Jake Hadley, who fights at UFC 286 tonight, once made a birthday wish as a nine-year-old to be a UFC fighter,
Flyweight prospect Hadley fulfilled his dream as a youngster last May when he made his UFC debut against Allan Nascimento in Las Vegas. The fight came after Hadley won his fight on Dana White’s Contender Series and the UFC boss broke his own rules by signing the Brummie having been told not to by his matchmakers.
Things didn’t go as planned for Hadley in his promotional debut as he was outpointed by Nascimento over three rounds, suffering his first professional defeat in the process. ‘White Rhino’ rebounded after the fight by tapping out Carlos Candelario last November and he now looks to pick up his second UFC win when he fights Malcolm Gordon on the undercard of Leon Edwards' welterweight title fight against Kamaru Usman at The O2 arena this Saturday.
