Matt Dwyer (photo via UFC.com)

By Kelsey Mowatt

At UFC on FOX 18, Matt Dwyer will take on a man who was recently selected by Dana White, and will face him in unfriendly territory. But, by the sounds of it, the welterweight isn’t overly concerned with the upcoming fight’s backdrop.

Dwyer has been booked to fight Randy Brown at the January 30th event, who after scoring a stoppage win at Ring of Combat 53, was signed to the UFC. White was in attendance at the event, while filming the UFC President’s “Lookin for a Fight” reality show. In addition, the upcoming bout will take place in Newark, New Jersey, which isn’t far from Brown’s gym, Budokan Martial Arts, in Lynbrook, New York.

Recently Dwyer appeared on Full Contact Fighter Radio. While discussing the fact he likely won’t have much local support, if any, come fight night, he stated:

“Yeah, whatever. Spoiler role whatever,” said Dwyer, who trains out of Toshido MMA in Kelowna, British Columbia. “I’ve fought in Brazil and people are booing you when I was out there…”

Since Dwyer arrived in the UFC, he’s gone 1-2 in bouts that took place in his native Canada, Brazil and the U.S. In his Octagon debut, at UFC FN 54 in Halifax, he was stopped by Albert Tumenov. Dwyer went on to KO William Macario at UFC FN 61 in Porto Alegre, before losing via decision to Alan Jouban at UFC FN 71 in San Diego.

“I’ve fought in enemy territory before,” added the 26 year-old. “It’s no big deal man. Once you’re in there and the caged door shuts and referee says fight, you just fight. That’s it. I love to fight and that’s when I truly feel alive. It’s in the heat of battle right? It’s an amazing experience and I’m really looking forward to fighting in New Jersey, really close to New York, so I’ll get to check it all out. That’s a pretty awesome perk of my job…”

Dwyer heads into UFC on FOX 18 armed with a record of 8-3, while the 25 year-old Brown has gone 6-0. All of the latter’s pro bouts have taken place under the Ring of Combat banner.

In the main event, Ryan Bader will take on fellow light-heavyweight contender, Anthony Johnson.