Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you probably know by now that UFC 312 is set to take place in Australia.
That’s right, the world’s premier MMA competition is heading Down Under, with Sydney’s Qudos Bank Arena set to host Dana White’s latest fiesta of flying fists and feet.
The green and gold-tinged location of UFC 312 naturally means there will be an increase of local representation scattered across the card.
There are no less than seven different Aussies fighting at UFC 312 across both the main card and the prelims.
To help shine a light on these up-and-coming homegrown heroes, we’re going to take a closer look at every Aussie fighting at UFC 312.
Jimmy Crute
The first cab of the rank here is Jimmy “the Brute” Crute. A versatile light heavyweight, Jimmy is comfortable on the feet and on the floor.
Crute has built himself a tidying little resume in the promotion with a current record of 12-4-1.
It looked as though he was considering retirement after a tough recent run, with three losses and a draw in his last four scraps, but like most Aussies, it seems nothing can keep this bloke down.
He’s back for more and will fight Rodolfo Bellato on the main card at UFC 312 in what should be a must watch match.
Jake Matthews
The other Aussie fighting on the main card at UFC 312 is 30-year-old welterweight Jake Matthews.
Known as “the Celtic Kid” Matthews is no longer a kid and has amassed 27 fights in the UFC.
His record currently stands at 20-7-0 and he’ll be hoping to add another plus to the win column when he faces skilled Argentine Francisco Prado at UFC 312.
Justin Tafa
Technically not an Aussie, but we’re claiming him anyway, Kiwi heavyweight Justin Tafa will also feature on the UFC 312 main card.
Fighting out of Brisbane, he’s like the Russell Crowe of MMA, technically from New Zealand, but adored by Aussies.
Thankfully, that’s where the similarities to Crowe end. Don’t let the special effects of Gladiator fool you, Rusty wouldn’t last a round in the Octagon with big bad Justin.
Can his opponent on Sunday Tallison Teixeira? You’ll have to tune into UFC 312 to find out.
Jack Jenkins
Moving away from the main card, 31-year-old Aussie featherweight Jack Jenkins will head up the prelims at UFC 312.
A freestyle fighter with a 13-3-0 record, Jenkins has recorded some stunning wins via both KO and submission in his MMA career.
He’ll take on up and coming Brazilian Gabriel Santos in Sydney on Sunday.
Tom Nolan
One of the newer kids on the block, lightweight Tom Nolan will be hoping to put on another first round clinic at UFC 312, something he is quickly getting known for.
His 8-1-0 record consists of five wins via knockout, with four of those coming in the first round.
Both he and the home crowd will be hoping for more of the same when he goes toe-to-toe with Russian brawler Viacheslav Borshchev on the weekend.
Colby Thicknesse
The long-time training partner of Alexander “the Great” Volkanovski, Colby Thicknesse has got some friends in high places.
It’s pretty handy to have the greatest Aussie UFC fighter of all-time help you work the mitts behind closed doors, it’s even better to have him in your corner on fight night.
Yep, Volk has revealed he will be cornering for Colby come Sunday. To add even more intrigue, Thicknesse is set to face Aleksandre Topuria.
If that last name looks familiar, that’s because he is the younger brother of Ilia, one of Volk's main rivals.
So naturally, Ilia will be in the opposite corner, supporting his sibling. Fireworks loading? You can almost count on it.
Jonathan Micallef
We’ve got a couple of rookies to wrap up the Aussie representation at UFC 312. Johnathan Micallef is one of these two unknown local quantities set to take to the canvas in Sydney on Sunday.
Calling himself “the Captain” and fighting in the Welterweight division, it will be interesting to see what he’s got when he comes up against Frenchman Kevin Jousset.
Quillan Salkilld
The final Aussie fighting at UFC 312 is young gun Quillan Salkilld. The young lightweight will be making his debut in the UFC in Sydney, when he faces the more established Anshul Jubli.
With the home crowd behind him, hopefully the kid can get the chocolates on his maiden UFC outing.