Don’t let the ZIP codes fool you.

If one isn’t supposed to judge a book by its cover, nor should fighters be judged based on their upbringings.

That being said, Jordan Wright knows he has been more fortunate than most.

“Absolutely, I had a pretty good life growing up,” the UFC middleweight said.

Life could get better for Wright should he prevail over Bruno Silva on the UFC 269 prelims Saturday at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

Wright isn’t the first fighter to grow up privileged and isn’t ashamed of it. The 30-year-old Culver City resident was born in San Antonio and moved around a bit as a kid, just not exactly in the harshest of environments.

“I moved to California when I was about 7. First to Malibu. I lived there for a few years, then to the Pacific Palisades, and then to Malibu again,” Wright (12-1, 1 NC) said. “And then right before I left for Albuquerque, I was at Beverly Hills.”

Dad is a retired attorney. Mom is a business owner. And their son, the youngest of five boys who began with gymnastics at 4 before becoming enamored with martial arts via karate at 9, knew he wanted to fight for a living since he was 16.

Wright concedes his parents “weren’t too happy about it,” but were supportive as he went through the independent studies program his last two years at Malibu High with the intention of becoming a fighter.

“They saw my dedication, they saw how focused I was,” Wright said. “Their main thing was, ‘If you go to college and get an educational background, whatever you want to do in life,’ so I did that. And they’ve been cool with it ever since. And now they’re seeing the fruits of the labor, you know, being in the UFC, following my dreams, living a great life.”

Jordan Wright kicks Joaquin Buckley in their middleweight bout at UFC 255 on Nov. 21, 2020, at UFC APEX in Las Vegas. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)

After high school, Wright moved to Albuquerque and began life as an aspiring mixed martial artist at Jackson Wink MMA Academy, going so far as to sleep and live at the acclaimed gym before starting as a student at the University of New Mexico.

Not only did Wright hone his craft at Jackson Wink, it’s where trainer Greg Jackson dubbed him “The Beverly Hills Ninja,” based on a 1997 Chris Farley film.

“When I was given that nickname, I was happy. I knew exactly where it came from,” he said. “I saw it in the movie theater when I was like 6 or 7 years old.”

About three years ago, Wright decided he had learned enough at Jackson Wink and returned to Los Angeles, landing at Dynamix MMA and training under former UFC veterans Antoni Hardonk and Vladimir Matyushenko. He also mixes in time with Brazilian jiu-jitsu legend Fabio Maldonado at Morumbi Jiu Jitsu and Fitness Academy in Ventura.

Armed with a 10-0 record with one no contest, Wright made his UFC debut at light heavyweight in August 2020, delivering vicious knee strikes and bloodying Ike Villanueva to force a doctor’s stoppage.

Wright’s next fight, nearly 13 months ago back down at 185 pounds, didn’t go as planned as he was stopped early in the second round by Joaquin Buckley. He chalked up the defeat as a learning experience, unfortunately thanks to his karate background.

“Sometimes I let people dictate the pace on me too much. I’ll back up and try to counter and I feel like they’re relying on that a little too much. I wasn’t giving enough pressure,” Wright said. “So it kind of opened my eyes to that and I’m very thankful that I was able to be exposed in that way early on in my career, because I went straight back to the gym. After that, we started working on being able to pressure back against pressure.”

Jordan Wright punches Jamie Pickett during his first-round TKO victory at UFC 262 on May 15, 2021, at Toyota Center in Houston. (Photo by Carmen Mandato/Getty Images)

He responded in May with a statement victory over dangerous striker Jamie Pickett, needing a little more than a minute to put him away with a barrage of elbows, knees and punches.

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Next up is an experienced veteran in Silva (21-6), by way of Curitiba, Brazil, who has won six in a row – including both his UFC bouts – all by knockout.

“It’s the best kind of guy that you can really prove your worth against, to show that, ‘Hey, I’m out here to hang out with the big guys and I will be champion,’” Wright said. “So it’s a great test for me.”

Proving just because one is born with a silver spoon doesn’t mean they can’t spit it out in favor of a mouthguard.

Jordan Wright pays his respects to Jamie Pickett after defeating him via first-round TKO victory at UFC 262 on May 15, 2021, at Toyota Center in Houston. (Photo by Carmen Mandato/Getty Images)

UFC 269

Main event: lightweight champion Charles Oliveira vs. Dustin Poirier

Co-main event: bantamweight champion Amanda Nunes vs. Julianna Pena

When: Saturday

Where: T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas

How to watch: Early prelims (3 p.m., ESPN+); prelims (5 p.m., ESPN/ESPN+); main card (7 p.m., PPV via ESPN+)

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