Carlos Ulberg is on a mission to prove he's one of the best UFC fighters in the world, and the New Zealander feels he will have "home ground" advantage when he enters Perth's RAC Arena.
Ulberg, the No.3-ranked challenger in the light heavyweight division, will be aiming to make it nine wins on the trot when he faces American Dominick Reyes (15-4) in the headline event on Sunday.
Win, and Ulberg's next fight will likely be for the title. Lose, and he stumbles back in the pecking order.
The stakes are high, but Ulberg (13-1) is taking everything in his stride.
Instead of trash talking and pumping himself up relentlessly, Ulberg has chosen to take a chilled, relaxed vibe into the fight.
But make not mistake about it, he harbours big dreams of dominating the sport.
"I'm on a mission right now, and I think I just need to stay focused," Ulberg said in Perth on Thursday afternoon.
"(I want to prove) that I am one of the best in the world. I don't want to change who I am.
"I think that (being yourself) is exactly how you need to treat it, just be real chill about it - that's just my persona.
"I don't want to over excite myself or over complicate things. Just be simple, I'm a simple guy."
The Australian fight fans in attendance will have to make a choice come the drawcard bout - support a Kiwi, or jump on the bandwagon of American Reyes, who is the No.7-ranked challenger in the division.
Ulberg, who once harboured dreams of becoming an NRL star, is confident the crowd will be on his side, and the way he talked up Perth will no doubt win over support.
"It's a home game, definitely," he said.
"I've got family members coming through.
"Yesterday I went out to the beach, went for a swim out at Scarborough and caught the sunset there.
"I think that Perth has some of the best sunsets ever."
Australian light heavyweight Jimmy Crute (13-4-2) will be aiming to rev up the home fans when he takes on Croatian Ivan Erslan (14-5) in the fight before the main bout.
Other Australians who will be in action include featherweight Jack Jenkins (against Ramon Taveras), welterweight Jake Matthews (against Neil Magny) and lightweight Tom Nolan (against Charlie Campbell).
