Wollongong UFC prospect Amena Hadaya has vowed to do her talking in the cage in what's turned into a grudge-match with Sydneysider Jacinta Austin on Friday night.
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The pair will duke it out for the first ever Eternal women's flyweight strap on the promotion's long-awaited return to Sydney.
It's not the type of fight Freestyle MMA's Hadaya has ever shied away from, but it hasn't stopped Austin expressing surprise her rival has accepted the challenge.
The pair have trained together in the past, with Austin claiming to have "beaten the s--t out of" her upcoming opponent, but Hadaya is unfazed by the fighting words.
"At the end of the day, whatever happens is going to happen in the cage and I'll just shut her up there," Hadaya said.
"I've never fought an opponent I used to train with so I've never had someone say that about me.
"She was nice to start off with, and then she had a lot to say, but I've got nothing bad to say. We're both there to fight, we're both there to chase our dream.
"She's definitely underestimating me, there's no doubt about that, but I've been underestimated a thousand times.
"I like being the underdog and I'm just going to prove that I should be in there with her.
"She can say what she wants, but at the end of the day I'm going out with that belt."
The confidence is born of a full year as a full-time professional, having split bouts International bouts on UAE Warriors cards, her defeat coming to 5-0 Chinese striking whiz Cong Wang who's since signed with the UFC.
Hadaya's most recent bout was decision win over Courtney Martin at Eternal 82 in February, and the former nurse is confident she's never been better prepped for a cage walk.
"I got this fight on eight weeks notice, which is rare for me, and from start to finish this camp's been great," she said.
"I've had great strength and conditioning, I've put on a lot of muscle and I'm coming into this fight as a different flyweight, that's for sure. I've had a lot of mental growth as well.
"It's been a really good experience going overseas and going up against girls that aren't just on the Australian scene and seeing what levels there are out there.
"It's been a real eye-opener and just proves to me how much I can do this, and how much this dream can be accomplished. It's just a matter of putting in the hard yards.
"One of the last girls I just fought (Wang) just got signed to the UFC only a couple of days ago, and that's going to be me too."
She may be an underdog against 6-2 Austin, currently ranked the No. 1 fighter on the Australia-New Zealand scene, but Hadaya has never taken easy fights.
"[Austin's] had a lot to say about me not being in there with hard opponents, but she obviously hasn't watched my fights because I've been there with some killers," Hadaya said.
"If you don't can't handle it with the best (domestically), then you definitely can't handle what you're going get in the UFC.
"I've lost, I've lost the hard f---ing fights. I've been dropped in fights and I've gotten back up and just kept fighting and fighting and fighting and fighting. I know I can do that.
"I'm not the perfect fighter, but I aspire to be and that's that's the dream. No one's ever going to be perfect, but I hope to get to that level where I'm one of the best in the world."
An Eternal strap typically makes for a quick jump to the front of the line for a UFC start, an opportunity Hadaya's well-attuned to.
"This is a huge fight for me, a huge opportunity," Hadaya said.
"It's very rare that Eternal has a female belt and this is the first female flyweight belt.
"It's a huge step forward and Eternal belts hold a lot of weight in this sport, so it's definitely the right step towards the dream."
Mitch Jennings
Sports writer. Sport is my passion, rugby league my first love.
Sports writer. Sport is my passion, rugby league my first love.
