Welsh Cage Warriors prospect Oban Elliott has explained how he struck up a friendship with his "favourite fighter"; UFC legend Chael Sonnen.
The youngster is 4-1 as a professional, and looks to be on his way to a shot at the promotion's welterweight title, and has been given public support by Sonnen on a number of occasions.
When Elliott was just 14-years-old, he was a fan of Sonnen's, and says he would message the fighter daily on social media to support him ahead of his second UFC title fight with Anderson Silva.
And Sonnen messaged him back with a DM that Elliott says inspired him to pursue a career in the sport, where he is likely to become a UFC star in his own right in the coming years.
"I'm a fan first and foremost," Elliott told Mirror Fighting ahead of his fight with Madars Fleminas at Cage Warriors 131 tomorrow night.
"I've known Chael for like ten years! He's one of my idols and he's finally recognising me for what I'm doing now and it means the world to me.
"Uncle Chael, I love him!"
Elliott has in the past borrowed lines famously used by Sonnen during his heyday, most notably saying during a post-fight interview that Cage Warriors shouldn't "send anyone they want to get back" to fight him.
"I wouldn't have borrowed them if I didn't have the authorisation, would I?" Elliott joked.
"Otherwise he'd come out and say 'woah, this guy's taking my lines'.
"We know what we're doing me and Uncle Chael, we've had this planned out for many years."
And Sonnen has said that Elliott's comments towards him have been a great compliment, saying that he believes he will become a big name fighter as his career progresses.
During a recent appearance on the MMA Hour, Sonnen explained how he was first made aware of the impact he has had on Elliott's career.
"He's doing a great job," Sonnen said. "Cage Warriors is a fantastic feeder programme to the UFC, just like LFA.
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"This guy, I'm not sure that he's lost, if I have that wrong he's got one loss, but he's got a ton of fans and people are watching him.
"He said something very nice to me, he said a number of years ago when he was an aspiring fighter, I believe he said he was 14, we communicated on Twitter through DM.
"That gave him a little bit of a boost and if you can find motivation as an athlete, it's hard to do and if I helped him then it is a big compliment.
"It made me feel wonderful to hear him say it and the kid's tougher than hell so I can't wait to help promote him on the next stage because I believe he will be in the UFC."
Oban Elliott fights Madars Fleminas at Cage Warriors 131 on December 10, streamed exclusively on UFC Fight Pass.
Prelims begin at 6.30pm, with Elliott opening the main card at 9pm.
