Kiwi lightweight Dan Hooker has finally been granted another UFC opponent - and it comes against the name at the very top of his wishlist.
After months of tireless social media campaigning for a new fight, after his last win back in July, Hooker (17-7) has been booked to take on the fighter he'd had in his sights from the very beginning - Brazil's Edson Barboza (19-6) - at UFC Fight Night in Milwaukee on December 16.
The ever-dangerous Barboza had experienced similar issues in locking in a bout and "The Hangman" offered a straightforward reason why.
"Take a look at both of our highlight reels and it's people getting knocked unconscious," Hooker told Newshub. "And a lot of people don't like being knocked unconscious."
The sixth-ranked Barboza represents both Hooker's toughest test to date and a huge opportunity for the 14th-placed Kiwi to propel himself into the upper echelon of one of the promotion's toughest divisions.
It's been a while coming and there's a huge dose of relief in Hooker's voice that he'll soon be back under the bright lights, locked in combat.
"I train very hard. I've dedicated the last decade to this.
"I don't enjoy winning, I don't enjoy all of the other stuff that comes with it. I thoroughly enjoy fighting - that physicality, that contact.
"This is the fight I wanted, because this is the the fight that's going to give me what I want. We're going to go in there, man-to-man, will-to-will and see who's better."
A weapon from any angle, Hooker's four consecutive finishes - the latest of which was a first-round KO of hard-nosed Gilbert Burns in Las Vegas - have him tied for the most across the entire UFC.
That last win earned him a place in the weight class' official rankings and a fifth-straight victory against a fighter of Barboza's calibre would put the 28-year-old among elite company.
The American Top Team-product is recognised as one of the UFC's most prolific strikers. He boasts arguably the most lethal arsenal of kicks The Octagon's ever seen, with a host of show-stealing finishes to his name.
That said, Hooker now has a lengthy trail of victims in his rearview mirror and has forged his own reputation as a fighter capable of switching off the lights in an instant.
While he acknowledges Barboza's prodgious stand-up as a threat, there's another area of the Brazilian's game that has him paying attention.
"He's a very good defensive wrestler," Hooker noted. "That poses a lot of problems.
"Some of the better wrestlers in the UFC have struggled to get him down and then he's out-struck most of his opponents."
Hooker said he'd entrust his team - lead by head trainer Eugene Bareman - to put together a plan to solve the Barboza puzzle, wary of having "too many cooks in the kitchen".
"We all have to be on the same page, they'll figure all that out and then pass that on to me… what they want me to do.
"I'll just trust their guidance and go with whatever plan they come up with."
Barboza hopes to snap a two-fight losing streak, after losses to two of the UFC's fastest rising stars in Kevin Lee and Conor McGregor's upcoming opponent, Khabib Nurmagomedov.
Hooker becomes the third UFC fighter from Auckland's MMA hot-bed - City Kickboxing - to lock down a fight, with Israel Adesanya booked to fight Derek Brunson in New York in November and newly-signed Kai Kara-France lined up to face Ashkan Mokhtarian in Adelaide in December.
Newshub understands Kiwi featherweight Shane Young is also likely to join teammate Kara-France on the Adelaide card.
With that event scheduled just 14 days before Milwaukee, Hooker expressed a hint of disappointment that he wouldn't be able to appear in front of a more partisan crowd.
"Sitting in a plane for 20 hour sucks, I'd rather sit in a plane for two hours - that's my priority.
"But obviously Barboza didn’t want a holiday and didn’t want to make the trip all the way out here, so I have no problems going to get him."
The main event at Milwaukee's Bradley Center will be a women's flyweight bout between Australia's Jessica-Rose "Jessy Jess" Clark and American Andrea Lee.
There will be plenty at stake for Hooker come December, but the long-term plan remains the same, as he refuses to get caught up in the prospect of contending for a title.
"I'll do what I've done my entire UFC career, which is win this fight and then campaign to fight again as soon as possible
"And I don’t care if that guy's above me, below me, ranked, unranked, world champion - I will take that fight."
Newshub.
