Pietro Menga: The Manchester 'Rocky' ready for long-awaited UFC debut

He's competing at UFC Fight Night in Winnipeg

Manchester flyweight Pietro Menga will step into the UFC octagon for the first time this weekend, looking to complete his very own 'Manchester Rocky' story.

Menga received the call to face former UFC flyweight title challenger Tim Elliott at UFC Fight Night in Winnipeg on 16 December with just 12 days' notice.

With a record of 13 wins and no losses, Menga has been one of the top flyweight prospects on this side of the pond for the past few years.

He's worked hard to put himself in with a chance of a call-up, having asked UFC matchmaker Mick Maynard to put him on his short-notice call sheet for bouts at both flyweight and bantamweight. He even revealed he was planning on trying out for The Ultimate Fighter in January, at featherweight.

"For the last two years I've been hoping for a break and waiting for a call from the UFC," he explained.

"I'd not really heard anything back, so I thought, 'You know what? I'm gonna have a go at TUF, at 145lbs, in January', and I planned on winning The Ultimate Fighter at 145, so I was actually trying to bulk up a bit."

When the call finally came it offered him the chance to compete at his optimal weight of flyweight (125lbs). While he was thrilled he could compete at his best weight, it did cause a small problem as he was in the middle of a slap-up meal with his girlfriend at the time.

"I was eating the most succulent steak you could feast your eyes upon when I got the call," he said.

"About halfway through it, I had a quick check of my phone.

"I thought, 'I never check my emails, I'll just check them now' and I'd had an email from UFC matchmaker Mick Maynard saying: 'Can you make 125lbs on 16 December?'

"I didn't take one more bite! I said to my girlfriend, 'Come on, we’re going!'"

Menga's UFC call-up was his third shot at the big time in 2017, with his first two opportunities falling through before he had the chance to step into the cage.

"The UFC wanted me for a short-notice fight in New Zealand back in June," he said.

"But Elliott actually ended up taking that fight, so I kinda felt like he took the opportunity away from me, so I've got a little thing with him now!

"Then I was offered the main event bout for Bellator in Newcastle against Michael McDonald. That offer was a month or two ago.

"I accepted that fight, then they came back and said that Bellator didn't like the fight, or somebody didn't like the fight, so that never happened, either."

Jumping into the octagon at short notice for your UFC debut is daunting enough, but Menga will have to do it against one of the grittiest contenders in the UFC's flyweight division.

Elliott is the last man to take flyweight champion Demetrious 'Mighty Mouse' Johnson the distance, and has an aggressive fighting style that, on paper, would seemingly present a nightmare match-up for a debutant coming into the bout on short notice.

"I love that Tim Elliott is such a tough test. That brings out the best in me," said Menga.

"Elliott is the toughest short-notice fight in the division because of the style he brings. Of all the fights in the division, on short notice he’s the toughest fight. I'll relish that. I'll enjoy it.

"I'm an opportunist and he loves to go to war. If he makes one mistake, I'm gonna finish him.

"I respect him as a fighter and also for the fact that he doesn't try to be something that he's not. But it’ll be all business on fight night."

Menga may not be a well-known figure in world MMA today, but now he's signed to the UFC, he plans on changing that as quickly as possible. Indeed, he says he's ready to jump straight into the octagon with anyone in the UFC's top 10.

"I think I am more than top-10 level," he said.

"[If] I was to fight any of those fighters outside the top 10 in a promotion outside the UFC, they wouldn't win. I'd finish the majority of them.

"Now the top 10 is starting to grow interest in the flyweights now. We've got [Henry] Cejudo and there are a few guys coming through with the likes of Elliott looking to push their way in there, too.

"People are getting closer to [UFC champion] Demetrious Johnson now and, especially with the great fight Elliott gave him last year, there are obviously weaknesses in his game. Everyone has weaknesses, and eventually they will get exposed."

The 29-year-old is one of British MMA's best-kept secrets, but he says that's about to change on Saturday as he showcases his own brand of slick striking and clinical grappling on the sport's biggest stage.

"The fans are gonna see clean work," he said.

"I love to put clean work in and put on a clean performance. And what’s interesting here is Elliott's the total opposite - he's scruffy and he's messy.

"That's gonna be the battle. Can he implement his scruffy, messy game, or are my clean shots gonna take him out before he gets that chance?"

And despite having eight submissions on his record, he warns not to sleep on his striking, which he says has proved the pivotal weapon in his success so far.

"In the past I hit people with clean shots and they don't like it and they look to take me down, which has been their downfall and I've submitted them," he said.

"I like the fact that I come across as more of a submission guy because it's a bit of an illusion for my opponents. Hopefully they all fall into that trap."

Menga says he's adamant that wherever the fight goes, he has the skills to prevail, despite his lack of preparation for the contest.

"It'll finish with an opportunity. He'll make a mistake and I'm an opportunist. I'll capitalise," he said.

"I honestly think he's tailor-made for me. If I'd had a full training camp for this fight he wouldn't get out of the first minute. It'll probably go longer, though.

"We're gonna have a war in spells, it'll be technical in spells, but I still think I'll finish the fight."

Once he's negotiated his short-notice debut, Menga says he wants his second UFC bout to take place on home soil, at the 17 March event at The O2 Arena in London.

"One million percent," he said.

"This has been a rush, it's been crazy and it's been a wild few days.

"But in London I can really enjoy being a UFC fighter. Right now I can't enjoy anything other than looking forward to taking this guy's head off.

"But next year I can enjoy the moment, I can soak it all up, my fans can enjoy the training camp with me and we can go through it all together.

"That'll be my real introduction to the UK fans."

But for now, Menga plans on making a big statement against one of the division's most respected veterans as he looks to make the MMA world sit up and take notice.

"For me this is a Manchester Rocky story - a lad from Manchester takes a fight on 12 days' notice," he said.

"My training camp started last Tuesday. It finished last Wednesday! I've had two training sessions, he's probably done three months!

"On fight night, when I come out victorious with all the odds stacked against me, that will be my introduction to the UFC and that will be a statement in itself."

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