Ben Edwards has won world kickboxing titles and the Australian heavyweight boxing crown, but some of those have already been eclipsed by his mixed martial arts debut.
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He has a win at Madison Square Garden on his record but it's a first round TKO victory over Brandon Sosoli at The Rex Hotel that is one of his sweetest.
Edwards made an emphatic start to his MMA career and hopes a win at Monaro Fight Circuit 25 puts him on the path to his ultimate goal of a UFC contract.
He did it all with three broken bones in his foot against an opponent that weighed in 12 kilograms heavier.
"That's right up there, that's in my top three fights ever, for sure," Edwards said.
"That was a big deal for me. That was a long time coming, that was 19 years in the making pretty much, since I first started getting into MMA.
"That was do or die for me, if I didn't get past that guy then I was never going to make it into the UFC. That's definitely in my top three fights ever."
Edwards faded during the final stages of his kickboxing career but showed no signs of rust when he finally stepped inside the octagon and forced Sosoli to submit to strikes.
He forms a part of "The Canberra Scrap Pack" with Brace light heavyweight champion Duke Didier and the pair believe things are just getting started.
Edwards is essentially a free agent and there was a handful of promoters in the crowd keeping an eye on his debut, and an impressive first outing could open up a world of opportunities.
"Once you get back in the win column and perform well, doors just start opening up," Edwards said.
"I think good things are coming. I've just got to keep on the straight and narrow which I certainly will be doing, unlike I used to before.
"I wasn't looking past it but I definitely want to fight again in the next three months at some stage. We'll see what the offers are, we'll see what makes the most sense and we'll go with that."
Sosoli weighed in a staggering 12 kilograms heavier than Edwards on Friday but there was "bugger all" weight difference between the two when they actually got into the cage.
Edwards was tested on the ground early in the fight but managed to get back to his feet, putting the heat on Sosoli before the fight was stopped.
He had to get his hand stitched up after he collected Sosoli's teeth in the final striking exchange, on top of the three broken bones in his foot he suffered nine days out from the bout.
Edwards laughed his walkout shirt that read "Anytime. Any Rules. Anywhere. Anyone" means he can't complain.
"Outside of that, I look like I've been run over by a truck, my face is all stuffed up but I feel fine," Edwards said.
"You can't get a shirt saying how tough you are like I did and then pull out of a fight with a sore toe."
