Canberra's Duke Didier signs multi-fight MMA deal with Singaporean One Championship

But when he put pen to paper on a six-fight deal with Singaporean combat sports promotion One Championship recently, he knew what those 26 years had been leading towards.

"It's been a long journey," he said.

"It's ticking a box that I set for myself a long, long time ago.

"I've had so many things thrown my way that I didn't know if this was ever going to happen.

"For this opportunity to finally present itself, it just makes it all feel like it was worth it.

"It's shaped me to who I am, and to get this recognition and this opportunity to fight in an international company, one of the biggest promotions in the world, and to showcase my life's work, is everything."

First it was a torn bicep in late 2019 for the Duke of Canberra, then COVID-19 swept the globe and he found himself stuck in Melbourne and without a job as his gym shutdown, then came a blood clot in his right leg that doctors said would end his fighting career.

Once all of that was said and done, he struggled to find an opponent willing to face him.

Now he is headed to Singapore and preparing for his first fight against Uzbekistan heavyweight Jasur Mirzamukhamedov on Friday.

His opponent has a 5-0 record, compared to Didier's 8-1 record.

The MMA heavyweight and Glasgow Commonwealth Games judo representative explained how the deal came about.

His dream first became a reality when a One Championship executive reached out and offered him a short notice fight last week.

Within 10 seconds, Didier had agreed to fight a world jiu jitsu champion. Although that bout was scrapped, it led him to secure a multi-fight MMA contract instead.

"I was ready," he said.

"We've been looking to get me a match up in Australia but we've been struggling, and a lot of people have turned me own.

"So when this opportunity presented itself, I jumped at the chance, even though the competition would have been high.

"The executive got back to me and said 'we no longer need you for that fight, but we want to find you a multi-fight deal'."

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Under his coach Daniel Kelly's guidance, Didier dismissed the mere week he had to prepare as too little time to do so.

He embraced it, as he said he had been preparing for the last two decades.

"I know I'm ready, I train with world class fighters every day," he said.

"That's why I relocated to Melbourne temporarily, to train with the best and learn from the best.

"I'm in a professional environment. And in my eyes, even though I had doubts that it was gonna happen, I was training for the inevitable that this opportunity will come knocking and it has.

"So my gamble's paid off, all my sacrifices have paid off, and the great thing is that now I get a chance to really make a career out of this, and that's what I've always wanted."

The 33-year-old relocated to Victoria about three years ago to pursue his dream full time, leaving behind his family and a project manager job in Canberra to do so.

It was there he discovered his passion for coaching, and Didier's multi-deal fight contract means he can open his own MMA gym in Tuggeranong.

"I didn't need to come down [to Melbourne] and take this risk. But I knew deep down that I had it in me," he said.

"I can't put into words just how just how much of an exciting prospect that it's all paid off for me and there's so many good things on the horizon.

"Another really, really, really, really good fact for me is that I'm gonna be Melbourne for this year but next year I plan on coming back to Canberra and opening my own gym.

"It means I'm gonna be able to base myself out of Canberra, be able to fight internationally, all whilst helping the next generation come through.

"I'm Canberra born, bred and fed. So my plan was always to come back and you can't call yourself the Duke of Canberra if you don't come back and help the community that did so much for you."