Perth MMA fighter Cody Haddon makes his UFC debut in Las Vegas this Sunday!

This weekend, 20 years of work will come to its peak for Perth mixed martial artist Cody Haddon as he makes his UFC debut in Las Vegas on this Sunday’s Fight Night card.

The 26-year-old, originally from Carramar (not Balcatta sorry – like we tried to make a thing last time), says that he is most excited to show the world the skillset he has spent his whole life honing: “[It’s been] 20 years of busting my ass to acquire all these skills,” he says.

“To show [The UFC] that I can do it everywhere, that I grapple, I’ve got good jiujitsu, that I can wrestle, I can kickbox, I can box… Just I’m a complete fighter. I just want to show them how much of a complete fighter I am and that I can do it all.”

Haddon started training at six years old, and grew up competing in all different martial arts competitions, from state level amateur boxing fights, to flying across the world to compete in Brazilian jiu jitsu tournaments.

Haddon currently holds a professional record of 7-1, with a 100% finish rate in his victories.

His sole loss comes at the hands of fellow Perth UFC fighter, former flyweight title challenger and now training partner of Haddon, Steve Erceg, when the pair fought to a decision in 2021.

Since that fight, Haddon has gone on a five-fight finish streak, and both won and successfully defended an Australian bantamweight title.

Haddon’s martial arts pedigree mixed with his exciting style and 100% finish rate made him a hot prospect on the Australian scene, with many analysts predicting that he would get the UFC call up sooner rather than later, however Haddon himself admits that he was worried that the UFC would not come knocking.

“So many times you want to quit. You think ‘am I wasting my time?’, I literally thought that I might not even make it. Like, ‘Is one of these guys going to have a look at me and actually give me a f**king chance?’

“It’s like, let me come show you what I can do, just give me a chance.”

“Fighting on the regional scene is nearly more scary than fighting in the UFC,” he continues. “On the
regional scene if you lose, you’re at the back of the queue.”

Haddon was given his chance on this season of Dana White’s Contender Series, where he submitted American Billy Brand in the first round after dropping Brand with a short hook to the head in August.

His performance impressed the UFC President and Haddon was awarded a contract into the UFC.

Following his success at DWCS, Haddon was content to spend some time in the US with his partner Zoee, enjoying themselves at the theme parks in Florida, however Haddon’s manager called him on the second last day of his trip.

“Jas, my manager, she called me and was like, ‘Hey, I’ve got some big news…I know you wanted to fight in November, but the UFC have offered you a fight in seven weeks’ time, do you want it?'”

Haddon took some time to think about the fight offer as he weighed up how possible it would be to take the fight and perform at his best. He and his partner were in the midst of moving houses back home in Perth, and he had just come out of a gruelling extensive camp for his DWCS fight.

Ultimately, Haddon has decided to take the fight, where he will face off against 9-2 Dan Argueta, a five fight UFC veteran, in the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

Haddon has one word to describe his first UFC fight week: relief.

“When you go into camp, that’s when shit hits the fan. That’s the hard part for me, so now that that’s done I feel relief. Sweet, it’s now time for the f**king fun part. Go in there, do my thing, and then come home and hopefully enjoy the rest of the year.”

Haddon fights this Sunday on the UFC Fight Night: Royval vs Taira prelims starting at 4am AWST, with Haddon being the second fight of the night.

Fans can watch the fights live via the UFC FightPass and ESPN.

Image via Facebook (Attic Sports/Cody Haddon)