Navajo Stirling is set for the biggest test of his career, booking a light heavyweight clash with Ion Cutelaba at UFC Fight Night 279 at the Meta APEX.
Stirling enters the matchup undefeated at 9-0 in MMA and 4-0 in the UFC. The New Zealander is coming off a second-round stoppage of Bruno Lopes in March, while Cutelaba brings a wealth of experience with a 20-11-1 MMA record and 9-10-1 mark inside the Octagon.
Confident in his rise, Stirling laid out exactly what he wants to prove next, saying his goal is to show "That I'm the best up-and-comer at light heavyweight," and added, "No one looks like me, no one fights like me, no one moves like me, or makes the decisions I do. I don't make poor decisions in the cage. We see it all the time you know? Like, 'What is this guy thinking?' But I feel like I fight very smart."
Breaking down his approach, Stirling said, "I'm able to match the intensity of the pacing of a fight – is something I always look at. Is this guy shooting a lot? Is he trying to grapple? Is he trying to move back? Is he trying to move forward? All those things are being processed in my mind. I'm like a robot in there or AI in there, you know? Just dissecting it down. I think I've got this guy's number. It all doesn't matter until we get in there. Things could go horribly wrong too, so I'm prepared for that."
