Navajo Stirling Stops Ion Cutelaba in Second Round at UFC Fight Night 279

Navajo Stirling defeated Ion Cutelaba by second-round stoppage at UFC Fight Night 279 on June 20, 2026, in Las Vegas. Stirling escaped a standing guillotine choke applied by Cutelaba early in the fight, reversed position, and finished the bout with ground strikes. Stirling is now 10-0 overall and has recorded five UFC victories since his 2024 debut, two of them by finish.

Cutelaba fell to 20-12 and has lost two of his last three fights. Stirling trains at City Kickboxing in Auckland. He said the guillotine placed him in positions he had never faced before in competition.

"He was stronger and dangerous a little bit longer than I expected," Stirling stated after the fight. "He had me in some bad positions. I really had to work out of it. " Stirling credited his preparation at the Auckland gym for helping him handle the pressure.

"CKB, at the gym I know not just how to play the hammer, but how to play the nail," he said. Both fighters traded momentum in the second round before Stirling reversed a takedown and landed strikes on a seated Cutelaba to force the stoppage. Stirling's next opponent has not been announced.

His October training camp will remain at City Kickboxing.