Judging by his reaction in the moments following his breathtaking victory over veteran Ross Pearson, it may be some time yet before Kiwi lightweight Dan Hooker's exploits at the UFC Fight Night in Auckland on Sunday really sink in.
In what was a landmark event for New Zealand MMA with three native fighters featured on the card, it was Hooker's devastating knee of doom to switch Pearson's lights off which truly stole the show.
"It hasn't really hit me yet, I'm just kind of carrying on as normal," 'The Hangman' told media at the post-fight press conference.
The pin-point strike sent both the Brit to the canvas in a heap and the fiercely partisan crowd inside Spark Arena into a state of delirium, further incited by Hooker's pleas during his in-cage interview for Auckland to "stand up!" as he stood draped in the New Zealand flag.
"It's a night I'll remember for the rest of my life. It's up there with the first show," Hooker recounted, referring to his emphatic UFC debut in the same venue back in 2014.
"Looking up after that finish and just seeing that crowd and hearing them…it's one of the loudest crowds I've come across. Those New Zealand fans, they've got some lungs on 'em eh?!"
The Aucklander revealed it had been a struggle not to get swept up in the emotion of his entrance to the Octagon, with the 8,649-strong faithful in attendance drowning him in cheers.
"I had to block the crowd out leading into the fight, just keep my head down and stay laser focussed on the fight.
"I had a serious threat in front of me in Ross Pearson, he's no joke."
It shapes as a breakthrough victory for the 27-year old, a win over a highly-respected and dogged veteran like Pearson with name value is one which should force the rest of Hooker's newfound weight division to take notice.
The fight was his first since opting to shift up from featherweight (61kg) to lightweight (65kg) in order to eschew the energy-sapping demands of an often brutal weight cut, and Hooker couldn't speak highly enough of the instant impact that change had on his performance.
"I'm never going back to featherweight, mate," he laughed.
"I just felt strong, I felt fit. I felt like a completely different fighter.
"I felt like myself, pretty much. That's how I train, that's how I compete in the gym. I feel like I barely just scratched the surface, I didn't get tired at any stretch of that fight."
The rest of the local fighters certainly sent the fans home satisfied, with Mark Hunt and Luke Jumeau both registering wins to make it a clean sweep for the Kiwis, and Hooker seized his own moment in the spotlight to promote the host of upcoming talent among Aotearoa's burgeoning MMA scene.
"New Zealand has so much more talent to showcase.
"Luke [Jumeau] and I are just home-grown guys, we came up fighting on the same shows, but it's really just the tip of the iceberg.
"There are guys who are ready for UFC right now - Kai Kara France, Kieran Joblin, Israel Adesanya, John Vake.
"That's four names right there at different weight classes that can not only compete, but destroy guys in the UFC."
And as if the highs of his fight win weren't enough, there was one very hefty cherry on the top of Hooker's evening in the form of a $US50,000 ($NZ69,400) bonus awarded for knockout of the night.
"That's US dollars, so that's about a million NZ peanuts," joked Hooker.
"Charge it to the finances, bro!"
A pay-per-view card mooted for late November in a yet to be determined Australian city is where Hooker has his eyes set next, but for now, the priority is clear.
"I'm going to get away to my parent's farm and take a couple of days, just reflect on it and relax".
It's fair it say he's earned it.
Newshub.
