When the bright lights shine down on the octagon at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on Wednesday, Navajo Stirling will bask in the glow. 

It’s a moment Stirling has spent his career working towards, and one the 26-year-old knows he can take full advantage of. 

The Kiwi light heavyweight mixed martial artist will compete for a UFC contract on Dana White’s Contender Series on Wednesday, his bout against late replacement Phillip Latu the card’s main event. 

The Contender Series is a weekly show hosted by the UFC and broadcast on ESPN that pits athletes hoping to sign with the promotion against one another, with several athletes being offered contracts to join at the end of each episode. 

With just a 4-0 professional MMA record, Stirling doesn’t have the largest CV in the game but he has done plenty in those four fights – as well as his kickboxing career - to convince the UFC brass that he could be worth adding to their light heavyweight roster. 

“Now we’re at that area where you go to get fraud checked. That’s what the Contender [Series] is,” Stirling said. 

“You see the discussion on some of the fighters, and some of the guys are not as good as their record says they are, so it’s a weird one. It’s good that they have that in place, because you have to be about it. You have to be able to take those big-time moments, and I believe I can do that wholeheartedly. I wear my confidence on my sleeve and I know I’m going to get a contract.” 

The Contender Series pathway into the UFC is an intriguing one. With UFC president Dana White sitting cageside alongside other members of the UFC brass, it’s a platform that sees the importance of not just winning, but winning in memorable fashion heightened; after all, the athletes are trying to prove to White why they belong in the UFC. 

It’s the same pathway into the promotion taken by fellow Kiwi light heavyweight and Stirling’s teammate from Auckland’s City Kickboxing gym Carlos Ulberg, who was signed off the back of a first-round knockout. Ulberg has since gone 6-1 in the UFC and is ranked No 10 in the division. 

Stirling is one of three City Kickboxing trained fighters to feature on this season’s Contender Series. Australian middleweight Cameron Rowston fell to a unanimous decision loss in his bout last month – his opponent did not get signed – while Kiwi bantamweight Aaron Tau will feature on next week’s card. 

For Stirling, Wednesday’s bout against Latu (6-1) gives him a chance to show the world exactly how much potential he has. 

“The urge to win the contract and not just win puts you into that survival mode a little bit more and you can see it in some of the young fighters. This is what we train our lives for and you see it when guys are in there and they’re leaving no stone unturned. That’s how I want to fight. I think anyone would be upset if they felt like they didn’t give it their best; that’s the main thing – fighting your heart out. 

“If this guy’s good enough to bring me there, I’ll definitely put everything on display because there’s no turning back. This is it. There’s no tomorrow. Opportunities run extra thin in New Zealand so for me it’s opening up that pathway to fight better fighters and be where I should be, competing against the best. 

“I’m the best guy on this side of the world. There’s nowhere else for me to go. The only place to go is there, and that’s why I’ve got so much why that I know will push me through this fight.” 

Christopher Reive joined the Herald sports team in 2017, bringing the same versatility to his coverage as he does to his sports viewing habits.