Saturday, November 20 is a date that's been marked in Jarrett Wilbraham's calendar for months.
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It's when the Nowra product will lock horns with Jamie Hunt at the Gold Coast Sports Precinct.
Now with just days to go, Wilbraham is fully focused on the task at hand.
"A win on November 20 would do wonders for me," Wilbraham said.
"I am fighting on Eternal MMA which is Australia's premier fight organisation and this is my opportunity for people to really know who I am.
"Up here in Queensland, I am considered not very well known but they don't know about the support I have back home from all the people in Nowra.
"When I would fight in Canberra, two hours away from home, my mates would sell out the arena.
"If it wasn't for border closures, I would have big numbers coming all the way up here to support me.
"Nothing beats seeing the look on my friends' faces when I win.
"I don't just fight for myself, I also do it for them, because at the end of the day, Nowra is the place I am from and the place that made me into the person I am today."
The now 28-year-old has had that mindset since he first stepped into the ring five years ago.
"My reasons for starting martial arts is a bit of a story in itself but to cut it short, I would say it was because of being bullied when I was 16," the Nowra High School alumnus said.
"This was one of the hardest times in my life. I was involved in many physical altercations which only led to more and more as the years went by.
"It took until the age of 23 to finally start training in martial arts and my life was forever changed when I was taken under the wing of my coach Troy Blacker, who not only taught me the knowledge of how to fight but knowledge about life.
"Troy taught me I may not have started the trouble that came to me over the years but I could control the variables on how and where trouble occurs.
"It was at this point I no longer spent my time drinking and in places of trouble and spent all the time I could training in the gym."
Since then, Wilbraham hasn't looked back and has fully immersed himself in the sport.
"When I started training, I just wanted to have a fight as soon as possible but as time went on, I realised there is a whole other technical level to the sport requires a great amount of intelligence," he said.
"I grew a great appreciation for the attention to detail and ways you can control an opponent by using your brain and relying less on strength and physical attributes.
"You can never know everything in this sport and there will always be areas to improve.
"I love this sport because it is the most real form of competition.
"You're locked in a cage with your opponent and the goal is to use your mind, your body and your heart to make sure that you are the one standing at the end."
Wilbraham has had four mixed martial arts, one Muay Thai and one kick-boxing fight - and won all of them.
"Of all my wins, I would have to say my Muay Thai fight in Thailand would have to be my most memorable," he said.
"I never went over there intending to fight but was pressured constantly at the gym to fight by the locals because us Aussies bring big crowds to the stadiums due to the Aussie spirit of all our travellers, who will pack the stadium's to support one of their own.
"I asked a girl from the gym to come to the fight because if I didn't really know anyone over there and if I ended up knocked out bad, who knows where they would have taken me.
"I got there and the whole stadium was cheering me on.
"The Thai guy that I was fighting looked well over the agreed weight which makes sense because they never even weighed us and I managed to knock him out in the first round.
"I was fighting in order to not end up alone in the hospital more than I was fighting to win - that made it memorable."
In the past 18 months, he made to move to Queensland to take his career to the next level, after he won the 2021 Australian open wrestling tournament gold medal.
Wilbraham, who is also the current Storm Damage bantamweight and MASA East Coast bantamweight champion, said his gym suffered significant fire damage, and had struggled to reopen.
"I then met my partner Michaela when she was travelling from Mildura in her caravan," he said.
"We both loved the idea of travelling and she was so willing to support my dreams of fighting and being able to do it full-time.
"The only way we could afford to train full-time was if we converted a van into a camper van and lived out of it to save money on rent in the Gold Coast.
"Hopefully things will pay off financially for us in this sport and the sacrifice will be worth it."
With this is mind, Wilbraham acknowledges how pivotal Saturday's bout, which he's been preparing for all year, is for his career.
"My preparation hasn't really changed all year," said Wilbraham, whose bout is one of eight professional fights on the night.
"I have been training so hard all year ready to get a fight whenever I can and having no days off apart from when my coach tells me to take the odd day off every now and then.
"I am still learning so much about my body as I progress through the sport and am now working with The Fight Dietitian, who has changed everything for me when it comes to fuelling my body appropriately.
"I'm feeling the best I've ever felt heading into a fight."
As well as being in the best shape of his career, Wilbraham heads into his fifth MMA fight with an improved strategy.
"I have many different strategies that I use for all different styles of fighters," he said.
"I would like to believe I have a high fight IQ and can implement strategies as the fight progresses based on my opponent's actions and movements.
"A lot of my early fights were won with sheer aggression but I feel I can add that to a more well rounded and technical skillset now."
If all goes to plan on Saturday, it will help Wilbraham to where he wants to take his career.
"My career goals are definitely to get into the UFC," he said.
"I want to compete in front of the largest crowds possible and against the best fighters the world has to offer."
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