Karl Moore insists "this is my time" after signalling his return to MMA with last month's devastating win over Karl Albrektsson.
Moore made his comeback following a three-year hiatus on the massive Bellator card at Dublin's 3Arena.
Rocked in the first round, the 30-year-old produced a stunning submission in the second to send a partisan home crowd into raptures.
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Moore admits the cauldron atmosphere had the hairs "standing on the back of my neck", and it is an experience he craves more of now he is back to winning ways.
And he says the confident performance proves this is the stage he belongs on.
"I said to my cornerman 15 minutes before my fight, 'I should be a lot more nervous than I am. This is weird'," Moore told Belfast Live.
"I swear to God, I have had fights before where I have had self doubt and everything. But this time I felt nothing, and this was the biggest fight of my career.
"I should have been more nervous, I just felt supremely confident. And even on the day of the fight, that confidence just followed me. Even when we stood there facing each other before fighting.
"I felt no pressure, no nerves. I felt at home, even after being out for so long.
"It reinforces my belief that this is my arena, and it shows me what I am about.
"I have done everything right, and on the night I felt unbeatable."
Moore and Albrektsson were initially scheduled to fight on the preliminary card at the 3Arena, but a late promotion saw them thrust onto the main card and a global television audience.
It could easily have derailed Moore's focus as he prepared for the biggest fight of his career to date, but he described it as "the perfect night".
He added: "There wasn't really a lot of promotion done on this fight, even though it was me fighting the number seventh ranked guy in the division.
"And we were initially on the preliminary card, which I found a bit strange as well. For me there wasn't a lot of promotion about the fight.
"But then just as I was about to make the walk into the arena, we get told the fight has been bumped up to the main card.
"That put the icing on the cake. It was everything I wanted.
"I wanted the exposure. I wanted to beat this guy on a big platform, and announce to everyone that I am back.
"And I got that.
"I was ready for a war, and I was in complete control of the first round and then he caught me in the last 10 seconds.
"That gave him the round.
"Into the second, I knew I had to win the round or finish it."
Moore admits he had "goosebumps" during his fight, such was the noise being generated by thousands of fans crammed into the 3Arena.
The West Belfast fighter has previously won a world title at the venue, but he says his fight against Albrektsson took things to a new level.
"The atmosphere was crazy. That is the fourth time I have fought in that arena and I won a world title there, but there was no comparison to the buzz I felt this time," he said.
"The crowd went crazy when they called my name. And when he took me down in the second round and I got back up, the place erupted.
"I got major goosebumps for the first time during a fight, and I remember thinking, 'okay, this is class'.
"It gives you that extra lift, and when I won the place went crazy. I just crave that feeling again.
"It gives me added motivation."
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