Garreth McLellan

Garreth McLellan, nicknamed 'Soldier Boy', is a retired South African mixed martial artist and two-time EFC Africa Middleweight Champion who scored the first-ever UFC win by a South Africa-based fighter and holds a notable career win over Dricus du Plessis.

Garreth McLellan, nicknamed 'Soldier Boy', was born on January 9, 1982, in Vereeniging, Gauteng, South Africa. A talented rugby player who competed for the Crusaders Rugby Club in Durban and was offered a contract with the Natal Sharks at 19, he transitioned into mixed martial arts through training with the Sharks' fitness coach, Jason Vorster, one of South Africa's leading MMA trainers at the time. McLellan turned professional in 2009 and became one of the biggest names in South Africa's EFC Africa promotion, winning the middleweight championship on two separate occasions. His most notable regional win came in August 2014, when he submitted future UFC middleweight champion Dricus du Plessis in the third round to defend his title. McLellan became one of the first South African fighters to compete in the UFC, making his debut in April 2015, and delivered a landmark moment for South African MMA that October, knocking out American Bubba Bush in the third round at UFC Fight Night 76 in Dublin — the first-ever UFC win by a fighter based in South Africa. He went on to fight four more times in the promotion without further success, finishing his UFC run in 2017, before a final EFC bout in 2019 closed out his career with a 13-7 professional record.

• 2x EFC Africa Middleweight Champion
• First UFC win by a South Africa-based fighter (2015)
• Career win over future UFC champion Dricus du Plessis (2014)
• One of the first South African fighters to compete in the UFC