Losing hurts for any athlete and Australian UFC heavyweight Tai Tuivasa is no exception.
The 26-year-old, who early in his career tried his hand in both boxing and kickboxing, burst onto the Mixed Martial Arts scene in 2012 and before too long had built a healthy record of eight wins for zero defeats.
However, in the past 12 months things haven't quite gone to plan. First he suffered a second round loss to Junior Dos Santos at last year's UFC Fight Night in Adelaide, before travelling to Chicago in June for UFC 238, where he came up short against Blagoy Ivanov.
"I'm sick of this losing s---," a frustrated Tuivasa told ESPN. "I need a win. I'm so keen to get back in there and do some of the s--- I didn't get to do last time."
The back-to-back losses have left many questioning Tuivasa's standing in the sport and whether or not he should be taken seriously in his division.
Naturally, that sort of commentary doesn't sit well with the Australian.
"That's the thing with this sport," he says. "Everybody can watch a fight, it's easy to watch, but how many c---- can have a fight? Everyone's got opinions.
"Losing the last two is s---, but that's life. I can't sit around and dwell on it forever."
Lucky for Tuivasa (8-2) he won't have to wait long until he gets a chance at redemption. On Friday, the UFC confirmed Tuivasa would be fighting on the undercard at UFC 243 -- headlined by the highly-anticipated clash between Robert Whittaker and Israel Adesanya -- at Marvel Stadium in early October.
Also featured on the action-packed programme is Nadia Kassem, who will fight Ji Yeon Kim in the women's flyweight division, while fellow Australian Megan Anderson takes on UFC debutant Zarah Fairn Dos Santos. On the men's side, Luke Jumeau and Dhiego Lima will square off at welterweight, while Justin Tafa and Yorgan De Castro meet at heavyweight.
Tuivasa will be going up against 24-year-old Ukrainian Sergey Spivak (9-1), a fighter he knows very little about and is more than happy to keep it that way.
"No idea," Tuivasa said when asked what he knows about Spivak. "I'm not in this sport to pick and choose. My job is to fight and that's what I do. Be ready."
Despite the extra pressure, Tuivasa insists he goes into the fight with no nerves. Instead, he's hoping to feed off the energy of a home crowd in what will be the biggest day in Australian combat sport history.
"I don't go into any f------ fight expecting I'm going to lose," Tuivasa said. "Nothing really changes with me. I'm going to train the best I can and get in there and throw down. That's what I do, I fight.
"[There's] never any nerves for me. I think I'll just be more excited that it's at home and I can perform in front of a home crowd again. Home is home and there's no other place in the world I'd want to fight than in Australia."
The current attendance record for a UFC event is 56,214 and also came in Melbourne when Ronda Rousey fought Holly Holm in 2015. Early reports suggest UFC 243 will exceed that mark.