JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – UFC fighter Philip Rowe is back fighting in Jacksonville, a place that he knows well.
Rowe, who is on the Fight Night card Saturday at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena, won his first professional mixed martial arts match here at a House of Fame event against Jeremy Bethea in 2015.
Recommended Videos
So, Jacksonville isn’t an unfamiliar territory for Rowe to fight. Maybe it’s even a little bit of good luck for Rowe.
“Jacksonville is a little special place to me,” Rowe said Wednesday.
Rowe was 0-2 at the time of that fight and his professional career would have been seriously in trouble had he lost that fight. But and that win got him on track.
Rowe went to high school in Palm Coast and attended Matanzas, part of the first graduating class in 2008.
He has won his last three fights by knockout entering Saturday’s fight against veteran Neil Magny (27-10).
Rowe, whose nickname is “The Fresh Prince,” feels he is the best dressed and has the most style in the sport. He’s gained a sizable following on social media without receiving too much attention from the UFC social media pages, something Rowe was quick to mention Wednesday.
“All I got to keep doing is keep being Phil and keep laying people out,” he said. “I’m the source so ideas don’t go nowhere.”