Athletes
Jonathan Micallef Out to Earn Recognition
Australian Sophomore Discusses Being Underrated, Readiness To Continue Proving Himself
Given that the majority of UFC events take place in the United States, the number of opportunities international fighters get to compete on home soil over the course of their UFC careers is nowhere near as great as it is for American athletes, which is why most cherish the rare opportunities as they come up.
What’s even more rare is the chance for an international competitor to make each of their first two trips into the Octagon before a partisan crowd, but that’s precisely the opportunity Jonathan Micallef gets this weekend when he strides into battle against Oban Elliott at RAC Arena in Perth.
Meet Us In Perth? UFC Fight Night: Ulberg vs Reyes, Tickets On Sale Now
“It’s pretty awesome,” the Dana White’s Contender Series grad said of following up his debut appearance at UFC 312 in Sydney with a second consecutive bout in Australia. “It’s such a privilege to fight in my home country, and I’m actually pretty surprised that I got this privilege.
“I think they all come with their own pros and cons if you look at both sides of things,” continued Micallef, acknowledging both sides of the “home and away” dynamic most international fighters have to contend with throughout their careers. “This is the first time I’ve been to Perth, so to come down for the first time and fight is a pretty special thing for me, but I feel like there is always a special kind of energy when I’m fighting outside of Australia, which is different; you’re not the hometown boy, which is what I’ve always been throughout my career.
“As much as I do look forward to it, this is my favorite, I would say: to fight in front of my countrymen and hear the crowd cheer when you make your walk is something special,” he added. “I’ve just got to take it in stride, do my fellow countryman well, and get the win back.”
He did his fellow Aussies proud back in February, rolling into his debut opposite Kevin Jousset and registering a unanimous decision victory over the French judoka, who trains at City Kickboxing in Auckland, New Zealand.
READ: Main Event Spotlight | UFC Perth
It was an interesting debut assignment for the 26-year-old welterweight, as Jousset had earned wins in each of his first two UFC appearances and competed on the main card in Paris in his most recent bout. While it wasn’t quite being thrown into the deep end of the talent pool, Micallef wasn’t afforded the chance to wade into the 170-pound waters either.
But once they were in the Octagon, “The Captain” showed that he’s going to be able to do much more than just keep himself afloat going forward.
“When the name initially got put forward to me — Kevin Jousset — I was like, ‘Yeah. Yeah!’” Micallef said with a smile, replicating the excitement he felt about his debut assignment. “Obviously, it’s gonna be a tough fight — I’m in the UFC now; this is where you fight the best guys — but look, man: I fully believe in myself.
“Even though we come from a small gym, we haven’t got any big names, and it was ‘I’m fighting Jousset, who trains with Izzy and all these other great stars and big names,’ that’s cool, but with a small team and the right team, in this sport, you can make anything happen, and you’ve seen that time and time again.
“I really believe in myself and as big or as small of a name as I fight, I’m gonna give it my everything, and I believe I can take anyone out.”
Though he would have preferred to get back in action sooner than this weekend, the space between his first and second forays into the Octagon brought some unexpected positives, as in addition to making another start in Australia, Micallef got to train with one of the best to ever represent the country on the UFC stage.
Saturday's Full Fight Card Preview
“Rob is someone I always looked up to,” he said of Robert Whittaker, whom he trained with ahead of the former middleweight champion’s bout against Reinier de Ridder in July. “He’s a humble guy, go easy, and then when he gets in the cage, he was an animal. I always loved his fights with Yoel (Romero) and seeing everything that he’s done. For me to go from a superfan to one of his main training partners for his camp was like, ‘Man, this is crazy.’
“In that, I learnt so much, but it was also that I was able to help him out, so it was like a dual-edged sword where we’re both sharpening our blades. It was a very, very good experience for me, and it’s helped my game in many, many ways, even on a personal level, just to see how a guy like that deals with his family, work-life balance at the highest levels.”
Being stationed on the sidelines until this weekend almost meant that Micallef was able to land another premium pairing for his sophomore outing in the Octagon, as he welcomes the highly regarded Elliott back to the fray following his loss to SeokHyeon Ko in Baku, Azerbaijan, in the summer.
“I’ve been watching Oban for a little bit too, so I was like, ‘Oh yeah, this is the guy,’” began Micallef when asked about the pairing with Elliot, a fellow DWCS alum who garnered three consecutive wins and a ton of momentum in his first year on the roster before stumbling last time out. “Like I said earlier, there was a longer period where I was sitting on the bench, so I was watching all these welterweights fight, and I was like, ‘I want to fight.’ I got to watch Oban fight a couple of times, and I like to watch them and see how I would fight this guy, just because I’m a student of the game; it’s what I do.
Fighters On The Rise | UFC Perth
“Then when he got put forward to me, I was like, ‘Aw man, I’ve already got a few things I would like to implement in this fight.’”
Armed with ideas and bolstered by the chance to compete in Australia for a second straight fight, the perpetual underdog Micallef is ready to go out this weekend, earn another victory, and give a few more people another chance to recognize that he’s someone to keep close tabs on in the talent-rich welterweight division.
Not that he’s bothered by being underrated for the time being.
“This is how my career has been the whole time,” he said with a laugh. “If you’ve watched my career coming up through the ranks, I was always the underdog, always the overlooked kid: not enough experience, fighting a guy with double, triple, quadruple the fights, and here I am still doing that; still beating guys, still doing my thing.
“My time will come — when people realize what they’ve got — but it’s not right now,” he added without hesitation or a hint of annoyance. “Maybe come Sunday lunchtime, after the fight, then people will start to realize, but I’ll just be patiently grinding in the back.”
Micallef explained that he sees having people fully on your side and pumping you up as a privilege that must be earned, not the baseline for new entrants into the UFC, noting that he’s more than happy to keep working away until the results he puts forth inside the Octagon carry him there.
It’s a rare perspective in the modern MMA landscape, where so many competitors are quick to shout about their skills and what they could easily accomplish even before they’ve even crossed the threshold into the UFC cage for the first time. But as the fourth of nine siblings, Micallef is content with doing his own thing, handling his responsibilities, and putting in the effort it takes to earn the privilege of people singing his praises and proclaiming him as one to watch out for in the future.
“Honestly, I’m one of nine — I’ve got eight siblings — and I think it comes from that,” he answered when asked the origins of his uncommon approach. “I’ve always been part of the pack. You’re sort of happy there, and you just work and do your thing. My dad’s a very hard-working bloke and I got a lot of that from him.
“I think that’s where it came from, and just naturally too, man. God gifted me with certain things and that mindset is one of them.”
That same wider-angle view of things informs the way he looks at this weekend’s fixture with Elliott and what a victory would mean as well.
“It will mean everything to me,” began Micallef. “I’ve been working tirelessly, really been grinding for this, so for me to get there and get this win would be massive. At the same time, it’s just another step in the right direction, and I’ve got a heap of more steps to go.
MORE UFC PERTH: Main Event Spotlight | Reyes Grateful | Ulberg Interview | Thainara's Joy | Cold Open | Magny's Consistency | Jenkins Interview | Stirling Interview | Montague Interview
“Not overlooking Oban at all — there’s a ton of stuff I need to do to get this fight won, and only a few to lose it — but I’m fully confident that I’m going to take that win and potentially get a finish as well.
“But it’s just another step in the right direction,” he added. “They say, ‘brick-by-brick’ and this is just another one to build that castle that I imagine I’m gonna be on.”
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!
Tags