Unless you're Wollongong Lord Mayor Gordon Bradbery, you're probably a fan of Alex Volkanovski by now.
The 35-year-old Windang resident is considered by many the best mixed martial artist on the planet, and the best to ever do it in the 145-pound featherweight division.
It's not difficult to get swept up in the narrative of a former concreter and Warilla Gorillas front-rower mixing it with the best in the world - but he left that battler-done-good yarn behind a long time ago.
These days, the burgeoning narrative is around his quest to become the GOAT - the best ever in the discipline.
He's not a hard guy to root for, especially down here in the Gong, but why is this fight such a big deal? For the uninitiated, let's run through all the factors.
Who and where is he fighting?
Islam Makhachev is the reigning UFC lightweight (70kgs) champion with an overall record of 25 wins and just one defeat. They will meet this Sunday morning (Australian time) in Abu Dhabi.
Makhachev is from the famed Dagestani wrestling school made famous by former lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov who retired 29-0 and is considered by many the best MMA fighter of all time.
Makhachev won the lightweight belt in October last year when he choked out former champion Charles Oliveira in the second round; in so doing he submitted the holder of the UFC record for submission victories (that's impressive).
Barring a KO loss in his second UFC appearance, Makhachev has looked unbeatable... until he fought Volk.
So this is rematch?
Yes. Makhachev met Volkanovski in Perth in February this year in a fight for the UFC lightweight title. It saw Volk move up from his natural featherweight division to look to become a two division champion.
What is a two-division champion?
Someone who becomes champion in two different weight classes.
Combat sports are fought out across various weight limits and divisions. Becoming a two-division champion, or champ-champ in the MMA vernacular, is a huge achievement because it reveals a fighter's skillset carries across different weight classes and can overcome physical disadvantages.
Volkanovski typically fights at 145 pounds, or 65kgs, where he is still the reigning champion. In his first fight with Makhachev he was looking to become a two-division champion by holding the featherweight and lightweight belts simultaneously.
In doing so, he was giving away every physical advantage to Makhachev and relying on a superior skillset and other intangibles to overcome those disadvantages.
What happened?
A Makhachev victory by unanimous decision.
Many felt Makhachev's aforementioned physical advantages and wrestling prowess would be too much for the smaller Volkanovski to overcome, or even withstand and survive.
It's why a lot of experts expected Makhachev to finish the fight in the first round. Instead, the bout went a full five rounds, with Volkanovski proving more than capable of withstanding Makhachev's wrestling.
In a close-fought fight, all three judges determined Makhachev won more rounds, despite each round being tightly contested. It was a highly disputed call, with many believing Volkanovski had in fact won the bout.
The closeness of the fight, meant Volkanovski retained his pound-for-pound No. 1 ranking over Makhachev despite the loss.
What are pound-for-pound rankings?
A measure of ranking fighters beyond weight classes and head-to-head match-ups. For example, a good heavyweight would theoretically beat even a great featherweight with ease because the size disparity is too great.
Measuring two fighters against each other in 'pound-for-pound' stakes determines who would win a fight if each fighter were the same size and weight i.e. who has the superior fighting skillset.
It's a judgement call made on various factors like overall resume, recent activity and calibre of opponents. There's much ambiguity in how people apply those criteria.
In Volkanovski's case, given he was effectively giving Makhachev a head-start, a close finish suggested the Aussie was still the superior fighter based on all of the above criteria.
Volkanovski is currently No. 2 in the UFC pound-for-pound rankings, while Makhachev is No. 3.
Why have I only just heard about this fight?
Volkanovski only stepped in as a replacement fighter last week, taking Sunday's bout on just 11 days' notice.
Makhachev was originally set to face Oliveira in a rematch for the lightweight title, but that fight was called off when Oliveira suffered a major cut to his eye in training.
It left the UFC needing a replacement. Volkanovski stepped up.
Is that smart?
Not at all. Fighters will typically take 10-12 weeks to prepare for a fight of this magnitude. That's the preparation Makhachev will take into this bout.
Volk is giving himself just 11 days. Imagine a 1500m runner with 12 weeks to prepare taking on someone who's had less than 12 weeks.
Factor in needing to cut 12 kilos, travel to Abu Dhabi across time zones to face a guy already boasting all the physical advantages and there's not a single empirical measure that suggests Volk should win the fight.
Less than one per cent of even elite fighters would take on this challenge.
So he's got nothing to lose?
Wrong. While there's unquestionably more pressure on Makhachev, there's plenty at stake for Volk.
Should he lose, he'll move to 0-2 against his biggest rival. Regardless of the circumstances we're currently aware of, history will show he came up empty on two attempts at double-champ status.
Even another close fight that falls Makhachev's way would not result in a rematch and any future attempt at lightweight gold would need to go through someone else.
Then why is he doing it?
Legacy. Countless fighters talk about 'any time, anywhere' mentality, but few walk the walk on it - certainly not to the degree Volk is doing here.
He's already the featherweight GOAT, if he can dethrone this dominant champion under these circumstances he'd stake a compelling claim to being the UFC's best ever - bar none.
It's high risk, high reward but, as he often says, Volk is just built different.
In more practical terms, Makhachev undergoes brutal weight cuts to make the 155-pound limit. He's hinted at an imminent move to welterweight, so there's every chance this would have been his last fight at lightweight no matter the opponent.
If Volk didn't take the chance at Makhachev now, he may never have got another.
Can he do it?
Without a doubt. There were plenty who felt he should've got his hand raised after their first fight and, when it comes to adjustments on the run, he clearly made more than Makhachev in that bout.
The fight finished with Volk on top pummelling Makhachev who was effectively saved by the bell. If you went off post-fight photos of both men, you would think Makhachev had copped a beat-down.
He's ultimately taken the fight on short notice, but Volk's been preparing for this rematch since the moment he left the octagon in February. There are physical challenges, but he's mentally and tactically primed.
No fighter is in better shape or boasts a higher cardio capacity than the Aussie. Going into most fights he's fit for 10 hard rounds. Even on short notice, he'll be fit enough for five.
Will he do it?
You betcha. In your humble correspondent's opinion - Volkanovski by ground-and-pound TKO in rounds 3-4.
Where can I watch?
The UFC 294 card is available on Foxtel and Kayo pay-per-view, with the main card live from 5am.
Does that make it OK to crack a tin at 5am?
Abso-frikken-lutely. Can-on.
Our news app has had a makeover, making it faster and giving you access to even more great content.
Download The Illawarra Mercury news app in the Apple Store and Google Play
Mitch Jennings
Sports writer. Sport is my passion, rugby league my first love.
Sports writer. Sport is my passion, rugby league my first love.
