Jamie Mullarkey is stepping into another high-pressure moment on home soil. The 31-year-old will replace Rongzhu on short notice to fight Quillan Salkilld at UFC 325 on January 31 at the Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney, Australia. With the promotion returning to Australia, Mullarkey will surely have all the fan support he needs.

After all, the timing matters here for the Aussie. Mullarkey recently ended a two-fight losing streak with a win over Rolando Bedoya, improving his UFC record to 6-6. As for his opponent, he enters the Octagon after a breakout 2025 run, adding intrigue to the short-notice matchup. Before the fight, many fans have turned their attention to Jamie Mullarkey himself, wanting to learn more about where he comes from and how he reached this point.

Is Jamie Mullarkey originally Australian? Ethnicity & Nationality

Jamie Mullarkey is an Australian. Mullarkey, born on December 23, 1994, has represented Australia in professional MMA throughout his career, and his nationality has never been questioned on UFC broadcasts or official profiles. He grew up on the Central Coast of New South Wales and attended Erina High School.

The 31-year-old has never publicly spoken about his ethnicity, but he does carry an Irish flag along with an Australian flag when he walks out to fight. This can be because the surname Mullarkey is usually associated with Irish and Celtic heritage, having linguistic roots in Gaelic, proving that ethnically, he is Irish.

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He maintains the same ambiguity when it comes to religion, as Mullarkey keeps that aspect of his life private. He does not discuss religious beliefs in interviews or on social media, and he does not wear noticeable religious insignia during fights or walkouts. Unlike some fighters who freely share their faith, Jamie Mullarkey has chosen to keep his faith private.

Jamie Mullarkey’s MMA Career

Jamie Mullarkey started training in mixed martial arts at the age of 14, originally to stay in condition during the rugby off-season. What began as training quickly evolved into a full commitment to MMA, and by his early twenties, the Aussie had established himself on the Australian regional circuit.

He turned professional in 2013 and went 12-2 outside of the UFC, winning several titles along the way, including the UFN Lightweight Championship and the BRACE Featherweight Championship. One of the most defining moments in his early career came against future UFC champion Alexander Volkanovski, who handed Mullarkey his first professional defeat.

The experience proved to be formative for sure and helped him sharpen his focus going ahead. Jamie Mullarkey made his UFC debut against Brad Riddell at UFC 243 in October 2019. Despite losing by decision, he earned the Fight of the Night bonus and cemented his reputation as a tough and aggressive fighter.

Since then, he’s gone 6-6 in the UFC. Now, at UFC 325, Jamie Mullarkey finds himself in a fight with little time to prepare. For fight fans, it would be interesting to see whether this will lead to another turning point for the fighter in front of his home crowd.