New Zealand will welcome another UFC fighter into its rapidly expanding ranks this weekend, when heavyweight Ben Sosoli steps into the Octagon to take on Greg Hardy in Boston on Saturday (NZT).
Last month, the Melbourne-based Kiwi-Samoan received a late call-up to fill in as an injury replacement against Hardy on the main card of the UFC Fight Night event.
Although the 'Combat Wombat' has fought twice under the UFC banner as part of The Ultimate Fighter reality show and Dana White's Contender Series - where he walked away with a loss and no contest respectively - this weekend will mark his official debut.
"I was happy as," Sosoli told Newshub. "I've always wanted to fight him, I wanted to fight him ages ago."
And despite being a relative unknown, the 29-year-old will find himself with an instant legion of fans in his corner, simply as a result of his opponent's chequered past.
In a previous life, Hardy was an NFL star whose career was brought to a halt, after being found guilty of assaulting his ex-girlfriend back in 2014. The charge that was later dismissed on appeal after the alleged victim failed to appear in court to testify.
His arrival in the UFC has caused considerable outrage, where his success inside the Octagon - with consecutive first-round knockouts - has only added to the detractors eager to see him laid prone.
But while Sosoli admits the thought of that support is comforting, the rest is just noise. He already has plenty of inspiration.
"It's cool to know I have other people behind me, but I actually have one of my best mates in a coma in Thailand at the moment. So, he's pretty much all the motivation I need.
He's referring to training partner and fellow UFC hopeful, Sy Leafa. Leafa has been hospitalised for over a month with a brain bleed suffered after a Muay Thai bout in Bangkok.
He's since undergone two brain surgeries but remains in a coma.
"It's going pretty well. He's in a stable condition at the moment."
The GoFundMe campaign to finance his medical transfer back home to Australia - with a goal of $30,000 - has almost reached $40,000.
"I don't really care about all of that other stuff that people are telling me. I've just got to win this fight for my mate's life.
"I'll get in there and win for Sy."
The stakes are high for Sosoli, whose an unapologetic style of fighting is as straightforward as his demeanour.
"I just like to punch the other person a lot and try and not to get punched.
"Actually, I do get punched a bit, but I try not to. So, that's kind of what you can expect."
The UFC's heavyweight division is undergoing a transitional period of sorts and is crying out for fresh, genuine talent to bolster its roster.
A convincing performance in a main card berth would go a long way to securing Sosoli a longer-term future with the promotion, particularly with the number of extras who will be tuned in to see how Hardy fares.
And if Sosoli can claim the mantle of the first fighter to switch the controversial American's lights off, he'd also become an instant folk hero.
"Obviously my conditioning will be a lot better, so if the fight does go longer it'll be better for me.
"But like in any of my fights, if I can get it done in one minute, then I'll get it done in one minute. That's what I'm looking forward to."
A feature spot on US sports giant ESPN is a long way removed from regional Australian fight cards, but the 7-2 Sosoli is using the pressure as fuel.
"My previous fights I used to put myself under a lot of pressure because I knew if I lost, then it would push me back years trying to get into the UFC.
"Now I'm here, all the pressure is just to win because I want to stay here for a while."
Sosoli will enter the contest as a firm underdog. But empowered by the plight of his good mate Leafa, anything seems possible.
"The sky's the limit."
Newshub.
