Jamie Mullarkey desires more consistent upward movement in an Ultimate Fighting Championship lightweight division where one can easily get lost in the crowd.
As Mullarkey approaches his showdown with the mercurial Johnson at 155 pounds, here are five things you might not know about him:
1. Growing pains were few.
Mullarkey made his professional mixed martial arts debut as a 19-year-old and put away Luke Hume with first-round punches at Brace For War 23 on Oct. 26, 2013. He went on to win his first eight bouts, six of them before he turned 21, and established himself as one of the top prospects in Oceania.
2. He does not stick to the script.
The Central Coast, Australia, native holds the rank of black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu under Noah Magnus, though he only has three submission victories to credit. All three resulted in rear-naked chokes. Mullarkey has never been submitted in 19 career appearances.
3. He took a traditional route to the major leagues.
Mullarkey was a star on the Australian regional scene, where he won championships in the Brace For War, Urban Fight Night and Superfight MMA organizations. He struck gold for the first time in November 2015, when he dispatched Greg Criticos with a rear-naked choke and captured the Brace For War featherweight crown a little more than three minutes into the second round of their BFW 37 main event.
4. His first setback could not have aged better.
The Magnus MMA product fell from the ranks of the unbeaten when he encountered a future all-time great on March 19, 2016. Alexander Volkanovski punched out Mullarkey in the first round of their Australian Fighting Championship 15 co-feature and retained the AFC featherweight title. Volkanovski arrived in the UFC eight months later.
5. He keeps his machinery well-oiled.
Mullarkey now trains under “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 9 winner Ross Pearson at Central Coast MMA in Australia. He has also spent time honing his skills at City Kickboxing and Freestyle MMA, where he works alongside the aforementioned Volkanovski.