When It All Goes Wrong: Jordan Vucenic Gunning For Second Chance To Make A First Impression In UFC Lightweight Division

It’s not difficult to see how Jordan Vucenic became a star on the European MMA stage. Upon first glance, you’ll notice he’s dowsed in ink from head to toe. The second impression comes when you see him bring London’s O2 Indigo to its feet with a raucous chorus from Chase & Status’ All Goes Wrong.

More significantly, when the bell sounds, “The Epidemic’s” body of work has made him one of the most exciting, dynamic features of the Cage Warriors brand – which he proved once more last weekend at Cage Warriors 203 – it seemed inevitable the Corby man would end up on the UFC’s roster.

However, the run that culminated in him reaching the world’s stage provided him all the confidence in the world. One way of putting it is that Vucenic had too much confidence. Iconic European clashes with Irish superstar Paul Hughes and French standout Morgan Charriere, as well as a four-fight winning streak, took him to the UFC feeling weightless.

That same energy felt a gravitational pull with a unanimous decision defeat to Guram Kutateladze in his debut, before crashing down to earth via a submission loss against Chris Duncan. But in those defeats, Vucenic believes he’s reappeared a humbler, more centred battler.

“I think I was too cocky [entering the UFC]. I thought I was better than I was. I was looking forward rather than focusing on where I was. I was literally thinking, ‘I’m gonna get in the top 15,” he said.

“I was looking at guys like Mauricio Ruffy thinking, ‘I’m gonna fight him soon. I was looking too far ahead and I kind of looked past Chris Duncan. I just made absolute dumb decisions. And then I shot head first into a guillotine against Duncan, and that was that. But I’ve matured, and that’s the key for moving forward.”

The old superstition suggests that if there are unfortunate circumstances, they usually come in threes. After two UFC defeats, a third situation revealed itself. The former Cage Warriors featherweight champion picked up the phone one day expecting one more chance in the Octagon, only to discover through his manager that he was no longer a rostered fighter. He’d been cut, his time for now, at least, was over. Seven years of work and it was back to the drawing board all over again.

For some fighters, getting cut from the UFC is enough to jack it all in. They’d gotten there once and at least they could hold their head high and say they’d done it. But to work your way back to somewhere that once ended on negative terms takes a certain kind of intestinal fortitude. Both in and out of the meshed battleground, Vucenic has seen his fair share of adversity in his life.

As a young child his father committed suicide at the top of the stairs in the family home. Three months later, his older brother was struck by a motorcycle, dying on impact, at just seven years old. The 30-year-old doesn’t have a great recollection of those times, but he remembers the impact. He remembers what it did to his home and to his mother.

As far as getting cut by the UFC, it doesn’t even register on the scale of what he’s overcome in his life.

“I was raised by a single mum who was a bit crazy from going through all that. I got kicked out for being bad and lived in a place where people were partying all the time around me. But I’ve seen others who’ve had it even worse,” Vucenic said.

“I know what it’s like to be down and I know how to get over the hump. I remember losing to Paul Hughes in what many called the biggest Cage Warriors fight ever. If you go to the weddings, you go to the funerals. You take the good with the bad. Getting cut by the UFC doesn’t factor into it. It was a gut punch, yeah, but I know how to come back.”

For many, returning to the regional scene after a UFC run is all about getting back to being a signed athlete as quickly as possible. In the UK, March is usually a good time to emphasise that plan. The yearly showcase of UFC London is routinely marked the night before inside the Indigo by a Cage Warriors card packed with future stars.

You’d be remiss to think, as a fighter, not to put your best possible performance on in the hopes that the right people are watching when the UFC is right next door the next night. But not Vucenic. In fact, he’s adamant that there was an iota of thought given to it.

Instead, he refused to be distracted by the man who stood in front of him, Daniel Konrad. The Swiss strangler had previously submitted Aiden Lee and former Cage Warriors lightweight king George Hardwick, so this was no tune-up fight for Vucenic. This was the real deal. He didn’t even see the newly-minted divisional king Omiel Brown sitting directly next to the prep point when his euphoric walkout was under way.

That night, Vucenic downed Konrad with a tremendous two-piece combination before finishing the job with strikes on the canvas in just 91 seconds to go 2-0 since strapping up the famed yellow gloves once more. He dropped to his knees, found the camera and told the UFC that he’s coming. In his mind, it doesn’t matter how near or far away that may be, it’s just a matter of time. But above all, this run matters most.

Just as his walkout to Chase & Status states, he’s proven that through the fire he’ll keep on burning on. And he’ll keep himself together when it all goes wrong.

“I just said ‘UFC, I’m coming.’ Whether it’s next or later, it doesn’t matter. I’ll be back there,” Vucenic asserted.

“This time, the stakes are higher. If I get back to the UFC and I lose, that is it. Forever. That’s the pressure. It has to work, so I am just lazer-focused on what I need to do. I’m not shying away from any aspect of the game. I have to make this run count.”