Themba Gorimbo vs. Jonathan Micallef

Round 1
Micallef (9-1; 2-0 UFC) looks to keep his Octagon record spotless against Gorimbo (14-6; 4-3 UFC), who is tasked with snapping the first losing streak of his career in hostile territory. Lukas Bosacki draws the referee assignment. Micallef is southpaw, Gorimbo orthodox, and both men reach out with awkward rear-hand punches in the opening moments. Gorimbo closes the distance and shoves Micallef to the fence. They pummel for position briefly, then disengage and return to the center of the cage. Gorimbo clocks Micallef with a right hand in the pocket, but can’t follow it with anything of consequence. Micallef lands a good left hand of his own, then eats another hard right from Gorimbo. Micallef connects with a pair of punches upstairs and Gorimbo clinches. They fight for underhooks against the fence. Two minutes to go in the round and it’s Micallef on the outside, shoving Gorimbo into the cage. Gorimbo reverses the position. They exchange knees inside. Micallef hits a lovely foot sweep and dumps Gorimbo to the canvas. Micallef is in Gorimbo’s full guard, then postures up and drops a couple of hard punches. Gorimbo starts to pop up, but Micallef drives him back to the ground and threatens to take his back. Gorimbo stands, giving up his back briefly, but spins out of it and returns to his feet. They collide in the pocket and the round ends. 10-9 Micallef.

Round 2
Gorimbo comes forward swinging big, but the punches glance off of Micallef’s guard. He throws another salvo of punches and several of them connect. He closes the distance and grabs a body lock, dragging Micallef to his knees, but the Australian pops right back up. Gorimbo drives Micallef to the fence, keeping the body lock, but Micallef shucks him off and grabs a single-leg. He looks about to finish the takedown, but falls back off-balance with Gorimbo on top. Gorimbo is in Micallef’s full guard, and as he looks to pass, Micallef throws his legs up for a triangle choke. He can’t secure it, and Gorimbo is very close to passing his guard against the fence. Micallef kicks Gorimbo all the way off of him, but Gorimbo dives straight back into guard. Micallef controls Gorimbo’s wrists and tries another triangle setup. Gorimbo sniffs it out easily and passes Micallef’s guard, then takes his back in a flash. There’s a full minute left as Gorimbo cinches up a body triangle from back mount. Micallef fights off Gorimbo’s initial attempts at a choke, then squirms and, Anthony Pettis-like, spins all the way out of back mount into guard. Micallef gets in a couple of punches right before the horn. 10-9 Gorimbo.

Round 3
Gorimbo just touches with a right high kick, and Micallef answers with a right hand. Gorimbo is active with the kicks early, tagging Micallef’s lead leg. Micallef throws a right kick to the body and Gorimbo catches the kick, then counters with a right hand up top. Gorimbo times Micallef’s next kick and plows him to the canvas. They pop back up seconds later and Gorimbo drives Micallef to the fence. Micallef reverses the position. They separate and go back to kickboxing, and Gorimbo immediately goes back to work with low kicks. Micallef answers with a few kicks of his own, but seems to be trying to measure his man for a counterpunch. Micallef gets the better of a boxing exchange, and Gorimbo changes levels for a single-leg attempt. He holds onto the leg and shoves Micallef to the fence, but Micallef extricates the leg and nails Gorimbo with a pair of punches. Gorimbo suddenly looks very tired. Micallef lights him up with a three-piece. Gorimbo has slowed but is still very much in the fight, blasting Micallef’s lead right leg with another calf kick. Micallef throws a spinning backfist that lands cleanly. Under 30 seconds left and Micallef surges forward with spinning attacks and a series of big punches, trying for the last-second finish, but nothing of consequence lands. The horn sounds, and it should be his fight anyway, on our scorecard at least. 10-9 Micallef (29-28 Micallef).

The Official Result
Jonathan Micallef def. Themba Gorimbo via Split Decision (29-28, 29-28, 28-29)

Oban Elliott vs. Jonathan Micallef
BETTING PREVIEW | SCOUTING REPORT | ODDS: Micallef (-135), Elliott (+114)

Round 1
Of the 10 fights the UFC designates as UFC 325, two of them do not feature an athlete from Oceania. This is not one of those, as locals have another man in the cage to get excited about in the form of Micallef (8-1, 1-0 UFC). He collides in a classic matchup of Australia vs. Wales as he locks horns with Elliott (12-3, 3-1 UFC). The welterweights get right after it while referee Marc Goddard keeps tabs on the action.
Micallef leads off with a few kicks, and one to the midsection gets caught as Elliott slings him right down to the mat and climbs on top. Micallef scoots his way to the fence and walks up it with his face aimed towards the audience, and Elliott slugs him upside the head a few times until Micallef breaks off. Elliott intercepts his opponent with a chopping kick that sweeps him off his feet, and when Micallef gets up, he takes a power jab on the jaw. Micallef lunges recklessly, landing a front kick but nearly falling over while doing so. Elliott shrugs it off and corners Micallef, clubbing him with his fists until Micallef peels out and resets. Elliott stings Micallef with a short combination, and he whips a kick at the Aussie’s head that is blocked in time. Elliott kicks low, and Micallef is unable to get out of first gear. Both fighters miss on big hooks, and Elliott uses a second to set up an ankle pick takedown that does not materialize.
The clashing men clinch up, and when they split, Micallef drills Elliott in the temple with a right hand that sets him down. The Welshman climbs back up, and he watches Micallef load up wildly and sees the punches soar past him. Micallef offers out a one-two, and he is met with an intercepting jab. Elliott beats his man to the punch, opening a cut on Micallef’s right eye with his faster swings. Micallef lumbers forward, loading up so much that he crashes into the cage looking quite silly. Elliott does not make him pay for it, so Micallef circles around and wipes the wound that is leaking a bit. Micallef manages to get his hands on Elliott, wrapping him up and leaning on him against the fence. Elliott escapes and dodges an elbow, and he plants his left hand on the bloody face of the Aussie. Elliott further targets it before the bell.

Sherdog Scores
Jay Pettry scores the round: 10-9 Elliott
Brian Knapp scores the round: 10-9 Elliott
Tyler Treese scores the round: 10-9 Elliott

Round 2
Elliott rushes out to start the round, where he is met with a front kick to his breadbasket. Micallef looks to establish his jab, and he guards against a high kick when pressing forward. Elliott’s boxing is crisp and quick, allowing him to beat the wide-swinging Micallef to the punch. Micallef swarms forward but misses the mark with his lobbed arms, and Elliott opens the cut up again on the side of Micallef’s eye. Elliott strings a few punches together, not getting too greedy and backing off when he sees the counter coming. Micallef winds up on his punches, allowing Elliott to see many of them coming. The Welshman slams a kick on the lead leg, and his guard is able to defend the responsive head kick. Micallef catches him coming forward with a right hand, and Elliott gets frustrated and lashes out with a storm of reaching punches.
Micallef takes them flush and bounces off the wall behind him, letting Elliott come to him so he can wrap him up and go for a level change. The body lock takedown from Micallef is successful in wresting “The Welsh Gangster” to the floor, and he is quick to set up a rear-naked choke while lacing both hooks in. Micallef slithers his arm beneath the chin in a slightly unorthodox position, and Elliott fights the hands and releases slack in his arms in hopes of loosening the grip.
Seeing this is a poor decision, Elliott frantically attacks the choke grip, but it is now fully secured and squeezing the carotid artery as tight as one can. Elliott’s defensive gestures fall away as his limbs go limp, losing consciousness as Goddard quickly identifies—and measures his resistance by lifting the lifeless arms—the submission has reached its completion.
Snatching victory from the jaws of defeat thanks to one perfectly timed takedown, the Australian adds another win on the board for home-country athletes with a technical submission of a man in Elliott who had never been submitted. There’s a first time for everything, as “The Captain” declares that he is the captain now.

The Official Result
Jonathan Micallef def. Oban Elliott R2 3:31 via Technical Submission (Rear-Naked Choke)

Kevin Jousset vs. Jonathan Micallef
BETTING PREVIEW | SCOUTING REPORT | ODDS: Jousset (-258), Micallef (+210)

Round 1
Moving right along, Australia hopes to keep its momentum going against a regional rival in New Zealand. Micallef (7-1, 0-0 UFC) springboarded into the organization thanks to a stellar showing on the Contender Series, while Jousset (10-3, 2-1 UFC) made his way here by winning on the same fight card—Hex Fight Series 26 in 2023—as his opponent did. Having swam in the same circles early on, they will come to blows in the former’s promotional debut. For the second fight of the night, referee Rich Mitchell draws the charge, clocking the welterweights in as they bump fists. The fighters immediately start out whipping kicks at one another, with Micallef starting first and eating one right back. Micallef steps in with a left hand, and he follows it by bashing Jousset in the ribs with his shin. Micallef circles and goes high with a kick, stumbling and drawing back to his feet before Jousset can get to him. Jousset picks his shots with kicks to varied targets, while Micallef is chambering and launching heavier blows. Jousset digs a kick under the guard, and he backs off but still eats a leg kick before getting away. Jousset jabs a kick forward, absorbs a body kick and follows with an overhand right. Micallef sneaks a leg over the top and connects to the body again with a kick, and he briefly thinks about clinching but backs off to reset instead. Micallef walks into a sharp jab, and a few more from the City Kickboxing fighter produce some swelling under Micallef’s right eye. They go after one another to the ribs with additional kicks, putting a lot into them as they smack into one another with heavy impact. Micallef gets one in low and it slides up to bump the cup, but Jousset waves him off to keep kicking. Jousset chips away from his preferred distance, and Micallef bears down on him to get tied up in a clinch. A few sharp uppercuts and an elbow force the break for “Air Jousset,” who then backs away to measure his target with accurate kicks. Micallef kicks low and then whips one up high that beans Jousset in the temple. Jousset goes down in a heap, but he is still with it and shakes out the cobwebs before Micallef can finish the job. Jousset climbs up to dodge another sweeping head kick, motioning that the blow was extremely close to landing. Jousset walks through a few more body kicks, but they are having an impact as he follows Micallef around. Both men score right hands, and they wrap their shins beneath one another’s guard. The ribcage of Jousset is looked especially marked up as the round closes.

Sherdog Scores
Jay Pettry scores the round: 10-9 Micallef
Ben Duffy scores the round: 10-9 Micallef
Devin Tejada scores the round: 10-9 Micallef

Round 2
The fighters bump fists before picking up right where they left off. Micallef leads the dance with a left hand, and Jousset pays him back almost immediately in kind. Micallef slides on the outside to evade Jousset’s kicks while responding with some, but a quick head kick from Jousset gets blocked in the nick of time. They both fade back to sway and dodge punches, and their kicks have a much higher accuracy rate. Micallef kicks so hard, the impact on the rib echoes through the arena as fans go “ooh.” Jousset chips back with kicks, but power is not on his side as Micallef is turning his hips into these audible blows. Micallef strafes back and forth to disrupt Jousset’s movement, keeping his guard up to defend the high kick that inevitably comes. Micallef goes up high again, and Jousset breathes a sigh of relief that he could guard against it. Micallef swipes left hands over the top, chaining punches into kicks while staying wise to potential counters. Jousset manages to catch him with a left hand every so often, but the volume and damage are both tilted to the unbeaten fighter’s side. Jousset slams a kick into the raised guard, chasing Micallef around and pawing at him with jabs. When Jousset tries a head kick, Micallef protects himself and retaliates appropriately. Micallef sneaks a kick above the guard again, and Jousset’s eyes go wide as the crowd grows in support of their Aussie. They batter the body once more in rapid succession, with pops so loud that Mitchell smiles when hearing a heavy impact. The two trade punches and kicks while standing directly in front of one another, with Micallef beating Jousset to the punch just enough to matter. Another big head kick from Micallef dings Jousset at the bell.

Sherdog Scores
Jay Pettry scores the round: 10-9 Micallef
Ben Duffy scores the round: 10-9 Micallef
Devin Tejada scores the round: 10-9 Micallef

Round 3
A final glove touch gets things going after 10 minutes of kickfighting, and they decide to do more of that. They take turns kicking at one another, with the fighters seemingly trying to outdo the other they slug it out. Micallef strafes from one side to the other to deliver a payload of a booming kick to the liver. Micallef keeps chewing up the body with successful kicks, not letting Jousset get his tempo for much more than a counter or a long pair of punches. Micallef shrugs off jabs so he can continue welting up Jousset’s sides with kicks, and he even lets Jousset kick him to open up responses. Jousset gets irritated by an exchange and walks forward with dangerous intent, tagging Micallef with lunging punches and cutting Micallef off when trying to escape. Jousset stands in the pocket too long, eating a trio of punches before Micallef can back off to reset. Micallef strides forward, kicking, punching and kicking again, and Jousset keeps his feet planted when not hurling kicks right back. Micallef doubles up on a jab to loose a head kick, and it skims the side of the dome but does not shake “Air Jousset” up. Jousset instead bites down on his gumshield and slings vicious leather, opening up a cut on the bridge of Micallef’s nose while swinging with bad intentions. Micallef circles to his right, away from the power, but not far enough away to avoid big kicks. Fans appreciate the hard work these two have put in so far, rewarding the fighters with big cheers, and the competitors show their gratitude by banging it out. Micallef kicks Jousset square in the noggin, and the City Kickboxing fighter does not bat an eye and instead is right there to throw back harder. They display inaccurate head kicks until reaching the final horn, leaving most of it in the cage after three violent rounds.

Sherdog Scores
Jay Pettry scores the round: 10-9 Jousset (29-28 Micallef)
Ben Duffy scores the round: 10-9 Jousset (29-28 Micallef)
Devin Tejada scores the round: 10-9 Jousset (29-28 Micallef)

The Official Result
Jonathan Micallef def. Kevin Jousset via Unanimous Decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)