Tommy McMillen still doesn't belong to the ranking weight pen, just adds two fights within UFC and this Saturday will face another undefeated prospect. However, its name begins to appear more and more when it speaks about the future of the 145 pounds.
There are sports reasons for this.
McMillen has 28 years, arrives at night UFC with a perfect professional record of 11-0 and has finished ten of those eleven victories: five for KO/TKO and five by submission.
But to reduce the phenomenon to its record alone would be to stay quite short.
"Tommy Gun" is making noise because it has several features that UFC He has been searching for years in his new stars: he wins, ends, fights aggressively, has personality and seems perfectly willing to say things that generate conversation.
His story also begins in the struggle.
McMillen started practicing wrestling being practically a child and twice as Montana state champion during his high school stage. Over the years he added boxing, jiu-jitsu and the other tools needed to turn that base into a much more complete style.
Interestingly, its current version does not look too much like the stereotype of wrestler that looks for a downing and controls from above.
McMillen wants to fight.
He has five victories for submission, but also five for submission KO. It presses, accepts exchanges and relies heavily on its resistance. Its down defense is also being an important tool, because it allows it to keep the fights where it wants without constantly becoming the one who starts the grappling.
That balance explains much of its appeal.
It can end up on the ground, but it doesn't seem to have ningan interest in spending fifteen minutes looking for positional control if you can turn combat into war.
And his last performance ended up shooting his name.
In front of Alberto Montes got the TKO in the third round after connecting 252 significant blows, setting a record of UFC for a three-round fight.
It wasn't just another victory.
It was a demonstration of volume, cardio and aggressiveness that confirmed that McMillen could maintain his style when the fight was over the first few minutes.
Your debut He had also finished before the deadline. In April he knocked out Manolo Zecchini in the first round.
Two fights in UFC.
Two endings.
Two Bonuses for Performance of the Night.
That explains why UFC He's decided to put it on the main night sign now UFC.
And that position has generated controversy.
McMillen is not Mexican or Latino and Noche UFC was born as a celebration especially linked to Mexico and the Hispanic public. That a fighter with only two appearances in the company takes a prominent place while Mexican names appear in the preliminaries has not been good for everyone.
Edgar Chairez, for example, has publicly shown his dissatisfaction with the cartel order.
But from the point of view of UFC it is easy to understand the bet.
McMillen generates conversation.
His personality is provocative, he openly speaks of his taste for parties and a lifestyle quite far from the disciplined image that many professional sportsmen often project. He also trains in Arizona with Tim’s surroundings Welch And Sean O'Malley, with whom he even came to live.
And he's not too afraid to set huge targets.
McMillen has already spoken of Alexander Volkanovski.
He has also offered to act as a substitute for the fighting between Volkanovski and Movsar Evloev in UFC 333 and considers that it has tools to compete with any of the great pen weight names.
It's early.
Too soon, probably.
Two wins within UFC do not automatically make anyone a candidate for the belt.
But that trust is part of the character he's building.
This Saturday you will have a pretty good opportunity to show how much character and how much reality there is.
Your rival will be Marwan Rahiki.
And the matchmaking is excellent.
McMillen arrives 11-0.
Rahiki arrives 9-0.
They both won their two fights inside UFC And none of them know defeat as a professional yet.
In addition, the tension between the two has already abandoned the interviews.
During the night week UFC They were in a match at the hotel of the fighters who ended up with pushes and security members separating them.
It doesn't look like UFC I'm gonna need too much effort to sell this fight.
Deportively, moreover, it's exactly the combat McMillen needs.
So far he has shown that he can dominate and finish. Rahiki should force him to answer new questions to a young, undefeated rival and that he also does not come simply to serve as a step.
A strong victory would change his position quite a bit.
It would go from an entertaining prospect with two victories in UFC to a 12-0 with three consecutive wins within the company. In a division where Volkanovski and Evloev are about to solve the immediate future of the belt, starting to build new names is especially interesting.
McMillen is still far from that fight.
But UFC seems to have detected something.
That's why it's on the main billboard for one of the most particular events of the year.
That's why he gets exposure.
And that's why every time he talks headlines appear.
Now you need to show that noise is not growing faster than your sports level.
So far, he's done exactly the opposite: every time he UFC He's put a new test ahead, he's finished winning and finishing.
This Saturday against Marwan Rahiki arrives next.
Two undefeated will enter the cage.
And one of them will be out at night UFC with much of the hype that now belongs to both.