night, both of his wishes were granted.
“The importance of fighting in Perth is because it’s close to home,” began Rowston, explaining why competing this weekend was such a priority for him. “I’m from Sydney, Australia, which is only a three-hour flight from the east coast to the west coast. All my friends and family are spending their hard-earned money to come and watch me.
“They’ve been to the basketball stadiums to watch me, they’ve been to the YMCAs, they’ve driven four hours into the middle of nowhere to watch me fight, and I think it’s only right that they get to come and watch my debut in the RAC Arena.”
In addition to a venue upgrade for his family and friends that will be filling the seats, debuting this weekend also means rolling deep with his teammates, as the tall and rangy “Battle Giraffe” is one of four members of Auckland’s CKB crew slated to compete Sunday morning in Perth.
Saturday's Full Fight Card Preview
“This is perfect,” he said of fighting alongside teammates Carlos Ulberg, Navajo Stirling, and Brando Pericic. “Rolling through with a team like this — there’s four of us: a middleweight, two light heavyweights, and a heavyweight; we’re all the same weight or about the same weight. We all train together. Every workout we do, we do the workout together. We do all the workouts together and then we go fight together; it’s just perfect.
“This week has been fun,” continued Rowston, who carries a 12-3 professional record into his bout with Petroski. “It’s been relaxing and fun; hasn’t been too tense. Having the whole team here, the banter that goes on between the coaches and the fighters and all the bodies here, it makes everything so much more enjoyable rather than just sitting in the hotel room trying to drink down the water and watching whatever is on the TV.”
As much as his first UFC fight week experience has been enjoyable thus far, it’s the opportunity in front of him this weekend that has Rowston most excited.
Debutants rarely get dropped in with opponents that have amassed as many wins and appearances as Petroski has thus far, as the former Ultimate Fighter contestant and Marquez MMA representative touches down in Perth, brandishing an 8-3 record inside the Octagon. Though he’s coming off a setback in June, the 34-year-old Pennsylvania native had won three straight prior to that and has established himself as one of the grittier wrestlers in the division.
The way that Rowston sees it, getting matched up with Petroski right out of the chute is a signal that the promotion believes he has a bright future and want to afford him the opportunity to make an expedited climb up the middleweight ranks.
“The first thing I thought when I got that name was ‘perfect!’” he said of being paired with the veteran middleweight this weekend. “The UFC expect big things of me, they’re trying to push me through fast, and with a win over Petroski, I believe that’s what I’ll be given.
“Like I said before: I’m 30 now and I love activity, so when I get through Petroski on the weekend, I can open a lot more avenues to bypass (the long road forward) and get stuck in straight away with the top guys.”
And how exactly does he see himself navigating his way into the fast lane and securing a victory in his debut?
“I see the fight playing out very similar to a previous fight that was also conducted here at the RAC Arena in Perth about a year ago: my teammate Dan Hooker fought Mateusz Gamrot,” Rowston said with a smile. “That was striker versus grappler — get taken down, get up, bang him, bang him, bang him, touch him up, make take a few hits, get taken down, get back up.
“Just an escalation of violence throughout the whole 15 minutes; that’s honestly how I see it.”
So can we expect him to hush his coaches in the corner between rounds and declare “I love this s***!” before striding back into the fray?
“I don’t think I’ll say that,” he said with a laugh. “I’m not as much of a masochist as Mr. Hooker, but yeah, it’ll be something similar to that.”
Whether it plays out that way or not, this weekend is a moment years in the making for Rowston, and an achievement only made possible through sacrifice.
While getting to have his friends and family watch him compete while sitting in more comfortable seats and fancier digs than the spots where he fought throughout his journey to the UFC is one of the definite positives of this weekend, there is much more to it as well.
MORE UFC PERTH: Reyes Grateful | Thainara's Joy | Cold Open | Magny's Consistency | Jenkins Interview | Stirling Interview | Montague Interview
“That will mean,” began Rowston when asked what a win over Petroski would mean to him, personally, pausing to find the right words. “It’s 13 years of hard work and training and a lot of sacrifice. When the people who were on the receiving end of the sacrifices — I missed a lot of weddings and birthdays and all that stuff — when they see that, they’ll be like, ‘Ah yeah, I can see why he did it now; that’s worth it.’”
UFC Fight Night: Ulberg vs Reyes took place live from RAC Arena in Perth, Australia on September 27, 2025. See the final Prelim & Main Card Results, Official Scorecards and Who Won Bonuses - and relive the action on UFC FIGHT PASS!