Wife’s reality show plea helped this underdog land UFC dream

Pay-per-view events, big pay cheques and title fights are what UFC fans see on a regular basis for some of the world’s toughest athletes.

What they don’t always see is the long, winding road filled with peaks and valleys to even make it to the sport’s biggest promotion.

For unheralded Australian featherweight Kaan Ofli, his journey towards the top of the sport has been a long time coming.

Ofli started training in martial arts as a teenager after being pushed into it by his father, but the sport quickly became his “outlet” after a personal tragedy. Making it to the UFC was never his original plan.

“I didn’t know what I was doing with my life - I was a lost boy with no guidance and doing this sport and training as an outlet for the adversity in my life,” he told nine.com.au this week before his fight against Javier Rayas at UFC Fight Night in Baku, Azerbaijan.

“My father got me into martial arts when I was a teenager - soccer wasn’t the thing for me and I tried plenty of other sports.

“I had a bit of adversity in my life when I was aged 16 with my father passing away and us going through some hardship. I found myself at a crossroads, and it was either joining the military or taking on this sport professionally full-time.

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“There was a bit of a survival mindset for me and martial arts was a great outlet and I wouldn’t be the person I am today if it wasn’t for the sport.”

Over time, the now 33-year-old started to make a name for himself on the local scene, capturing gold in Australia’s top promotion, Hex Fight Series.

But when asked what forced his mindset to shift from being a big fish in a small pond to chasing a dream overseas, Ofli had one person to thank.

“It wasn’t until I met my wife where I changed my mindset and having that goal and dream to be in the UFC, she’s played a big part in my career,” he said.

While every win on Aussie soil saw him gain steam, Ofli still faced his fair share of setbacks before a golden opportunity landed at his feet two years ago in the form of “The Ultimate Fighter” - the reality show that pits some of the best unsigned talent from across the globe in a tournament to earn a contract with the UFC.

Originally, he was against the idea - but Ofli’s wife had other plans.

“I believed I was ready to get signed to the UFC but the opportunity wasn’t there and that’s when The Ultimate Fighter casting was happening,” he said.

“Mate, I didn’t wanna do it. I had received a couple of noes already in my life and didn’t want to enter the competition, just to receive another no.

“It was my wife that did the application after going back-and-forth with her. She said to me ‘listen, if you’ve gotta do a TV show to get there, then this is your way to do it’ and she did it behind my back on the last day of applications.

“They literally called me the next day saying they were super interested in having me on the show and that was the little breakthrough I needed.

“Once I was in Las Vegas, I knew this was my chance to get into the UFC and make this dream happen. I’m thankful for her and also proud of myself.”

Ofli described it as ‘the best experience of his life’ and believes it forced him to ‘level up’ as a fighter - but don’t get it confused with MAFS or Love Island.

“It’s definitely not like that,” he laughed.

“It was probably the best experience I’ve had in my whole life. To have no outside communication and be locked in a house with 14 other fighters … that was crazy.

“It definitely levelled me up. There were so many variables in the house, but I was able to stay locked in while other people were there for the limelight. I could see they were trying to be a little bit extra, I know there’s an element of that on reality TV because it’s entertainment, but my goal was winning and beating these guys.

“It’s a super cool experience and really, The Ultimate Fighter is what saved the UFC because for fans that don’t know, when the UFC was first running, it wasn’t really attracting people that well and it was actually the reality show that brought it life.

“To be part of a season of the show was really cool.”

While he didn’t emerge as the overall winner, losing to Mairon Santos in the final, Ofli still did enough to impress UFC officials and was soon offered a deal.

He quickly learned that getting to the UFC is one thing, but winning there is another, suffering back-to-back defeats after joining the company.

“My first UFC fight was my first loss in eight years and that hit hard,” he said.

Now on a two-fight win streak after choking out Ricardo Ramos last October and earning a unanimous decision victory over Yizha on home soil at UFC 325 in Sydney earlier this year, Ofli (13-4-1) is searching for a hat-trick against Reyes.

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Ofli believes he has entered ‘the prime of his career’ and is confident a win over Reyes will catapult him further up the UFC’s 145-pound rankings, which Alexander Volkanovski currently sits atop with the featherweight title.

He described Volkanovski as an “inspiration” after coming up the local ranks at the same time before the two-time UFC champ became a global phenomenon.

“Early on, I was like ‘man, this guy is a beast, I might have to fight him one day’ when we were back home,” Ofli said.

“Just watching him get into the UFC and do what he does, of course I took a lot of inspiration from him. We’ve trained together three or four times now and I respect Volk as a father, as a fighter and as a role model ... he’s a legend.”

With every win that comes his way, Ofli is fighting not only for himself and his wife who helped get him to the UFC, but also a newer member of his family.

“I’ve got a nine-month-old back home and if I’m not competing or training, I’m with him,” he said.

“The balance is a little hard, definitely having a baby makes things harder but it also makes it more worth it. It brings me so much joy in my everyday life, I love being a father and now I’ve got a new drive and purpose.

“Of course, I’m doing this sport for myself, but now having him in my life, I want to do the best that I can in providing a better life for him than what I had.”

Ofli’s clash with Reyes is scheduled for Saturday night AEST and the submission specialist believes his rival’s hotheadedness will work in his favour.

“He’s an experienced fighter - but he’s a Colombian and he’s got a Colombian mindset. His blood boils, he loves to have brawls and he loves the chaos,” Ofli said.

“I’m not gonna give him what he wants. I believe I’m the better all-round fighter.

“The prediction for this weekend is Javier Reyes will choose his own fate - he will choose how he wants to go out.”