Navajo Stirling

Stirling was born on 7 November 1997, in Upper Hutt, New Zealand.^[2] He attended Upper Hutt College and played rugby growing up, but grew tired of the necessity to rely on teammates and signed up for karate classes at a nearby gym.^[3] Years later, Stirling developed an interest in mixed martial arts (MMA), specifically by watching Conor McGregor, and started dreaming of fighting in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC).^[3][4] In 2020, while visiting his brother in Auckland, he tagged along on a trip to the City Kickboxing gym, where he realised that kickboxing could be his chance to follow his UFC dreams.^[4] Stirling later stated: "That visit made me realise I should have been here ages ago."^[4] After returning home, he began training under Sone Vannathy at the Arch Angels Thai Kickboxing Gym in Wellington.^[3]

Stirling fought at the amateur level before moving to The Lion Pit, also in Wellington, where he began his professional career.^[3] He won the King in the Ring 92 kg III tournament in December 2020 as "a largely unknown prospect" by defeating Nato La'auli in the final.^[5] Stirling compiled a 6–1 professional record before moving to City Kickboxing in Auckland in March 2021.^[3] That June, he won the King in the Ring 100 kg IV tournament by defeating James Craughwell in the final,^[6] joining Israel Adesanya and Carlos Ulberg as the only two-weight champions in the history of the tournament.^[7]

On 9 September 2022, Stirling was scheduled to face Jesse Astill in the co-main event of the King in the Ring SUPERV event for the WKBF Professional Heavyweight K1 Championship.^[8]

During his kickboxing career, Stirling also developed his grappling and jiu-jitsu skills in preparation for a switch to MMA, even competing at regional no-gi competitions.^[4] He made his professional MMA debut on 23 September 2022, defeating James Craughwell via unanimous decision at Shuriken Fight Series 12 in Auckland to capture the Shuriken heavyweight championship.^[2] However, Stirling struggled to find willing opponents at the regional scene and waited over a year for his first title defence, during which he continued rounding out his skills.^[9] He retained the title by defeating Kelvin Fitial via first-round technical knockout (TKO) at Shuriken Fight Series 16.^[2][9]

On 4 May 2024, Stirling stopped Stu Dare in the first round of their fight at Hex Fight Series 30.^[2][10] The following month, he defeated Sam Kei via third-round TKO at Hex Fight Series 31 to capture the vacant Hex light heavyweight championship.^[2][11] On 10 September 2024, Stirling knocked out Phillip Latu in the second round of their fight in the main event of Dana White's Contender Series 71. He improved his record to 5–0 and was one of three fighters on the card to be awarded a UFC contract after drawing praise from UFC president Dana White.^[12][13][14]

Stirling made his UFC debut on 14 December 2024, defeating Tuco Tokkos via unanimous decision at UFC on ESPN 63.^[15]

In his next fight, Stirling faced Ivan Erslan at UFC 315 on 10 May 2025. He won the fight via unanimous decision.^[16][17]

On 27 September 2025, Stirling faced Rodolfo Bellato at UFC Fight Night 260, which was held in Perth. He won the fight via unanimous decision.^[18][19]

In his next fight, Stirling faced Bruno Lopes at UFC Fight Night 271 on 28 March 2026. He won the fight via second-round TKO, earning the first finish of his UFC career.^[20][21]

Stirling faced Ion Cuțelaba on 20 June 2026 at UFC Fight Night 279.^[22] He won the fight by technical knockout in the second round.^[23]

Stirling faced Jan Błachowicz on 1 August 2026 at UFC Fight Night 283.^[24] He won the fight by technical knockout via elbows and punches in the first round.^[25] This fight earned him a $100,000 Performance of the Night award.^[26]

Stirling is of Te Whānau-ā-Apanui descent.^[3] Early in his career, he started dying his hair blond because "word of mouth is a lot easier when people are hearing 'Who's the big blonde guy?'".^[3] Stirling has spoken about his struggle with alcohol in his teenage years before he found martial arts, realising that "this was something worth fighting for".^[27]

Stirling goes by his middle name, Navajo, which was given to him by his father, a fan of the Western film genre. His brother, Shaquille, was named after Shaquille O'Neal.^[27]

^[28]

• List of current UFC fighters
• List of male mixed martial artists
• List of undefeated mixed martial artists