Jake Hadley: Feeling At Home In Enemy Territory

Hadley sees the flyweight rankings as something of a mixed bag, with longtime contenders occupying many of the ranking positions, while a host of talented young fighters are bidding to usurp them. It's a process that Hadley sees playing out over the next year or two, and he plans to lead the way.

"It's a weird one, because I feel like there's some guys in the Top 15 who I would say don't necessarily deserve to be in the Top 15," he said. “But the cream always rises to the top. And eventually, all the best guys are gonna meet at the top."

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Hadley takes on former LFA champion Charles Johnson at UFC St. Louis this weekend. It's a matchup between two of the top unranked talents in the 125-pound division, and a challenge Hadley says should produce a fun scrap for the fans in Missouri.

"He's got a split decision loss to Brandon Royval, who is number one in the world, number one ranked. Charles took him to a decision and gave him a hard fight. 

"And Charles has been fighting all the top guys and been doing pretty well against them. He's obviously lost more than he's won, but they've been close decisions. He's coming off a win against a highly ranked prospect who was 17-0, and did a good job on him.

"Obviously, everyone knows I've got potential, and I've got title aspirations. So yeah, I think this is one of the better fights (featuring) two unranked fighters. I think we're both well rounded, and we've both got fan-friendly styles. So, I think the fans are in for a good fight."

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Facing a seasoned pro like Johnson is a test in itself, but Hadley will face the additional challenge of doing so in "InnerG's" own backyard, with Johnson training out of St. Louis. Despite this, Hadley is unfussed.

"I've done it before," he said. 

"I've gone to South Africa and fought a South African in his backyard. I've fought loads of Americans in America, so that's technically their backyard. I've fought in Ireland against an Irish guy. It doesn't really make a difference to me. 

"If anything, I like the boos more than the cheers, because I like to prove people wrong. And I don't think I'm a guy who's liked, anyway, so it doesn't really bother me. I don't care.

"I like upsetting people, so you'll probably see more swagger from me walking to the cage, and after the fight, just based on the fact that, 'Ha! I proved you wrong!' 

"But it's all good, man. It's what I fight for. I fight for the crowd and the people (and) the feeling of the fight."

Aside from the crowd, Hadley knows he'll be facing a man with significantly more experience than he has, and many of those fights have been wars. Johnson is as battle-tested as anyone in the UFC's flyweight division, and Hadley knows he'll be facing a tough operator inside the Octagon on fight night. 

"His biggest challenge is probably his experience," he explained.

"He's had 20 fights – I've had 12. So not only that, a lot of his fights go to decision, and he's been in a lot of closely contested fights, whereas I've fought tough opponents, but most of the time I've just dominated them and finished them. 

"He's got a lot of cage time. He's been in a lot of hard back-and-forth fights. I've had hard opponents, but I beat them quite easy. I haven't had as many tough three-round fights as he has, so that's one thing he's got – he's got his experience. 

"I think he's very fit ,as well. I think he was a track athlete or something like that, and he's quite fit. So they're his main strengths, I believe. Obviously, he's well rounded, but skill-wise I just don't think he's on my level anywhere."

And, as is the case with any UK-based fighter competing at the moment, there's half an eye on the UFC's upcoming pay-per-view event in Manchester later this summer. Hadley knows he has a tough test ahead of him, but admitted he'd love to experience some home-field advantage for a change by getting on the card for UFC 304 on July 27.

"Yeah, God willing, I'll come out with no injuries, then I'd be more than happy to be fight in Manchester," he said. 

"Having someone come over to my back yard instead of me going to theirs all the while – that'd be nice. But I'm not looking past Charles Johnson. He's a tough opponent, and I'm ready for that."