Austin Vanderford will finally step out of the shadow of his wife Paige VanZant when he faces Gegard Mousasi for the Bellator middleweight title this week.
The unbeaten fighter will take on the legendary Mousasi at Dublin's 3Arena on Friday in one of the most anticipated fights of the year.
And he could shed his infamous 'Mr VanZant' nickname if he can conquer the Dutchman in front of a surely raucous crowd on the promotion's return to Dublin.
But Vanderford insists that he is unfazed by constant links to his wife, who is one of the most famous female fighters in MMA, and an instantly recognisable personality in the sport.
"I embrace the Mr VanZant thing," Vanderford told Mirror Fighting ahead of the event. "I think that's funny.
"Also, I love to talk about my wife, I don't ever care about being asked about her, I love talking about her whether it's my fight week or not."
But he acknowledges that a win on Friday night could eclipse either of their moments in the sport to date, and launch him into a stratosphere of his own.
"We do a really good job of just supporting each other," he continued.
"There are so many emotions, so much preparation and stuff that goes into each fight, it's almost like the other one is fighting too when we have a contest.
"It's not necessarily a competition between us, but we are like a sidekick for one another, she's someone who gets it and understands the process and how I feel every day.
"She wants to make my life easy for me and does everything to help with that process."
And the ex-UFC star-turned-bareknuckle boxer will be in his corner at the iconic Irish venue to back her husband in his toughest career test to date.
Will Austin Vanderford dethrone Gegard Mousasi and become middleweight world champion? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below!
His record currently stands at an impressive 11-0, but he has yet to take on anyone in the vein of Mousasi, who will be stepping into the cage for fight No.58 of his storied career to face the American.
"I watched all of the past cards and those Irish fight fans are going to make this a memorable night," Vanderford added.
"Most anybody who fights him won't have fought anyone like him, he's such a seasoned vet, he's fought so many guys and almost everyone who fights him it's their biggest step up."
"It's murderer's row every day at my gym in American Top Team, the training partners and the guys I train with, of course Gegard is good but I know what I'm going to be able to bring to the table.
"Most of the time with a guy like this there's a little more, not strategy per se, but it's just different - it's been a long training camp I just want to show what I can do."
You can watch Bellator 275: Mousasi vs Vaderford live on BBC Three this Friday night from the 3Arena in Dublin.
