Harley Reid reveals surprise secret weapon after UFC Fight Week
An AFL sensation has spent the week with some of the world’s most dangerous men, letting slip a key element to his brand of footy.
They are images that might concern AFL fans who’d rather see the rising star wrapped in cotton wool between matches: West Coast Eagles’ teenage sensation Harley Reid getting physical with one of the country’s most dangerous fighters while promoting this weekend’s blockbuster UFC event.
But for Reid, whose footy this season has oozed physicality, MMA is already a weapon in his on-field arsenal.
“My uncle was a mixed martial arts teacher, actually, so last year I did a bit of jujitsu and little movements to try out in my game with tackling, breaking tackles, and the physicality bit to get away from opponents,” Reid, 19, told news.com.au after a UFC Open Workout Sessions in the lead-up to this weekend’s UFC 305 in Perth.
“I think I’ve been able to train that and try to bring that into the game.”
The young star took Friday’s opportunity to hit the pads with Australian UFC contender Steve Erceg.
Reid’s inaugural AFL season has coincided with, or perhaps inspired, a slight shift in West Coast’s fortune with the embattled Western Australian team, and 2023’s wooden spooners, able to so far secure five wins – the last two of which came on the trot against the Gold Coast Suns and North Melbourne Kangaroos.
UFC 305 LIVE FROM PERTH: DU PLESSIS VS ADESANYA | SUN 18 AUG 12PM AEST | Order Now with Main Event on Kayo Sports. Main Event on Kayo Sports and Foxtel is the exclusive home of UFC Pay-Per-View.
Reid will be lining up against Carlton at Optus Stadium while the star-studded UFC fixture takes place across town at RAC Arena on Sunday – an event Reid says he’ll be sad to miss.
A silver lining, however, is that the Eagles were able to host fighters during Fight Week, with Reid stating it’s been a two-way exchange of learning.
“We’re lucky enough to have the boys come into the club and watch them train, they’ve been using our facility too, so it’s been cool to get a get a football in their hand at times,” he said.
“(Israel Adesanya) has been pretty cool to watch, and he’s got so much aura about him.
“It’s so sick for us boys to sit back and watch him in the ring and move around.
“It’s been pretty exciting to watch the UFC boys, another professional sport, and see the way those guys go about it.”
Perth welcomes back UFC blockbuster
The UFC announced its return to Australia earlier this year, with the sport’s largest showcase returning to Perth for the second time in 18 months after the city fervently embraced UFC 284 early last year.
“After a record-breaking event in 2023, I can’t wait to bring another massive pay-per-view to Western Australia,” UFC chief executive Dana White said.
“Perth is a world-class city with some of the most passionate fight fans I’ve ever seen – UFC 305 is going to be incredible.”
UFC and the Western Australian Government announced a multiyear partnership earlier this year, with the peak MMA promotion pledging more frequent events in the WA capital.
A guaranteed blockbuster, This weekend’s UFC Middleweight Championship main event between the current champion Dricus du Plessis and former two-time champion Israel Adesanya will headline the event, marking the first time two African-born athletes meet for a title in the organisation.
Already, it’s been a heated affair.
Nigeria-born Adesanya has already vowed to “smoke” du Plessis with a “highlight reel knockout”.
“Dricus du Plessis is a guy who fights the way he fights, but he gets a lot of success, but it leaves him very vulnerable. When you fight a guy who is very precise and lethal like me, come on,” he told Stake earlier this week.
“I think he’s going to shoot straight away. I doubt he’ll want to strike with me for too long.
“This is something that people always say, but I’ve shown before that I can wrestle too.
“It might not be how everyone else wrestles, but I can wrestle too, that’s why I ended up becoming world champion.
“I will smoke Dricus du Plessis next week! I am a new man after my break.”
But du Plessis appears unfazed off the back of reports this week that Adesanya has been “punching harder than ever” in camp.
“I understand what Dan (Hooker) is trying to say, that Izzy is looking better than ever before,” he told Fox Sports Australia this week, in reaction to the Kiwi sparring partner’s claim.
“I’m really happy that is the case because I haven’t put in all this work that I have, haven’t put in all the time, to get a sub-par Israel Adesanya.”
“I haven’t come all this way to step in there with a rival who isn’t ready.
“I don’t want a watered-down Adesanya. I want the best one we’ve ever seen.”
In the co-main event, seventh-ranked Perth native Steve Erceg will fight New Zealand’s Kai Kara-France, ranked fourth, in a flyweight bout.
The fixture will showcase a suite of other Australian fighters, including Tai Tuivasa, Joshua Culibao, Casey O’Neill, Junior Tafa, Jack Jenkins, and Tom Nolan.
UFC 305 – Main Card – Sunday, August 18 (from 12pm AEST)
(c) Dricus du Plessis vs. Israel Adesanya – UFC Middleweight Championship
Kai Kara-France vs. Steve Erceg
Mateusz Gamrot vs. Dan Hooker
Tai Tuivasa vs. Jairzinho Rozenstruik
Li Jingliang vs. Carlos Prates
UFC 305 – Undercard
Junior Tafa vs. Valter Walker
Joshua Culibao vs. Ricardo Ramos
Casey O’Neill vs. Luana Santos
Stewart Nicoll vs. Jesus Aguilar
Song Kenan vs. Ricky Glenn
Jack Jenkins vs. Herbert Burns
Tom Nolan vs. Alex Reyes
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