Wes Schultz spent last weekend, the one before this, celebrating the biggest victory of his UFC career. Two days later, he was standing in the ruins of his own home, realizing how close he came to dying inside it.

The middleweight had just won his first fight in the promotion at UFC Perth on May 2nd, submitting Ben Johnston with a guillotine choke in the third round before flying home with the victory and bonus money. However, the emotional high vanished almost instantly once he returned.

According to ‘Party Time,’ an electrical issue sparked a fire inside the house while he was asleep on the couch Monday night. Thankfully, his girlfriend woke him up in time.

“My house actually burnt down,” Schultz told MMA Junkie. “I’m not in my house. This is what’s left of it (shows his soot-stained hands)… [It happened] Monday night when I got back. This f—— blows. Electrical, something crazy. I was sleeping on the couch… I was in it. I was just in it, getting the last of my sh-t out.

“It’s toast. But f——, what are you going to do? It’s fine. Keep on keeping on. Everyone got out safe. I’d have been f—– toast if not for her.”

What adds to the surrealism of the story is how little the Milwaukee-based fighter seemed interested in sympathy. Despite having lost the majority of his belongings in the fire, he made it clear that he does not seek charity or public fundraising.

In his mind, the important things survived.

“I need no one’s charity,” Wes Schultz replied when asked if he would start a GoFundMe anytime soon. “I just made a bunch of money last weekend. I live simply anyway. I need nothing. I got my car. I got my body, my hair.

“My suitcase survived the fire, not my passport, unfortunately. So, no international fights for a little bit. I got my mouthguard. I got the tools of my trade. I’ve got all I need.”

And honestly, that line probably says everything about the kind of fighter he is. Just days after finally winning his first fight in the Dana White-led promotion, ‘Party Time’ was reminded of how fast life outside the cage can become far more dangerous than anything waiting inside it.

But right now, Wes Schultz is just glad he got his footing, as he felt at UFC Perth he delivered the most mature performance of his career.

Wes Schultz can’t wait for the next fight after the UFC Perth experience

That mindset probably explains why Wes Schultz is still focused more on the fight than the fire. For him, UFC Perth served as proof that he finally belonged in the promotion. After losing his debut earlier this year, ‘Party Time’ was aware that another loss would have put him in danger of becoming one of those Contender Series signings who disappear after two losses.

Instead, he left Australia feeling like a real UFC fighter for the first time. What impressed Schultz the most was not just his guillotine finish against Ben Johnston, but also the composure he maintained throughout the fight.

“A lot of people get to the UFC,” Schultz said. “I feel like this is probably a b——- number, but a lot of the Contender Series guys get to the UFC and go 0-2 and they’re out. I feel like an actual UFC fighter now that I got in and got a win.

“Making it to the third round, being composed, coming out of the second, my coaches were telling me, ‘We’ve never seen you so composed as on the stool.’ Then you came out. We all believed that, ‘Oh my God, he’s going to go out there and whoop this guy’s a–.'”

Eventually, after several failed choke attempts early in the fight, he locked up another guillotine in the third round and forced the tap. And now, despite everything that happened after his return home, the 29-year-old seemed more motivated than discouraged.

“I think I grew a lot from this experience,” he added. “I can’t wait for the next one.”

He believes that the Perth experience helped him develop as a fighter and mentally under pressure. That is why, even as he sorts through the ashes and rebuilds life outside the cage, his thoughts are already turning to the next opponent, whoever it may be.