Duke Didier is the first to admit the narrative was beginning to grow tired in a brutal sport that requires fighters to divorce themselves from reality.
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Title defences were cancelled at the weigh-in. Comebacks were cut short when shows were shut down on a week's notice. All in all four bouts had slipped through the cracks.
Countless hours spent training, cutting weight, worrying about nutrition, conditioning, sparring and honing mental preparation repeatedly came to no avail.
It left a man who has been fighting for a decade on the verge of throwing in the towel. But now? In his words, "Daddy's home". The Duke of Canberra is back.
"If this fight fell through I was thinking this might be it, because when everything was going wrong, I just had nothing positive to say about the sport," Didier said.
Capital Fight Show promoter Nick Boutzos has re-entered the MMA landscape to help Didier (6-1) on his path towards the UFC, offering "the perfect opportunity" to return to the ring at home.
He will do just that against 24-fight veteran Jeff King in a 100-kilogram catchweight bout at Capital Fight Show 17 at the Hellenic Club of Canberra on Friday.
So the show goes on.
The chords of Bon Jovi's You Give Love A Bad Name will ring out once more. The robe that may soon become a trademark will be worn for the first time.
Beneath it lies a martial artist bereft of any niggling injuries that had plagued him for months, a fighter whose dream remains the same.
"This isn't a comeback, this is the start of a new beginning," Didier said.
"It has been way too long. Everything that could go wrong went wrong. It is definitely a long time coming so I can't wait to get back in there.
"Fighting at home going to be pretty special. It makes me appreciate more, I didn't think I would fight in Canberra again. Now that I know I can, I'm going to appreciate it for the whole fight.
"I'm going to appreciate walking out, I'm going to appreciate having all my friends and family there, because there is going to be a time when I don't get to do it anymore.
"Canberra doesn't have a huge fight scene and I may have to fight interstate so I'm going to really embrace the moment.
"My plan is to fight three times this year, all in the next couple of months. The first one is on Friday, then again in October, and again in November.
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"Ideally that will put me at 9-1, and I feel like that will put me in a pretty good position to start asking for a contract overseas."
There the possibilities are boundless for the former Commonwealth Games judo representative who is honing his striking under the tutelage of Garry Hamilton at the Stockade Training Centre.
Didier has seen it first hand - his Canberra-based teammate Ben Edwards just fought in the Professional Fighters League, while his Melbourne-based training partner just had a shot at UFC president Dana White's Contender Series.
"There's more opportunities now than ever to get a shot. I won't stop until I completely run my course," Didier said.
"I'll leave all that negativity of the past year behind me and have a good crack at making something of all this training I've been doing.
"There's going to be plenty of razzle. If I'm fighting in Canberra, I'm going to be bringing out every single little trick I've got. I can't wait, it will be plenty of showmanship backed up by plenty of fighting spirit."
Caden Helmers
Caden Helmers is a sports writer for The Canberra Times.
Caden Helmers is a sports writer for The Canberra Times.
