Athletes
Oban Elliott | A Different Gangster
Welshman Discusses Shift In Mindset Ahead Of Return To Action In Belgrade
Oban Elliott went to Sydney earlier this year with a colossal chip on his shoulder, keen on making Jonathan Micallef pay for questioning his integrity when “The Welsh Gangster” turned up with pneumonia and was declared unable to compete in September 2025.
Elliott started strong, winning the first round and continuing his success on the feet into the second, but a left hand from Micallef in tight landed flush on his eye, blurring his vision. Elliott tried to fight through it, initiating the exchanges, but the Aussie wisely clinched and dragged the fight to the floor. Moments later, he climbed on Elliott’s back and fished his arm under the neck. The next thing Elliott remembers is waking up in utter disbelief.
“I thought he poked me and when Marc (Goddard) didn’t step in, I was thinking, ‘Oh no. Oh no,’” Elliott said. “I heard his corner go, ‘You’ve f***** his eye. You’ve f***** his eye.’ and I thought, ‘Well if he goes first, I’m f***** because I can’t see a thing,’ so I’m thinking, ‘F*** you. I’m going first.’ … Obviously, I was in a washing machine, and then he’s around my neck, and I was thinking, ‘Surely not. Is this tight or am I seeing things?’ I couldn’t see and couldn’t breathe, and then I was like, ‘No f****** way.’
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“What do you do?” he added with a laugh. “It’s one of them. I found out about myself to the core in that fight. What I thought was true, but nobody knows until it happens. It was ‘Fight or Flight,’ and it turns out I fight. I don’t fly.”
The fight and the injury now feel like a turning point for Elliott, who entered 2025 with heaps of momentum after a knockout win at Madison Square Garden to close his 2024 campaign, but touches down in Serbia on a two-fight skid.
When he was initially invited to attend the UFC event in London this past March as a guest fighter, he was hesitant, unsure of how fans would react to him after a second consecutive loss. He eventually relented and headed to the event, and when he came through the back curtain to make his way to his seat, the response helped initiate a shift in mindset for the hard-charging competitor.
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“Regardless of what happened in the fight, the context of it, people see another loss,” Elliott said. “I was beat up about it, and when you walk to the fighter seats and you come through where the fighters walk out, the fans were cheering for me, and I was like, ‘Only yesterday I was worried to show my face here,’ but the welcome I got off them, the way they received me gave me a massive boost… I was like, ‘I’m gonna get this back for them.’ I had a tear in my eye. From there then, my mindset has completely changed. It’s just a part of the story and now I get to go put things right.”
The 28-year-old has been through tougher trails in his personal life and opted to take a different perspective on these hurdles, letting go of the overwhelming desire to prove himself.
“The worst-case scenarios that all fighters sit and worry about, they’ve happened to me,” he said. “I’ve seen them, and I’ve come through them, and you overcome them. It’s not that bad. I’ve got a very experienced head on my shoulders and now is a new beginning, I think. The pressure just melted off me, and now it’s just go out and perform… The reason I say, ‘Put things right’ is because I know by going out and performing, I’ll do it. I was gonna do it in Sydney, however, the likelihood of some bull**** happening…
“They can’t get away with it forever.”
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We both laughed, but before he could continue, I interjected, explaining that while the likelihood of something unexpected or unfortunate happening again that shifts the direction of his fight on a dime are not high, this is MMA and there are no guarantees, so as much as he’s focused on “putting it right” on Saturday, there is always the possibility that he wakes up on Sunday wondering, “How did that happen?” once again.
“I know. I understand. That’s funny,” he said, laughing at the unfortunate reality of the situation. “I just know I’m gonna do it. I just know I’m gonna do it. I know. I just know. I can’t explain it.
Elliott laughs, but he also understands there is parts of the fight game outside of anyone’s control. That said, he has unwavering belief in himself when he fights Michael Oliveira on August 1.
“I’m not worried about, I’m not thinking about, ‘Please God, let my arm get raised’ because I just know. I’ve come through the other end of it all better and stronger, a better fighter; levels about last time… I took the lessons I’ve had and turned them into good. The big mountain to climb was coming through my recent results without that pressure. If I had that pressure weighing on me — I feel like I’ve already won. Just getting there means I’ve won. Getting through all that means that I’ve won.”
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One of the biggest contributors to his unwavering belief heading into this weekend’s clash with Oliveira, who owns a 9-0 record with eight stoppages, was the way he felt in those first seven minutes against Micallef.
As much as Elliott loves stepping into the Octagon, he’d never been able to translate everything he’d done in the training room into the fight itself until UFC 325. That feeling helped set the wheels in motion on his complete mental overhaul ahead of this fight.
“I didn’t know I could do that to that level,” Elliott said. “It’s every fighter’s dream, and then what happened, happened, but I’ve come through it looking at the positives going, ‘I know I can now do this forever. I can do this forever, and I’m not gonna go blind every time I go in there, surely to f***.’ Just go there, enjoy it and perform, and that will put it right. It’s written. Going in there in the position I’m in now, getting to this point and getting to fight week, I know it will pay… I’ve never had this much structure. Everything is aligned. I couldn’t be more prepared in terms of my whole existence, and that will mean I’m — I’ve never struggled to perform when the lights go on, so I’m excited to see what I can do. I know when it gets tough in there, I’m ready.
“I’m sharp as f***, ready to go,” he added with a wink. “It will show and everything will be put right.”
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I asked Elliott how it’s going to feel to be standing triumphant in the center of the Octagon on Saturday night after everything he’s navigated the last 13 or 14 months, and he looked aloft, as if the answer was painted on the ceiling.
“Ah, it’s… um… just… just… it will be… ah… I dunno…” he muttered, turning to see me smiling because the far-off stare and inability to articulate how it will feel are the real answer. “To be honest with you, it’s not like a really like to think about it because it’s not in my hands… I’m prepared and I know I’m prepared to go out there and take it to this guy. When the fight is over? F*** me.”
Oban Elliott: 'I Couldn’t Be More Ready' | UFC Belgrade
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Oban Elliott: 'I Couldn’t Be More Ready' | UFC Belgrade
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Elliott laughed and shook his head, envisioning the opportunity to grab the microphone and cut a promo once again.
“Oh my god.” he said before launching into a rehearsal of his potential opening line. “‘I’ve been waiting a long f****** time…’ I’ve been daydreaming about that, fantasizing. It will be f****** special. I feel like a different human being from the last time I spoke with you, and I’ve become a better fighter at the same time. Just go out and enjoy it, take what I’ve worked for; that’s it.
“God-willing, it will be on August 1st, and I’ll be back.”
UFC Fight Night: Medić vs Rodriguez took place live from Belgrade Arena in Belgrade, Serbia on August 1, 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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