Philly’s Jeremiah Wells learned to ‘be patient’ and ‘level up’ for his UFC 330 fight
Wells, 39, has been fighting for 17 years. Approaching his next fight, Saturday at Xfinity Mobile Arena, he hopes to be remembered as someone “gritty,” “explosive,” and “always excited to see.”
Jeremiah Wells didn’t want any distractions leading up to his upcoming fight.
The 39-year-old Philadelphia native knew he would have to be hyper-focused for fight camp as he prepared to compete against an opponent over a decade younger, 28-year-old Myktybek Orolbai. And what made matters even more pressing, the fight would be in his own backyard at the Xfinity Mobile Arena in front of his friends and family.
So if that meant he would have to take his 4-year-old French bulldog, Stardust, to live with his family in Hazleton, Pa. during camp, then he would do just that.
“He’s a handful,” Wells said. “He’s a small little Frenchie. He’s like 4. He wants so much attention. He wants walks every day. I just can’t handle it, dragging him everywhere. … I had to wake up in the morning, take him for a walk, and then drag him to the gym, and then take him for a walk when we got back, all while he wanted me to pet him.”
Wells has been fighting for nearly 15 years. He was introduced to the sport at 24 years old, watching a fight card with friends. At one point, he looked over and said, “I could do that.” Seconds later, his friends laughed at the thought.
“They were just arrogant kids, that’s all it was,” Wells said. “I said I could do it but they didn’t believe me. But now, they do.”
» READ MORE: UFC 330 is coming to Philadelphia this weekend. Here’s everything to know, from local fighters to the match schedule.
Since then, Wells has competed in different promotions like PA Cage Fight and Cage Fury Fighting Championships. He made his UFC debut in 2021, defeating Warlley Alves by second-round knockout after replacing Ramazan Emeev on short notice at UFC Fight Night 190. But before making the transition to the UFC, Wells said there was one part of his game he really had to work on.
“Be patient,” Wells said. “I always wanted it now, and wanted it now, and wanted it now. I thought it was, when you were young, this is going to happen and then this is going to happen. Like, I always said I was going to be in the UFC in like three years. And it took me like, probably 10.”
Wells won four of his first six UFC fights, suffering consecutive losses to Carlston Harris and Max Griffin before returning to the win column against Themba Gorimbo in November 2025.
But between the Griffin and Gorimbo fights, Wells faced one of his toughest challenges — a 21-month hiatus from fighting. Wells broke his hand in the Griffin fight. After recovering, he was supposed to fight Niko Price in June 2024, but he was forced to pull out after tearing his Achilles.
“I went through hell just getting back mentally and physically,” Wells said. “It turned me into a different person, also. Just being grateful for so many things. I had to make a new person of myself. And I leveled up. I sowed everything down. Listened to my body, not overtraining, actually recovering and eating healthy. And also not partying. Just changing up my mindset, my mental clarity.”
Training at Marquez MMA, located on Worth Street, Wells is surrounded by a number of Philly UFC fighters who have motivated him in his fight journey, including Pat Sabatini, Sean Brady, Joe Pyfer, and Andre Petroski.
“All my teammates that started with me, they really love this,” Wells said. “They stuck to it. Everyone like Sean Brady, Pat Sabatini, that’s the ones I started with like day one at Gracie’s and they’re still here today. I’m happy that they’re still here and I’m proud. Definitely, the new guys too like Pyfer and Andre Petroski. It means a lot to me to just share the mats with these guys.”
UFC 330 will be the first numbered event and first title fight held in Philadelphia in a decade and a half, dating back to UFC 133 in 2011, which featured Rashad Evans and Tito Ortiz as the main event. UFC returned to the city in 2019 for a Fight Night card at the then-Wells Fargo Center, featuring a main event between Justin Gaethje and Edson Barboza.
The last time UFC was in town, there wasn’t a single fighter from the area on the card, although former Philly fighter-turned-broadcaster Paul Felder was in the booth. This time, Wells will be the only Philly fighter featured, appearing as the first fight in the early prelims.
“It means a lot, man,” Wells said. “It’s been a long time coming, just to fight in front of my family and my fans. I do [wish more Philly fighters were on the card], we just got that dog in us. That grit. This town is just, sometimes we get a little dirty. We get our hands dirty.”
Wells has finished three of his seven UFC opponents through submission and knockouts. Once he decides to hang it up, the Philly native hopes to be remembered as a fighter whom the fans were looking forward to watching. And he’s hoping Saturday will be another example of that.
”I feel confident and ready,” Wells said. “[I want to be remembered as] that gritty fighter, explosive and always excited to see. To just put it on for the fans.”
