Dungarvan's Peter Queally is on the brink of MMA immortality.
The 32-year-old could become the first Irishman to win a world mixed martial arts title on Irish soil tonight.
He fights Patricky 'Pitbull' Freire in the lightweight title fight at Bellator 270 - with that being the main event on tonight's card at Dublin's 3Arena.
'The Showstopper' has a professional record of 13-5-1.
Queally was the victor the last time the pair faced off, when the fight was stopped due to a cut for Freire.
Speaking ahead of tonight's world title fight, 'The Showstopper' says being in the position is the result of years of hard yards and graft.
"It's just a dream come true. It's 12-13 years of work. It's finally come to fruition. I'm very proud of myself - that's all I can say. I'm incredibly proud that I got here."
Last time out
Queally has a win over 'Pitbull' to his name - and believes that were that fight allowed to continue, the right man would still have had his hand raised.
"When do you see him shooting for takedowns? Never. He was doing this because the fight wasn't going his way. He wasn't enjoying the stand up. It was his alternative to try and take me down and change the course of the fight. With the actual stoppage, I understand why he was frustrated. I wouldn't want to be stopped from a cut, no matter how bad it was to be honest. It probably should have been let go but I don't think it would have changed the course of the fight. I was two rounds up and he had a hole in his head. I was going to win the third round or stop him. Whatever was going to happen - it was not going to end well for him. The right man had his hand raised on the night."
War of attrition
Queally is hoping to punish his opponent and says tonight will be a war of attrition where he will push Freire to the limits of his threshold.
"I took away a lot of the assumptions I had that if I pressured him, he would fatigue. If I stayed tight and had faith in my guard, the power wouldn't be an issue - and it wasn't. Overall, I was sure my fitness would carry me through that fight. That's even more concreted now, that it's five rounds. It'll be a war of attrition - let's see how much he can take on the night."
Home crowd
The Dungarvan fighter believes the noise and atmosphere created by a raucous Dublin crowd will spur him on to victory - and make it a nervy night for Freire.
"I don't need to tell the crowd anything, we already know what they're going to do. They're going to know the lyrics to 'Zombie'. They'll chant 'Ole, Ole, Ole' and they'll boo when he comes out. The place is going to be like a cauldron - like it always is."
Five rounds
With tonight's fight being five rounds as opposed to three, 'The Showstopper' believes he holds all the aces.
"Having it five rounds is a big swing in my favour. Patricky is an amazing fighter, but the one chink in his armour that he has shown in his other fights that he slows down in the later rounds. He's going to be worried about that against me. I'm a guy who doesn't slow down - that's a big big difference for this."
