‘I’d probably be in jail’: How fighting ‘saved’ Aussie’s life — and led him to NYC blockbuster

Cody Haddon carries so much promise in both hands, his old man has never let him use an angle grinder.

Same deal, welding guns.

“Or anything else,” the fighter laughs, “where I might lose a finger”.

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Which has at times proved slightly problematic.

Especially given this youngest son of a Perth boilermaker, ever since quitting school in Year 9, and with the sole goal of fighting in the UFC, has quietly been training fulltime while also working big days by his father’s side to keep the cash ticking over.

Which thankfully, is done now.

But for the longest time … well, this now UFC bantamweight had issues.

“Because I wasn’t allowed to use the tools,” Haddon says, smile widening at the memory. “Which also meant I became the gopher.

“It was ‘Cody, go for this … Cody go for that … grab the spanner, whatever.”

But importantly, nothing dangerous for a kid who started his fight life as a little taekwondo prodigy, before then morphing by his teens into the type of amateur boxing star who wins one, two, then three Australian titles.

Still, you should know there were issues beyond the tool usage too.

Especially when Haddon tells you about growing up around enough crime that, without MMA, “I’d probably be in jail”.

Which is again why those tools were off limits.

“Because dad said if anything happened to my hands,” Haddon shrugs, “everything was f***ed”.

And by everything, the old man meant everything happening now.

Especially here in New York this weekend, at UFC 322.

When in only his second ever Octagon appearance, this hyped 27-year-old will be something of a Madison Square Garden opening act for Australia’s new UFC king, Jack Della Maddalena.

A champ who, coincidentally, also sees how special those hands are.

Big time.

Which is something JDM makes clear while chatting with Fox Sports Australia here in the Big Apple through that most debatable of topics — ‘Best Boxer in the UFC’.

Understanding that while robust discussion surrounds who sits where on said list, there is no doubting Della has pushed his way onto the podium of a race which includes the likes of Ilia Topuria, Max Holloway, Petr Yan, Alexander Volkanovski, even Terence Crawford’s offering – Cody Garbrandt.

Yet Della, he also tosses up a smokey all his own: Haddon.

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“And I realise Cody hasn’t had many fights,” the champs starts. “But the combinations he can put together, they’re outstanding.

“Give him a couple of years and Cody will be high on that list.”

Then after a short pause, the kicker.

“Actually, knowing what I do,” Della continues, “I’d have him there now. Myself, Topuria, Cody.”

Which sounds wild, right?

But not back home in Perth, where plenty of fight types will tell you how, before pivoting to his real love of MMA, Haddon was an amateur boxing champ who won nationals three years straight.

That, and fought regularly against the likes of current Aussie prospects Dana Coolwell, Tyler Blizzard, even Alex Winwood — whose own dramatic rise has been compared to no less than Hall of Famer, Jeff Fenech.

“And Alex and I, we’re great mates,” Haddon says of the rising Indigenous prospect who, during amateurs, he faced off against four times.

And the results?

“Ah, I won three,” the UFC rookie replies sheepishly, before quickly adding some caveats.

“All of our fights, they were really close. Could’ve gone either way.

“And these days, I’m not sure I’d want to get in a boxing ring with Alex Winwood.

“I’m an MMA striker now. My style has changed completely.

“So as far as boxing goes he’d probably piece me up. But as an amateur, yeah, I did win three national titles.”

All of which continues the incredible backstory of a UFC prospect who, just to get inside MSG Sunday, has overcome knockbacks, injury setbacks and a childhood described as “unconventional”.

“So without martial arts,” he shrugs, “yeah, I’d probably be in jail …”

Asked to expand even a little, Haddon continues: “Without going into detail, I’ll just say that growing up I was around a lot of crime.

“My upbringing was hard. Unconventional. We struggled for money and from a young age I knew that I really needed to do something different.

“So sitting here now, thinking about the cards I was dealt, fighting really has saved my life.”

Haddon also recounts how much of what he has now, it was all started by a conversation with the old man toward the end of Year 9. When the steel fabricator asked his fighting son “are you working hard in school or f***ing around?”

And the answer?

“I said I was f***ing around,” Haddon grins.

Which is when dad, aware of the promise in those hands, urged his son to quit school, and effectively go fulltime into training – while also becoming the world’s only apprentice who wasn’t allowed touch tools.

“And I also remember dad saying ‘OK, you’re an adult now’,” Haddon continues. “I was 15 and working, training, paying rent, helping mum with bills, and in charge of all my own finances.

“And I’m proud of that.

“For me, training has always been the priority and everyone around me has always known the deal.

“My parents, two older brothers, good friends, nobody has ever pressured me into anything.

“They’ve always been like ‘no, no, no, Cody is going to the UFC one day, he needs to stay away from this’.

“Right through my teens, I never really drank. No parties. Just trained.

“[Laughs] I actually remember dad would always tell me, ‘think of the parties you’ll have with money’.”

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Which at times, has seemed a long way off.

Understanding that while he initially planned to be in the UFC by 18, it would be eight years beyond that before Haddon earned his contract.

Yet even then, and after beating America Dan Argueta in his UFC debut, this Perth boy has spent the past year enduring a horror run of training injuries that has kept him out of the cage.

But come this Sunday’s UFC 322 card?

Well, Maddalena is urging Aussie fans to tune in early.

When hours before he defends against Islam Makhachev, Haddon will throw down against an American prospect whose own hands are also highly rated.

In 10 fights, Malcolm Wellmaker is not only undefeated, but has finished six rivals within the first round. Most recently, his first two UFC fights have also finished in the first – and after winning on Dana White’s Contender Series in the same fashion.

Yet know Haddon is himself a DWCS alumni, who across nine professional fights and five more in the amateurs has lost only once – and against a man who has already come within a bee’s appendage of UFC flyweight gold, Steve Erceg.

Told of Maddalena’s praise and Haddon initially responds with “wow”, before then drawing into a long pause.

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“Ah, I’m speechless,” he finally says. “I admire Jack so much.

“And for him to say something like that – about me – it means so much.

“I know this past year I’ve had some bad luck and flown under the radar. But I’m excited to come up this weekend and show the world what I can do.”

All of which makes Haddon’s as much a story about heart, as hands.

“And why I’m so proud of where I’m from,” the fighter stresses. “Why I wouldn’t have my journey any other way.

“In my life, I’ve been handed nothing.

“From a really young age, I’ve been providing for myself while also pursuing fighting.

“So everything now, it’s mine.

“I’ve built this.

“And now this weekend, I get to show the world how great I can be.”