Kaan Ofli believes he’s entering the prime of his career as the Aussie featherweight prepares to chase a third straight UFC victory against dangerous newcomer Javier Reyes this weekend.
After a bumpy start to his UFC run, the former brickie’s labourer from Melbourne has turned his fortunes around in impressive fashion, stringing together back-to-back victories to force his way into conversation in the talent-stacked 145-pound division.
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Now comes arguably his toughest test yet.
Ofli meets Reyes at UFC Fight Night in Baku, Azerbaijan, with the Colombian finisher arriving full of confidence after a spectacular first-round stoppage in his UFC debut earlier this year.
For Ofli, however, the timing couldn’t be better.
The 33-year-old former national champ says everything is clicking inside the cage.
“I feel like I’m in the best stage of my career, where everything is coming together,” he told Fox Sports Australia this week.
“I’m a father, so that’s definitely changed a lot in my personal life and my fighting life. And this is my 21st fight, so it’s all happening at the right time.”
After dropping his first two UFC appearances, Ofli reignited his career by submitting veteran Ricardo Ramos before backing it up with a solid decision victory over Yi Zha at UFC 325 in Sydney.
Now, with momentum behind him, the Aussie reckons another big performance could move him within spitting distance of the biggest featherweight names.
“I would say the featherweight division is the most exciting and the most stacked,” said Ofli.
“But the division is also opening up and I believe I’m only two performances away from really cracking the top 10 rankings and making my way up…
“So they’re all on the hit list…
“Anyone can get it.”
Of course, Australia’s own Alex Volkanovski sits atop the division, with the Windang warrior once again establishing himself as the man to beat at 145 pounds.
For Ofli, there is nobody he’d rather follow.
“We’ve trained together maybe three, four times now,” said Ofli.
“Volk is everyone’s idol in Australia – including mine.
“I’ve looked up to him and I respect him so much. Not only as a fighter, but as a father, as a role model for the sport.”
Before Ofli can start thinking about climbing into title contention, however, he must first take out the fiery Reyes.
“He’s got that Colombian blood-boiling personality,” said Ofli.
“He’s got a lot of finishes, he’s experienced – I would say he’s almost like a Colombian street brawler that’s made it big.
“I believe I’ve fought higher calibre opponents, though. I respect him. Everyone is talented at this level.”
While Ofli has built his reputation as a slick submission artist, he believes the biggest recent improvements in his game has come on the feet.
“I brought in a great boxing coach from Queensland for a couple weeks to Melbourne for this camp,”
“I’ve done individual sports before – wrestling, jiu jitsu, and kickboxing, but I’ve never actually done boxing as a sport in itself.
“I had a head of some pretty big breakthroughs with understanding some fundamental things, you know, that I may have missed when I was younger.”
And if Reyes underestimates that side of his game, Ofli believes he’ll pay the price.
Asked how Sunday’s fight will end, the Australian smiled.
“I believe Reyes is going to choose his fate,” he said.
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“I believe I can finish him standing up or on the ground, and if they dont happen, I believe that it will be a dominant performance.
“He’s going to choose his fate.”