He's never been keener to get his hands on an opponent, but Alex Volkanovski is simply relishing the chance to be back in the cage at UFC 266 on Sunday.
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The reigning featherweight king will put his belt on the line against Californian rival Brian Ortega in Las Vegas, ending a 14-month absence from the octagon.
It's by far the longest stretch he's gone without making the ring walk, with the Aussie having built a 19-fight win streak on staying busy.
Those victories have come in just six and half years, with 10 straight wins before making his UFC debut taking just two and a half years - and just 18 rounds.
His unbeaten run in the octagon stretches to nine, the UFC's third longest active streak, including back to back wins over former champion Max Holloway.
The second of those, via unanimous decision, came in an empty arena on Fight Island in July last year.
The fight with the Ortega was initially scheduled to follow in March, but he 32-year-old former Warilla-Lake South Gorilla instead found himself in a battle with COVID-19.
It saw the fight postponed, and a build-up with more hurdles than any of his previous fight preps, but he's adamant the result will be the same.
"It's been different, but come performance [time], it ain't going to be any different at all," Volkanovski said.
"In the sport we're in you've got be able to adapt, and you've got to adapt in life. It's going to throw weird things at you and you need to adapt or you go downhill.
"I've always been a guy to play what's in front of me. I welcome challenges. My preparation's been good, I'll go in level-headed as I always am.
"There ain't going to be no ring rust or anything like that. I don't believe that's [a factor] when you're the type of fighter I am. I'm too well prepared and I'm too composed as a fighter."
The postponement did allow a low-and-slow cook of his rivalry with Ortega through coaching opposite each other on The Ultimate Fighter reality series as a lead-in to their bout.
At the very least, Volkanovski is typically amicable with rivals but he gives a blunt "probably not" when asked if he's ever had more personal dislike for an opponent.
"There's a lot that goes into it," Volkanovski said.
"There's the long time off, the personal experiences with each other through competing with each other on the show.
"There's so many reasons why I'm so keen to get in there and really put a beating on him. I'm going to go out there and be calculated, but I want that finish.
"Winning isn't enough, I want a highlight-reel finish. I want to put on a performance and send a real statement."
Ortega himself has been far from active, a unanimous decision win over 'Korean Zombie' Chan Sun Jung in October last year his only outing since he was convincingly beaten by Holloway in his last shot at UFC gold in December 2018.
He appeared vastly improved, particularly on the stand-up front, but Volkanovski said there's no comparing their recent competition.
"People keep talking about certain performances, but look at guys I've fought and look what happened," Volkanovski said.
"They're different. If you go out there against [Korean] Zombie and look good, you're going to look good when someone just standing there in front of you.
"I ain't standing there in front of you. It's a whole different fight, a whole new challenge, and he ain't going to be up for that challenge."
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Mitch Jennings
Sports writer. Sport is my passion, rugby league my first love.
Sports writer. Sport is my passion, rugby league my first love.
