Melbourne-based UFC fighters Jake Matthews, Dan Kelly and Vic Grujic desperate to compete in home-town event

THREE Melburnians have the lure of a blockbuster UFC fight night in their home town to aim at when they compete in Adelaide this weekend.

Melbourne's Jake Matthews 20yrs is the youngest UFC fighter in the world.. He wants to fight in Melbourne and may do so if the new state government overturn a state cage fighting ban.Picture:Ian Currie

FIFTY-THOUSAND fight fans packed into Etihad Stadium.

A blockbuster card lined with global stars of the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

It’s what dreams are made of. And that’s why Melburnians Jake Matthews, Dan Kelly and Vik Grujic are preparing for the biggest bouts of their careers this weekend.

The rising MMA trio know they must perform at UFC Fight Night in Adelaide to lock down a spot on a historic card in Melbourne in November.

“To be on the card for the first UFC in Melbourne, I’ll be doing everything I can to make sure I’m there,” former judo Olympian Kelly said ahead of his fight with American Sam Alvey.

“I’ve got to win, 100 per cent. The UFC is cutthroat and my last UFC match-up wasn’t a crowd-pleasing performance, so I need to put in a good performance to make sure that I get on the Melbourne card, but also keep my career in the UFC going.”

Matthews, of Epping, added: “It’s great to fight in Sydney and Adelaide but there will be nothing like fighting in your home town, in packed stadium and in front of my friends and family.

“I’m on the main card so I don’t want to be going backwards, I want to be going forwards and I’ll do everything I can to win this fight.

“It’s definitely going to be an event.”

Cancer survivor Grujic, who hails from Broadmeadows, has fought in Chicago and Canada but his true dream is to ensure he is at Etihad Stadium.

Vik Grujic is determined to fight in his home town of Melbourne.

“It’s on my mind, 100 per cent, and that’s why I want to go out there and dominate this fight and win in emphatic fashion,” Grujic said.

“And I don’t want to wait until November either, I want to get another fight in the States in that period, so I definitely want to earn my spot on that card.

“I want to be the hometown hero.”

All three fighters are taking a “step up” in Adelaide.

Kelly, 9-0, faces 28-year-old Milwaukee veteran Sam Alvey, who trains at Dan Henderson’s Athletic Fitness Center.

“It’s a very big test. He’s very experienced and ranked top 30 in the world, he’s coming off a really good win in Brazil, so it’s going to be a hard one,” Kelly said.

“He’s only been finished once in his career and he’s never been stopped by a strike.

“But I’ve been working hard and improving in each fight, so I think it will be a lot harder than he thinks it’s going to be, put it that way.

“We’ve got a good game plan and he hasn’t got anything that’s different or surprising. He hits hard, he’s got good timing with his strikes and he can take a lot of punishment and it’s all well good and well to train I train with Dan Henderson and he’s an Olympic-level wrestler but at the same time I’ve got good take-downs as well.”

Matthews also faces a formidable opponent — “The Texecutioner” James Vick (7-0) — but the 20-year-old “Celtic Kid” remains unfazed.

“I’m just better in all aspects. I guarantee he doesn’t want to go to the ground with me,” Matthews said.

“I’m comfortable wherever the fight goes. I know he’s got a boxing background but it’s going to be hard to box when he’s flat on his back on the ground and I’m got him wrapped up.

“I’ll be taking him down at will.”

Grujic meets former Ultimate Fighter Nations: Canada-Australia teammate Brendan O’Reilly (5-1-1).

O’Reilly, of Brisbane, is coming off a loss to China’s Zhang Lipeng at UFC Fight Night in August.

Originally published as Melbourne-based UFC fighters Jake Matthews, Dan Kelly and Vic Grujic desperate to compete in home-town event