‘I wouldn’t be here without him’: Aussie UFC fighter Kyle Noke about Crocodile Hunter Steve Irwin
BEFORE Kyle Noke became a regular name in the UFC, he had his hands full protecting the man known as the Crocodile Hunter.
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BEFORE Kyle Noke became a regular name in the UFC, he had his hands full protecting the man known as the Crocodile Hunter.
Ahead of Sunday’s Octagon appearance at UFC Fight Night 65 in Adelaide, Noke caught up with News.com to reminisce about the late Steve Irwin, the man he attributes for much of his success.
Noke travelled around the world as Irwin’s bodyguard for several years and they quickly formed a friendship through their love of MMA.
They regularly duked it out in a cage Irwin built at his Australia Zoo complex.
Irwin passed away in 2006 after being pierced in the chest by a stingray barb while filming an underwater documentary.
“Steve loved MMA so much that he wanted someone else to come out and work for him. So basically he gave me a job interview for security, to be his personal bodyguard ... but all he wanted was someone to train with,” Noke said.
“Part of my job was to look after him, his wife and the kids. but another part is to be his sparing partner. I was fortunate enough to work with him and he opened up my world and I wouldn’t be here without him.”
Noke said the job interview was a fairly swift affair.
“He had already seen some of my fights by then," he said.
“He just called me into his office and the first thing he said to me was you’ve got the job and let’s start talking about fighting. He said all right and I’ll see you tomorrow. Steve took me out catching crocodiles with him ... for two months at a time we were out bush camping. He taught me how to surf and paid for my surf trips to go to America when nobody else would.”
The Dubbo native trains at heralded American gym, Jackson‘s MMA, which includes a roster of UFC regulars including Carlos Condit, Travis Browne and former UFC light-heavyweight champion Jon Jones, who was recently stripped of his belt.
Jones is alleged to have fled the scene of a car accident which resulted in injuries to a pregnant female driver.
Noke was expected to face Japan’s Yoshihiro Akiyama in September last year but a knee injury forced him out. He’s slated to face Jonavin Webb on Sunday.
“The knee took a while to come back from but right now it’s feeling great and 100 per cent. I put it to the test at training in Albuquerque,” Noke said.
“It’s funny that I was training with Jonovin the day Joe Silva (matchmaker) called me. We were actually training together for the last three weeks before the fight was announced. We’re friends but it’s his opportunity to get into the UFC so I understand him taking the fight and I need the fight as well. We’re professionals and athletes ... we get in there and fight each other and when it’s done, we’ll be friends again. There’s no secret that I want to keep it standing.”
Noke made his professional MMA debut in 2002 and has fought to 20 wins from 28 fights.
He rose to prominence after appearing on the promotion’s flagship reality show, The Ultimate Fighter in 2010.
He suffered a loss to Canada’s Patrick Cote in his last UFC appearance in April, 2014.
Sunday’s Adelaide card includes a mainevent clash between Aussie slugger Mark Hunt and Stipe Miocic.
The event also includes Aussie fighters Anthony Perosh, Robert Whittaker, Jake Matthews, former Olympian Dan Kelly, Bec Rawlings and Alex Chambers.
Originally published as ‘I wouldn’t be here without him’: Aussie UFC fighter Kyle Noke about Crocodile Hunter Steve Irwin
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