Athletes
Westin Wilson Enjoying The Chaos
Software Company Exec Relishes His Alter Ego Of UFC Featherweight
Oh, how things have changed in the neighborhood for Westin Wilson.
Before the 36-year-old featherweight got in the UFC win column for the first time, he was just another dad who happened to fight in the biggest MMA promotion on the planet. No big deal. His then-four-year-old daughter even had to defend his honor when a local kid threw out some trash talk about dad not winning in the Octagon.
Saturday's Fight By Fight Preview
But then Wilson needed less than two minutes to submit Jeka Saragih in June of last year, and all of a sudden it was a new day in Simpsonville, South Carolina.
“The week I get back, it's still summertime,” said Wilson. “So I go to the pool with my kids and all of a sudden the whole neighborhood knows who I am and they're all talking to me and they're like, ‘Oh man, we’re big fans, you’re awesome, blah, blah, blah, blah.’ (Laughs) So everybody changed their tune because everybody likes a winner.”
Westin Wilson Fight Week Interview | UFC Shanghai
Unlock MORE of your inner combat sports fan with UFC Fight Pass! Fighting is what we live for. And no one brings you MORE live fights, new shows, and events across multiple combat sports from around the world. With a never-ending supply of fighting in every discipline, there`s always something new to watch. Leave it to the world`s authority in MMA to bring you the Ultimate 24/7 platform for MORE combat sports, UFC Fight Pass!
Westin Wilson Fight Week Interview | UFC Shanghai
/
And his daughter no longer has to lay the smack down in defense of her father.
“Just one win changed everything,” he laughs. “It's funny, because now all the neighborhood dads are friends with me now. They're all nice and, ‘Oh yeah, we're going to watch your next fight.’”
ICYMI: Reinier de Ridder And Anthony Hernandez Clash In Vancouver Main Event
That next fight will be pretty early east coast time, but Saturday morning, they’ll be tuning in, armed with biscuits, gravy and coffee to watch Wilson battle Yizha in Shanghai. It’s been a while for the veteran to return, but he’s all-in for it.
“I’ve been sidelined for a year, not due to injury or anything, it's just my schedule,” said Wilson. “The UFC schedule just didn't work out, but we're here now and we're ready to rock.”
Wilson, a family man with three kids and growing businesses outside of fighting, also has a documentary film on the way, entitled “Paperweight,” which follows the fighting journey of a musician named Andrew P. Oliver. In the trailer, Wilson says, “I think everybody in the world should be punched in the face, kicked in the body and work out to that point of vomiting at least once in your life.”
Or, as Chuck Palahniuk put it in his novel, Fight Club, “How much can you know about yourself if you've never been in a fight?”
MORE UFC SHANGHAI: Co-Main Event Preview | Zhang Embracing The Spotlight | Walker's Experience Over Everything | Ortega Always Within Striking Distance
“I think it puts things into perspective,” Wilson explains. “It's not as bad as you think, but also it does suck.”
He laughs, but it is an important line of thinking. And he agrees that it is character building to actually experience the art of combat.
“I think it humbles you,” Wilson said. “You get these people that are very cocky and arrogant throughout their whole life, and it's like you've never had that physical hardship that a fight brings. I really think if you experience it, it changes you and it humbles you and it makes you recognize that there's always a badder dude in the room.”
If you get through 26 pro fights, winning most of them, your “Bad Dude” credentials are set for life, and when you talk to Wilson, you notice immediately that he’s not trying to be hard or play the tough guy. When you are a tough guy, you don’t have to tell everyone about it. So there are no proclamations about what he’s going to do to Yizha this weekend or his plan to unseat featherweight champion Alex Volkanovski. That’s just not his style. As for his fighting future, he’ll figure it out when he gets there.
“I always tell my wife that this could be my last fight,” he said. “I'm just taking it fight by fight. And that's why this last year's been great because I've really been able to find myself outside of fighting.”
But are there goals in the Octagon that he’s chasing?
“I'm trying to keep my goals short term right now,” he said. “My goal is just to make weight, beat this guy, get a new contract, and then we'll take it from there. I told you that I was perfectly content just fighting out my contract and retiring, but I'm having too much fun at this point, and I'm loving the chaos in my life of being a director at a software company. I’ve got seven, eight employees under me, so I'm enjoying the chaos that comes with that. I'm enjoying teaching and training and coaching guys, and then starting a new business while maintaining my other pay-per-view business. It's been a blast. And I get to travel all over and train all over the world. So it's been a lot of fun. But I think when I do retire, I will probably take a couple months off and then go back into it.”
Of course he will. He’s a fighter. That never leaves.
UFC Fight Night: Walker vs Zhang took place live from Shanghai Indoor Stadium in Shanghai, China on August 23, 2025. See the final Prelim & Main Card Results, Official Scorecards and Who Won Bonuses - and relive the action on UFC FIGHT PASS!
Tags