Marwan Rahiki proud of placement on UFC Perth main card

Marwan
Rahiki always knew that his style would shine under the bright
lights.

Rahiki was originally scheduled to face Jack
Jenkins at
UFC Perth on Saturday. However, an injured Jenkins was replaced
on four days’ notice by Hungarian debutant Oliver
Schmid. Rahiki dropped Schmid with a left hook in the first
round, and a few follow-up shots were needed for referee Mike
Beltran to step in.

While this served as Rahiki’s sophomore UFC outing, he was the
third fight on the main card at the RAC Arena in Perth, Australia.
Rahiki also debuted on a main card, appearing opposite Harry
Hardwick in March and breaking Hardwick’s jaw in the process.
Although Rahiki respects the competitors on the prelims, he never
saw himself opening a fight card. The Moroccan-Australian always
felt that his action-first style would earn him high bout order
placements. Rahiki boasted in his post-fight interview:

“This is what I imagined coming into the UFC,” Rahiki said
confidently. “With all the respect to the prelims and early
prelims, I’ve never seen myself as the first fight in the card. I
knew the way I fight, it’s exciting, it’s entertaining. With the
bonus on the line, there’s a prize. I train so hard, if there’s
this much to take, I’m not gonna be happy with just a little
bit.”

The unbeaten Rahiki (9-0) has finished his adversary in all nine of
his career wins. Making his way up the ranks of the Hex Fight
Series circuit, “Freaky” went on to secure a contract on the 2025
season of Dana White’s Contender Series. He has only
competed beyond the second round once, when he tapped out Semakadde
Kakembo for the HFS 145-pound title last May.