UFC Fight Night 27's Dylan Andrews: Te Huna, Hunt and I carry torch for Kiwi MMA

With the first Australia-based season of “The Ultimate Fighter” in the can and regular UFC programming now on TV there, MMA is surging in popularity Down Under.

Even before the show was finished, UFC President Dana White said the country is the biggest market per capita for the promotion. And yet, according to UFC middleweight Dylan Andrews, Australia’s next door neighbor, New Zealand, is no closer to getting an event.

Andrews, a Kiwi of Polynesian descent, often gets recognized in his home country, but he can’t tell fans when the UFC is coming to town.

“It’s up to myself, James (Te Huna) and Mark (Hunt) to put on fights that people want to see and let them know where we’re from,” Andrews (16-4 MMA, 1-0 UFC), who meets Papy Abedi (9-2 MMA, 1-2 UFC) at UFC Fight Night 27, told MMAjunkie.com Radio (www.mmajunkie.com/radio). “Right now, we’re the only three Kiwis that are fighting at the top level.”

For all the advances in the sport’s visibility, New Zealand isn’t yet a place where you can find an MMA gym in every town. When he first got into the sport, Andrews traveled to Australia so he could develop the skills needed to compete in the UFC. He hasn’t left since, settling in Gold Coast with his girlfriend of 13 years and two children.

Andrews, though, believes it’s just a matter of time before the sport gets big enough to where UFC sees the value in traveling further east. At 33 years old, he’s trying to put on the kind of performances that motivate them to make the move.

Although “The Ultimate Fighter 17? finalist Uriah Hall eliminated Andrews in the reality-show tournament’s semifinals, and though he was last-picked on the show due to a lackluster decision in the elimination round, he was able to win his bout at the live finale. A first-round TKO of fellow cast member Jimmy Quinlan improved his current winning streak to five.

Now, against Abedi, who’s also working his way up the ladder following back-to-back losses in his first UFC bouts, Andrews wants to entertain fans before he thinks about a title shot.

“It’s how you win that you make people look at you,” he said. “It’s the way you finish people and finish fights. I just plan on making the most of my opportunity that I’ve been given and just to excite fans and make people want to see me. A win’s a win, but to me, it’s how you win.”

UFC Fight Night 27 takes place Wednesday at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. Andrews vs. Abedi serves as the final bout of the event’s FOX Sports 2-televised preliminary card.

While Andrews said he does feel pressure to be successful in the UFC, he chooses not to worry about the ultimate results in the cage.

“I can’t control fate,” he said. “All I can do is train hard and do everything I’m supposed to do. Win or lose, I know I’m going home to my family. I know my partner will be there. I know my two kids are going to be there.

“In reality, that’s all that matters to me. Lights, camera and fame. It comes and goes just like that, and to know what the ones that are going to be there, that were there from the start, is all that matters to me.”

For more on UFC Fight Night 27, stay tuned to the UFC Rumors section of the site.

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