Tommy McMillen walked out of the Octagon on Saturday night with his third UFC victory of the year after outpointing Marwan Rahiki in an action-packed bout that could emerge as an early Fight of the Year contender at Noche UFC in Glendale, Arizona.
The 28-year-old continued his impressive run since joining the UFC. McMillen earned his contract after a standout performance on Dana White’s Contender Series last year and has now won all three of his UFC appearances since making his promotional debut in April.
Despite the intensity of the fight, McMillen said he remained remarkably composed throughout the 15-minute battle and genuinely enjoyed the experience.
“I had fun tonight. I feel like that was sick as fuck, throwing down (like that),” McMillen told UFC News backstage. “It's pretty nonchalant though, like I feel like I (just) did it seven weeks ago. I didn't really even get nerves going into that at all. I was super calm.”
McMillen described the fight as feeling less like a high-stakes UFC bout and more like a spontaneous scrap between two competitors.
“It just felt like I was just fucking scrapping in a fucking playground with this kid. Like it was fun. I had fun in there,” he said.
Even when Rahiki appeared to hurt him, McMillen refused to back down. Instead, he continued engaging with his opponent and encouraging him to keep pushing forward.
“Even when I got up and I was rocked, I was talking to him. I said ‘let's go.’ I said, ‘you having fun yet? Like, I'm having fun,’” McMillen recalled.
That mindset has quickly become a defining part of McMillen’s approach to fighting. Rather than viewing the physical punishment as something to fear, he embraces the chaos of the Octagon.
“So I'm fucking different than these guys. They have to kill me to get me out of there,” McMillen said. “That's just too fun for me. Fighting another man for 15 minutes is pretty chill so I had fun bro.”
With another victory secured and his UFC record continuing to grow, McMillen made it clear that his primary goal entering Saturday night was simply to enjoy himself.
“Tonight that was the main objective, to go have fun,” he said. “I'm ready to go party.”
