LIVERPOOL, England – UFC middleweight Elias Theodorou doesn’t sweat a seesaw on his recent resume.

2017 brought a pair of wins and a loss to Brad Tavares that he attributes to “home cooking.” But Theodorou (14-2 MMA, 6-2 UFC) remains upbeat about his future.

Why wouldn’t he? According to his scoreboard, he’s only been doing this nine years, and he’s won almost all of his fights. Those he hasn’t, only judges have determined him the loser. He hasn’t gotten injured in any major way, and he’s just about to hit 30.

Plus, all those sponsorships he’s collected outside the gym have put him in a financial position that’s far less precarious than the average fighter.

“I make just as much as I do with endorsements as I do as a professional fighter, so I don’t have to worry about only receiving half my pay with a loss,” Theodorou, who faces Trevor Smith (15-7 MMA, 5-4 UFC) at UFC Fight Night 130, told MMAjunkie. “So even though I lost to Brad Tavares, I still walked away with a six-figure contract for my hair.”

Shampoo brand Pert Plus got into the Elias Theodorou business this past year, handing him a chuck of cash to lather his mane with their product. That’s brought valuable exposure outside the MMA bubble. He also plans to turn his job as the first-ever “Ring Boy” for the all-female MMA promotion Invicta FC into a bigger side hustle, complete with a calendar filled with UFC fighters. He’s also working on a movie about a fighter who turns into a professional gamer after getting injured.

The point is, Theodorou doesn’t feel like his destiny hinges on wins and losses inside the octagon.

“I don’t necessarily see myself as a UFC fighter,” he said. “I see myself as Elias. And one of the kind of cool things that I’m kind of understanding is, I guess, my potential, in that regard.

“I have a degree in advertising, so I’m obviously advertising the brand that is myself.”

For more on UFC Fight Night 130, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.