Kiwi UFC light heavyweight Carlos Ulberg is the first to admit he may have been slightly out of his depth in his UFC debut last March.
With just three prior MMA bouts under his belt, the King in the Ring champion confesses he was relatively unprepared for his clash with Kennedy Nzechukwu at UFC 259, when a stellar opening salvo came unstuck.
After wobbling his opponent with a series of crisp combinations, the 'Black Jag' appeared to be on track for a repeat of the scintillating knockout he scored in Dana White's Contender series, when he felled Bruno Oliveira to secure a ticket to the big dance.
The second stanza began with some torrid toe-to-toe exchanges, until Ulberg began to fade, allowing the Nigerian to steal the momentum and land the fight-ending knockout blow.
Result aside, Ulberg's efforts were deemed worthy of a 'Fight of the Night' bonus, laying the groundwork for a reputation as a 'must-see' fan favorite. As far as debut losses go, they don't come much better.
With an opportunity to right the ledger against Fabio Cherant at UFC 271 in Houston on Sunday (NZ time), the former catwalk model is adamant he won't make the same mistakes again.
"I learned so many lessons," Ulberg tells Newshub. "I was just over the moon about getting into the UFC so quickly.
"I sat back and watched the fight over and over again, and it didn't take long for me to realise, this is quite different to kickboxing. This is quite different to what I'm used to.
"It's five minutes rounds rather than three minutes, which makes a massive difference, as well as the smaller gloves. You've got to be really careful with this."
With the benefit of almost a full year to refine his technique and plug the holes in an MMA game that is still in its infancy, the 31-year-old City Kickboxing product says he's taken huge strides since that day in Las Vegas.
Near the top of that list is the recognition that impatience will only lead him to trouble in an Octagon, even if it's somewhat at odds with his natural tendencies.
"I'm Samoan, so I go out there and I want to I want a bang and I want to fight," he says with a laugh.
"But this time, it's more me understanding what the sport is and getting smarter and learning so much more about how to understand the Octagon. It's not a ring anymore. It's an Octagon."
That includes embracing an aspect of the sport that is the bane of most kickboxing converts - the all-important grappling and wrestling component.
It requires a significant shift in mindset which often only comes with experience, when - in the heat of battle - an instinct is triggered to pounce on the briefest of openings.
"In my last fight, there were many opportunities where I could have taken him down," he notes.
"In the past, I've been quite happy with stand-up, using my hands and my feet, not really thinking about taking anybody down.
"Now I'm more comfortable with taking someone down and keeping them down there, so that's more of an option there now.
"Whereas in my last fight, there hadn't been a moment in my head where I said to myself 'shall I take him down?"
Ulberg's coach Eugene Bareman agrees with his fighter's assessments, admitting the awkward global landscape meant the Aucklander may have been rushed into that first bout.
"In all fairness, I'm on record saying that Carlos was probably the least prepared guy I ever put in the UFC," Bareman tells Newshub. "I obviously didn't expect him to lose and I expected him to make an impact.
"But certain situations came up with COVID and getting Carlos fights. We pushed him in and we thought we were very happy with where we were pushing him.
"We thought that was the right time for Carlos. Considering the circumstances, he might have been a little inexperienced, but I think he's come back from that loss. If you're going to lose, you lose like that with $50,000 in your back pocket and with an exciting performance."
But the City Kickboxing boss says he's been hugely impressed with Ulberg's response to the early setback he suffered and his development since - both on and off the mats.
"What I'm happy with is just Carlos' maturity and approach in dealing with that loss.
"He's really been diligent, and looked at that fight and figured out what he did wrong. And he's been diligent about the way that he's approached the next fight and kind of shoring up those gaps in this game.
"I'm very happy with the attitude that he took after his last loss. I've seen a lot of growth.
"I love seeing a lot of growth in him as a person because - a fighter or a person - for us, that's who you are. They're the same thing for us."
Complications aside, Ulberg would have had it no other way.
"It's forced me to learn a lot faster. And I'm so grateful for this. I'm grateful that I'm here now. And I'm still quite fresh.
"I'm new to the sport and I'm young, and I'm not going anywhere for quite a while. So whether I get this gold now, or in the next couple of years, it's going to happen.
"My focus is just learning, and putting the work in now and navigating my way into it."
Fighting alongside teammates Israel Adesanya and Blood Diamond this weekend, Ulberg has a prime opportunity to earn his maiden UFC win against Cherant.
The American - who calls himself 'The Water Buffalo' - is coming off two first-round losses in his only two UFC appearances to date.
"He's game," notes Ulberg. "I'm sure he's going to want to come out and prove himself too.
"He's a bull so if I can push him in those right spots - be the matador, then line him up for a right hand or right knee."
So long as Cherant brings the fight, Ulberg is satisfied.
"You can expect to see the Samoan.. the Samoan fighter," Ulberg says with a grim. "You know we love to fight.
"But you can expect a few 'cheehoos' in the crowd too, that's for sure."
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