Welsh UFC fighter Oban Elliott will channel wrestling idol “Hollywood” Hulk Hogan as he enters enemy territory at UFC Perth this weekend.

Elliott, 27, enjoyed a perfect start to his UFC career – winning all three of his first three fights – but is now tasked with overcoming adversity after being dealt his first defeat in the company in June.

Looking to bounce back with immediate effect, “The Welsh Gangster” is preparing himself for a hostile Aussie crowd as he takes on home favourite Jonathan Micallef – a bout that takes place on Sunday morning, with the prelims beginning at 7am local time.

But as a die-hard pro wrestling fan with aspirations of getting into the business post-MMA, being the bad guy – or the “heel” – is all part of the dream and will come naturally to Merthyr Tydfil-raised Elliott.

 “It's not like I sit here and think about how I'm going to behave,” he told The Independent. “It just comes kind of naturally to me.

“This lifestyle has lived as a dream, as a vision in my head for so, so much of my life. It's just kind of like a duck to water no matter what the circumstances are. I'm looking forward to being out in front of an Aussie crowd fighting in Australian, it's gonna be cool.”

And when asked which wrestling personality – past or present – he might look to embody come Sunday, Elliott replied: “Hollywood Hogan,” the dastardly WCW incarnation of the late Hulkster which stunned audiences after years of playing the people’s hero in the WWF, now WWE.

“Sticking it to the crowd on the way out, threatening the fans,” he added, ready to lean into the de facto villain status that will hang over him in Perth.

Elliott reiterated his desire to one day make the jump to sports entertainment, having taken his childhood love of wrestling into his adult life.

“It’s unfinished business in MMA, but I’m definitely going to be jumping over,” he said. “If it was my way, I’d do it at the same time. I’d do it every week – that’s what I hate about MMA in that sense, you only get to do it so many times a year.

“I wish I could be out in front of them crowds doing my thing every week and that’s why I’m looking forward to Sunday morning so much.

His obsession with wrestling has helped shape his mentality in MMA, with Elliott revealing: “I kind of see what I’m doing as wrestling. A wrestler could lose one weekend but he’s back in the ring on Monday. You don’t sit there and count all your money when you win, just like you don’t sit there and wipe all your tears when you’re losing. You just do your thing and bounce straight into the next one.”

But for as much Elliott daydreams about grappling in the squared circle, he isn’t simply in the UFC to bridge the gap to WWE.

“I would not have bothered with this if I didn’t think I could become the world champion,” said the welterweight. “The goal is to keep going until I get it.”

Elliott last December saw ex-teammate and countryman Jack Shore hang up the gloves at the age of just 29, rejecting the chance to sign a contract extension with the UFC after becoming “mentally checked out” with fighting.

The early retirement of Shore, who was on a two-fight losing streak and had been blighted by injuries, highlighted the potential problem of long-term motivation in MMA – but Elliott does not foresee this becoming an issue for him.

“I wouldn’t know what to do with myself if I wasn’t doing this,” said Elliott, who is trained by Shore’s father Richard under Shore Mixed Martial Arts.

“I don’t see much enjoyment out of other aspects of life. My whole life has been centred around fighting, the next fight. Of course you’ve got to sit back and smell the roses sometimes but I love this. I love it.

“I’ll be bouncing out of bed trying to do this and grinding until I’m an old injured man.”

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