Rock and roll outside the cage and a symphony of violence inside it, Tommy ‘Gun’ McMillen hit all the right notes at UFC Noche – and is happy to keep playing games with his rivals.
The American – all pop culture tattoos, ‘yo, bro’, and a 145lbs of attitude – could be straight out of central casting for the upcoming Grand Theft Auto VI, which would suit the 28-year-old just fine, especially as he has some GTA-inspired ink. So, having covered his debut in this column in April… ‘Ah s***, here we go again’.
McMillen extended his MMA record to 12-0 against Marwan Rahiki in a fight-of-the-year contender in Glendale, Arizona, picking up his third win in the UFC alongside his third bonus cheque.
The charismatic featherweight earned every penny as he got off the canvas in the first round to win a pulsating back-and-forth contest by decision and hand Aussie Rahiki his first loss.
Despite another bruising fight, ‘Gun’ is, fittingly, a straight shooter and game as hell, having won another banger against Alberto Montes in July.
He said: “I have taken out a f****** upcoming prospect [Rahiki], undefeated, bro, got all of his wins by knockout. He had a 100% finish rate, you know?
“And I go in there and I take those kinds of fights. I’m the f****** people’s champ, bro. Love or hate me, I give the people what they pay for.
“Who else is going out there and breaking records [most significant strikes landed in a three-round UFC bout, 252 against Montes], cashing 100k bonuses, and then turning around seven weeks later to go fight a dude with a 100% finish rate? Show me another kid willing to do that, bro. I’m that f****** kid – I like to fight.
“And I had the time of my life… I’m just on a different level and I’m writing the script right now.
“This is my f****** movie. I’m a f****** real life Grand Theft Auto player. I’m playing a video game, bro, and everybody’s in my world.
“They are calling me out. This is my f****** game right now. I’m running laps around these kids.”
To reinforce his bad boy GTA credentials, McMillen, who got into a heated exchange with Rahiki and his team at the fighter hotel in the build-up, gave the middle finger to his opponent’s coach as he pounded on the Aussie late on.
He added: “I was on top of Marwan, beating him up, and I looked over at his coach sitting right there.
“I’m going to try to be nice, but f*** that dude, so I flipped him off while kneeing his guy in the ribs right in front of him. I had fun, bro. I got my get back on them. Don’t ever f*** with me, bro. I’m going to have the last laugh every time.”
UP NEXT: UFC 331, Sunday, 2am. Joshua Van puts his flyweight crown on the line against the man he won it from, Alexandre Pantoja, in LA.
MONEY MATCH: Brazilian Pantoja (21/20) suffered a freak arm injury in their first fight and can regain his world title. Odds and full UFC betting available at boylesports.com
FINAL SAY: “I’ve now made the decision to vacate the heavyweight title. I’ve asked the UFC to allow me to make this statement because I don’t want to hold the division up. I know what it’s like to have your career put on hold and I want the other fighters to have the opportunity to compete for the title… I’m not done.” Tom Aspinall’s return from an eye injury suffers a setback, with his pending comeback now postponed.