Jordan Wright picked up his first UFC victory on August 22 with a first-round TKO win over Ike Villanueva. The “Beverly Hills Ninja” says a pre-fight phone call from former teammate Jon Jones helped boost his confidence.
“It was really, really awesome,” Wright told Cageside Press. “Bones and I have always got along and he’s just super uplifting for me. He’s just my buddy and I love him so much. And it was just a really good confidence booster to be honest. He really just made me feel good.”
Wright (11-0, NC) took all of 2019 off after he was finished by Anthony Hernandez on DWCS in June 2018. The bout was later turned into a “No Contest” after Hernandez tested positive for marijuana. Wright switched camps and came back with a vengeance in 2020, picking up a second-round TKO victory over Gabriel Checco at LFA 80 in January.
Slated to compete on Dana White’s Contender Series this summer, Wright got the short notice call instead to fight Villanueva. With back-to-back victories, the 28-year-old is looking to return to the Octagon soon at his natural weight class of 185-pounds.
“I’d love to fight again soon, but we’ll we’ll see what the UFC wants to do,” Wright said. “I’ll fight anyone at 185-pounds. If the Anthony [Hernandez] fight comes up, that’d be cool. But you know, I remember we’d spoken before and the whole thing was you know, there is no opponent this and that. Well, I’ve matured a little bit from that, and my philosophy is still very much be ready for anybody. But I do take the opponent consideration these days, I, you know I’ve grown from that. But at the same time, I’m not one to just gun for this or gun for that, you know? I really want the belt, and I want to get more experience. I’ll fight whoever makes sense and whoever the UFC thinks makes sense.”
Watch the full interview with Jordan Wright above!
