UFC 325’s Jamie Mullarkey found out he was fighting at the Sydney event on New Year’s Eve, of all occasions.
That said, Mullarkey (18-8) doesn’t see his match-up with Quillan Salkilld as short-notice per se, despite stepping in to replace Zhu Rong in the bout.
“Absolutely stoked to get it. I knew that there was three lightweight fights coming into this card. It’s a crazy sport, anything can happen, even the higher guys, if they get injured and they can get a short notice replacement, you’ve got to be ready to go,” Mullarkey noted during this week’s media day.
Mullarkey was “bummed” when he didn’t have a fight for the card initially, “but I was coming into camp with Volk [Alexander Volkanovski] guns blazing, just staying ready. The short notice, it’s four weeks, not even that short-notice, and I was training very hard. So it’s not really a short-notice fight for me.”
Against a fellow Australian in Salkilld who is red-hot, Mullarkey understands why many fight fans are overlooking him.
“I think everyone’s doubting me, everyone’s overlooking me, and that’s expected. I’m not upset about that,” he stated. “He’s coming in with a lot of hype, and he’s doing very well. He’s a dangerous fighter, but I’m just here to fight, man. I’m looking so forward to getting his his face and making this a fight. It’s a very winnable fight for me too. I believe I’m going to get my hand raised.”
Watch the full UFC 325 media day appearance by Jamie Mullarkey above.
