Sydney, Australia — The second of six debuting fighters to appear at UFC 312, welteweight Jonathan Micallef made the most of his opportunity, picking up a win at home over Kevin Jousset.
Australia’s Micallef (8-1) even came close to finish a finish in the opening round, though Jousset weathered the storm and took the bout to the scorecards. After the win over the more-experienced Jousset, Micallef reflected on the victory, and his journey to this point.
“This week’s been different to most, because obviously we’ve got the UFC going, first fight in the UFC. They just make everything so easy, so it’s been a really cruise-y week, it’s been nice.”
“The fight itself was hard-fought, definitely hard-fought but it was sort of what we were expecting,” he added. “In that first round, I knocked him down and almost had the finish, maybe I got a little too overzealous there. But it’s been a fantastic week, and what a way to top it off with a hard-fought fight.”
Micallef, just 25, admitted that things easily could have gone the other way had he let his defense slip. “He cracked me a few times with some good shots, but I was defensively sound thankfully. If one or two of those got through, it could have been real different. He’s a gamer. And that’s what we came into this fight expecting.”
Micallef had been expecting a war, and potentially a Fight of the Night bonus. That was as much about mental preparation as wanting the extra payday. “Like I said, be prepared for that, and you’re not surprised when it comes. And that’s exactly what happened tonight.”
Watch the full UFC 312 post-fight appearance by Jonathan Micallef above.
