Iron sharpens iron as Freestyle MMA plots domestic takeover

It'd be an incredible distinction for a set-up that remains as Spartan as it did the first time the current consensus No. 1 fighter on the planet, Alex Volkanovski, walked in.

He remains the flag-bearer but, these days, Freestyle MMA is becoming a world-class stable all on its own.

Where once Lopez and Volkanovski travelled far and wide for training partners, they barely left Windang for the champ-champ camp leading into their mega-fight with lightweight Islam Makhachev.

The highly controversial decision, a UD win to Makhachev, leaves some unfinished business but, as a team, Freestyle has more immediate concerns - a takeover of the Australian domestic scene.

Riding a five-fight win-streak inside 12 months, reigning Eternal featherweight champion Justin Van Heerden is widely considered the best 145-pounder in the country.

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Teammate Jarrett Wilbraham will be looking to throw himself in that frame when he takes on Melbournian Kaan Ofli for the Hex Fight Series featherweight title in Melbourne on Friday night.

The Nowra product will be looking to halt Ofli's seven-fight win streak in the main event, while Amena Hadaya will be looking to claim the women's flyweight belt on the same card, taking on Lisa Kyriacou.

'The Golden Boy' Colby Thicknesse will also make a return to the cage at his natural bantamweight against hometown fighter Michael Barber.

Nowra product Wilbraham (6-1) will be familiar to even casual fans of the domestic scene, with his 'Fight Study' Instagram page boasting just shy of 50,000 followers.

While plenty of fighters claim to 'live and breathe' the sport, few do quite as fanatically as the 28-year-old who lives out of a van to pursue the vocation full-time.

"It's been three years in the van," Wilbraham said.

"I went straight to pro, I never had any amateur fights. I racked up a pretty good record and was ranked number 10 in the country.

"When I looked at everyone above me, they were just levels above in skill. I wanted to pursue this full-time so I said 'I'm going all-in, I'm not going to half-arse it'.

"The only way I could afford to do it was to live in a van and cut costs on rent. I've been training full-time now for three years just out of the van.

"I think about fighting 24-7. I can't get it out of my head, it's hard to go to sleep sometimes. It's my life, I'm consumed by it and I wouldn't have it any other way."

It's been primarily parked at Windang having returned to the South Coast to join the Freestyle team.

"I was on the Gold Coast for the last two years and had a loss over in Perth," he said.

"I knew I had to level up and my parents live half an hour away. It's all worked out exactly as it was supposed to.

"I moved back eight months ago and joined the [Freestyle] team and I couldn't be happier. I'm really embracing every single aspect they bring to the game of MMA.

"Alex paved the way in how you're never good enough, you can always get better. He's the best in the world and I've never met someone more determined to grow in martial arts.

"I feel like we're all levelling up together. There's so much competition here, we all work so well together, we're constantly learning, adapting and growing."

Initially scheduled to fight Raja Shippen, an injury withdrawal has Wilbraham facing off against Ofli, who's made a vociferous pitch for a UFC call-up.

"I went from frighting a striker to a more grappling-based guy, which is fine with me," Wilbraham said.

"Stylistically it's a good fight for me. This is my second quickest turnaround and I feel really familiar with being in there. It feels like yesterday so I just feel really mentally clear.

"He's been calling for the UFC for a while now, he thinks he's next in line for it. Once I take him out, that just puts me in his position and I'll be there calling for it."

While Wilbraham is one of a host of fighters drawn to the camp in recent years, Thicknesse (2-0) has been there virtually from day dot. He's seen a marked change in the set-up.

"I remember some morning sessions when I first started coming in and it would just be Joe and Volk on pads and me just rolling with one person," Thicknesse said.

"The boys had to go to Sydney or Melbourne to get sparring. For camps it was hard to find bodies, now Joe has to say no to people.

"It's a drastic change to when I first walked in here 10-plus years ago. When COVID first hit, it was the first time they did a full camp here and it was one of Volko's best fights.

"That's when everyone realised that training everywhere is all right, but the main stable's here at Freestyle. You see it reflected in the performances."

While injuries and other hiccups have slightly stalled his progress, plenty of very good judges consider the 23-year-old UFC-bound once he strings some fights together.

"I just want activity. It doesn't matter who it's against, anyone at bantamweight, I don't care," he said.

"At this stage, where I'm at with my skill level, how quickly I'm picking up on things and my understanding of the game, I just need the fights to show the level I'm at.

"People look at 2-0 and think 'is that good?' As soon as you rack up wins, there's more attention, more eyes and that means bigger promotions.

"Over the next 10 months, realistically, I'm looking to get another three or four fights in to really get the year running.

"I can't wait to get back in there at my natural weight. [Barber's] pretty game, he's fought some good guys, beaten some good guys. It's a good fight for me, I'm looking forward to it."

Hadaya has been earmarked for a future in the UFC and spent the bulk of her current camp training with visiting PFL flyweight Chelsea Hackett.

Freestyle has also been a home-away-from home for the likes of Bellator star Arlene Blencowe, Central Coast UFC lightweight Jamie Mullarkey and a host of stars from Eugene Bareman's renowned City Kickboxing team.

It's something Lopez did not expect when he first opened the doors, but feels the team environment has taken the gym's game up a notch.

"MMA might be an individual sport but it's team-driven," Lopez said.

"Without a good solid team of training partners and guys that are going to be there for you, you're not going to get there. That's what's being produced here.

"In the beginning we had to travel a lot. I was 50 years old and I said to Alex 'you need to spar and move around with young men, not an old man like me'.

"That's why we did a lot of training in Thailand and City Kickboxing [in Auckland] and things like that. It's still good to get away and do that, but we've got everything here, everyone's coming to us.

"We were a little gym out here in Windang, an old church that was renovated into a gym, and now the best guys in the world are coming here. It's pretty incredible when you think about it."