“I woke up on the canvas and the fight had already started” - James Te Huna remembers first ever UFC fight in Australia

James Te Huna fought in the very first UFC fight ever held in Australia.

James Te Huna (R) remembers his wild first UFC fight against Igor Pokrajac (L). Picture: Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC/Getty Images

The moments he can remember from his UFC debut in Sydney in 2010 will stay with James Te Huna forever.

From his third round TKO win, to the excruciating pain in his badly broken left arm. Then there’s the moment he almost threw up on Joe Rogan.

Other moments have been erased from his memory thanks to a left hook that concussed him just seconds into his fight with Igor Pokrajac.

Te Huna has the distinction of fighting in – and winning – the very first UFC fight ever held in Australia at UFC 110.

It’s just a shame he can’t recall all of it.

“I remember walking out to the cage, then I woke up on the canvas and the fight had already started,” he tells this masthead 13 years later. “He gave me a left hook that knocked me to the ground and wiped out about 60 seconds of my memory.

“I was just like, ‘shit I’m in trouble here, I better start fighting back’.”

Te Huna (L) scored a huge comeback against Pokrajac. Picture: Mark Nolan/Zuffa/Getty Images)

Te Huna then snapped his left forearm blocking a head kick. It would’ve been enough to see other fighters tap out.

But Te Huna isn’t like most other fighters. He once popped his own dislocated shoulder back into place mid-fight. Then won.

So he soldiered on.

“My arm was snapped, displaced, but I ended up putting him on his back and used the same arm to finish the fight,” he says. “It was properly, properly broken, I had surgery the next morning to put it all back in place.

“After the fight, I’m about to throw up, because my body’s going into shock. My arm’s snapped, my body’s freaking out and then Joe Rogan walks up to me with a microphone.

“So, I’m dry-retching, and I actually throw up in my mouth then swallow it back down just before Joe Rogan hands me the mic.”

Te Huna lands a takedown despite having a badly broken left arm. Picture: Mark Nolan/Zuffa/Getty Images

One of Te Huna’s coaches, John Pedro, would’ve been watching proudly that day, hoping his own son would eventually make the same walk to the Octagon at least once.

He’s gone much better than that. Tyson Pedro will make his 10th UFC appearance this weekend when he fights Anton Turkalj.

Te Huna always knew Tyson would make it.

“Tyson would’ve been 11 or 12 and was competing in martial arts and was winning against much older kids,” Te Huna says. “We all knew that if he kept it up he’d be something special.

“We knew the path he was on, he was going to be successful.”

Tyson took a circuitous route to the UFC though. He went into the army and snapped his leg in half playing rugby, but always trained in martial arts.

“Towards the back end of his path in the army, I’d call him up and train with him, and this is while I was in the UFC,” Te Huna says. “He was so dedicated and determined, and I just got in his head – probably just one of a number of people who did – to just say he could really make it.

“We all just always had that belief in him.”

Tyson Pedro always showed massive potential. Picture: Alex Goodlett/Getty Images

Te Huna also knew of another young kid with plenty of talent and power in his fists back then.

Tai Tuivasa used to train at James’ brother, Tama’s gym in Penrith.

Was it obvious he could make it too?

Te Huna pauses.

“Well, Tai…he was on the other end of the spectrum,” he laughs. “When he was young, he wasn’t on a solid career path, he was just doing whatever he wanted to be honest.

“Tai would be down at the gym, and he just loved banter, loved being a clown.”

It took a lot of people to convince Tuivasa he could make a career out of knocking people out.

Tai Tuivasa fights Alexander Volkov this weekend. Picture: Mike Roach/Zuffa LLC

Like his mate Pedro, Tuivasa has gone above and beyond what anyone thought possible.

“My brother ended up getting Tai his first fight, and he did quite well,” Te Huna says. “My brother realised this kid’s got talent, so if we can just grab that, nurture it and grow it, he can get somewhere.“

Te Huna marvels at how far the sport has come since he made that first walk in 2010.

Pedro, Tuivasa, Alex Volkanovski, Israel Adesanya and Rob Whittaker are household names, with a couple of world titles between them and the love of a raucous crowd behind them.

UFC 293 sold out in under 15 minutes despite not having a main event booked when tickets went on sale.

Te Huna is a pioneer of the sport in Australia and New Zealand. Picture: Hannah Peters/Getty Images

But Tuivasa and Pedro will always hold a special place.

“Watching those two over the years, now they’re stars of the UFC, it’s pretty neat,” Te Huna says. “We’ve had that connection with them since they were kids.

“It’s good to see them up there now, learning from our mistakes and making their own decisions about what path they want to take.

“And just as an older person, you just throw a bit of praise, a bit of support and a bit of guidance when I can.”

Originally published as “I woke up on the canvas and the fight had already started” - James Te Huna remembers first ever UFC fight in Australia