2025 Australian MMA Comeback Fighter of the Year - Ben Watson

6 years and Ben “The Wanderer” Watson is the 2025 Australian MMA comeback fighter of the year, and the resume backs it up.

Back in 2019, Watson shared the cage with Mitch Martin at Eternal MMA 48 in Melbourne and dropped a split decision in a proper back and forth. It was the sort of fight that normally sets up a big run. Instead, he faded out. He fought once more later that year, beat Kairin Moses by unanimous decision at New Generation Cage MMA Series 4, then basically disappeared from the scene while Australian MMA kept moving.

That is the part that makes this story different. Most guys who step away for that long do not come back still in the mix, let alone straight into contention. But Watson returned in 2025 and looked like he had never left. At Eternal MMA 96 on June 21, he snatched a first-round submission over Yuki Angadembe at 3:38, and it did not look like a man easing back in. It looked like a statement.

The “Wanderer” nickname fits him. He has that calm, outdoorsy, holistic energy, but once the door shuts he is all business. Even his old results show the pattern, a stack of finishes and a real love for the craft. Guillotine wins, rear naked choke wins, a quick stoppage, then the long layoff, then straight back to a dominant first-round sub. The skill never went anywhere.

A big reason is the move north and the reset. During the COVID period he relocated and ended up at CMBT Training Centre, building his base under Miles and the crew, and sharpening the details in a room that holds people accountable. He talks like a bloke who has been doing the work quietly for years, and now he is back saying it out loud, that he is the best fighter in Australia under 145 pounds.

Now he has earned a title shot against Matty Iann in Sydney in 2026. That is the real headline. Not just “he returned”, but “he returned and stayed at the top.” The sport usually does not allow that. The game moves on, contenders rotate, timing disappears. Ben Watson disappeared, then came screaming back anyway, and he is doing it like someone who plans to be there for a while.

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