Las Vegas, NV — “It’s been a crazy week,” Jamie Mullarkey said of his recent stay in Vegas.
He’s not kidding. Mullarkey made the journey from Australia to compete at UFC 260, where he’ll take on Khama Worthy — only to have it almost fall through at the last minute. Luckily, his bout remains on the card, but Alexander Volkanovski, who made the trip with him, wasn’t so lucky. A COVID-19 test was to blame; Mullarkey gets to remain only after passing additional testing.
“It’s a little bit bittersweet,” he noted during Wednesday’s media day. “Alex Volkanovski trained really hard for this fight. Coming over here together, seeing him getting his shot taken away like that, it sucks. I’m just thanking my lucky stars it wasn’t me and I’m still able to compete this weekend.”
Volkanovski was in the co-main event, against Brian Ortega. While that fight is no more, Mullarkey vs. Worthy remains on the main card. Preparation for the fight, luckily, went smoothy, even if fight week didn’t. “We’re very lucky over in Australia. We’re lucky over where I’m from, we’ve got it pretty down pat. Everything was as normal, we’re just training like a normal training camp.”
Mullarkey (12-4) is looking to bounce back from losses in his first two UFC bouts. “It’s all part of the journey,” he stated, although the 26-year old also intends to be master of his own fate. “I’m definitely not leaving this to the judges anymore. I never do, I never like leaving it to the judges, but that last fight, it’s left a bad taste in my mouth.”
Jamie Mullarkey takes on Khama Worthy at UFC 260 on Saturday, March 27 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada. You can view his full media day scrum above.
