Fresh off one of the most memorable wins of his career and signing a new multi-fight deal with ONE Championship, Kiwi pugilist Ev Ting obviously has an extra spring to his step.
The Auckland MMA product - now one of the elder statesmen of the booming Asian promotion's lightweight division - snapped a two-fight losing streak in Kuala Lumpur, with his scintillating submission win over Japan's Daichi Abe in July.
A fighter of Ting's experience realises the importance of maintaining an even keel through both rough and smooth waters in a sport as fickle as mixed martial arts, where the difference between victory and defeat is often centimetres.
Particularly when you're being consistently matched against the cream of the division, which is why he swallowed losses to Japanese legend Shinya Aoki and Dagestan phenom 'Dagi' Arslanaliev with a dose of philosophy.
"Setbacks are just a trampoline in my mind," Ting told Newshub. "I've had a couple of setbacks recently, but that's just life.
"It's crazy like that."
Nevertheless, the jaw-dropping way he fought back to choke out ex-UFC welterweight Abe - a significantly larger fighter - made the win taste exceptionally sweet. One for the mantlepiece, even.
Sometimes over-analysing an opponent can hinder performance, says Ting, who put the win down to a back-to-basics approach. Sometimes, you must simply let your primal instincts take over.
"That meant to the world to me. Coming off two losses, you have two choices - you can either work your game, work your footwork and try to find an opening, or you can show who you really are, stand your ground and swing.
"So I chose the second option."
Now back in the winner's circle and the title conversation, 'ET' has another chance to further boost his stocks against local Muay Thai ace Amir Khan in the co-main event of 'ONE: Edge of Greatness' in Singapore on November 22.
The contest has been brewing for some time and offers a stylistic match-up that's sure to be a crowd-pleaser. Coming off a loss in the semi-final of ONE's lightweight Grand Prix, the Singaporean is dangerous on his feet and presents plenty of problems for Ting.
"We're both really hungry to showcase what we've got. The lightweight division in any promotion in the world is typically the most stacked and both of us have pretty much fought every top-tier guy.
"It'll be a great way to see where we're at. He called me out a couple years ago and now it's about to happen.
"He's very technical, a textbook kind of fighter. He'll go one for one, but I just feel like I'm operating on a different system now."
Khan also provides the kind of scalp that could return Ting to title contention. After coming up short with the belt on the line against Eduard Folayang in a razor-close 2017 decision, the 30-year-old is eager to wash that bitter taste out of his mouth.
"I want to avenge all of my losses at lightweight. That was one of the main reasons I re-signed - Shinya is a good name, Folayang in Manila.
"I'm just building momentum now to get my third shot at the title and I'm going to bring it back home."
Entering his seventh year with ONE, Ting is now one of the promotion's veterans. His bouts have taken him across the continent, where he's become a recognisable sporting figure - especially in his native Malaysia.
Visit downtown Kuala Lumpur when Ting is in town for fight week and you'll see his face on the side of taxis, buses, even the front page of the newspaper's sports section. New Zealand may be home, but Ting clocks into work in the far east.
"The way I see it, Asia is my office. I get off the plane, my eyes switch - every minute, I'm walking out of the airport counting ringits [Malaysian currency].
"That's work, and I want to hold my value there and keep competing with the best on offer there."
Ting had always pictured himself performing on this stage during those ad-hoc sparring sessions in West Auckland gyms years ago, when he and future UFC fighters Dan Hooker and Kai Kara-France spurred each other on with a shared dream and a whole heap of ambition.
"We believed in that vision 10 years ago, when it was me, Dan and Kai at 9 o'clock in the morning, punching each other. We didn't have a programme or system, we were just rocking up with a mouthguard and gloves.
"But we had this vision that we were going to fight at the top level from that day. We didn't have a 'Plan B'.
"We knew we were going to make it in this sport somehow. We knew this was the life we wanted from the beginning and we went for it."
After a decade in the professional game, Ting's adamant his best is yet to come.
And if he needed any more, fatherhood has brought a whole new dose of motivation and a newfound sense of purpose.
"I'm at the peak of my career. This is my fulltime job.
"I've never pulled out of a fight, I've never had an injury break. I've had three fights every year for the past 10 years.
"Now I'm a father, I'm very dedicated and now I have the empire to build, I have a whole other vision now. It's all about racking up the victories, and having a much smarter and more professional approach to everything."
A final request for an outome prediction against Khan brings a typically Ting response.
"At this level, they're all bodies that work in different ways and you just have to dismantle them.
"I'm going to hold it down again for my gym and my club, my family and my countries, and you can expect the usual Ev Ting - going all in or going home.
"That's what people want to see."
