I started training with Fabricio Itte with my wrestling and high performance; I started spending a lot more time with my head coach Henry Perez and also my grappling coach Alex Prates. Those three are my core team, and they've made hugely important changes and skill enhancements with my game.
My mother's Maori, and my father's Australian. I take my strength from both my ancestors, and I'm really privileged.
Fighter, father, husband - it's all the same person. I know the UFC stereotype is that we're all thugs. But I'd like people to know that I don't have to switch one off to try to be another. Being a father and a fighter, it's who I am.
The journey has moulded me into the person I am today. The journey of my mixed martial arts experience has been filled with ups and downs, but through that, I have come out a much better man.
That's the game plan - I've got it written down on paper: beat everyone. And that's what I'm looking forward to doing.
Every time I step out there in the Octagon, I aim to do Australia proud. And this isn't for popularity or a fan base; it has never been for that. It's just because I love my country, and I want to show the world what we're doing down here.
It's an absolute honour and privilege to get out there and be an Australian headlining an Australian card. That's unreal; it really is.
Everyone needs an objective, and everyone needs a goal, and it was frustrating just kind of being at a standstill.
When I made the UFC, everyone said, 'You need to go overseas.' I thought I had to go as well, and I went to Tristar Gym, and I was there for one or two years. But changes were needed. I'd come off back-to-back losses - Court McGee and Stephen Thompson - and I needed to look at my roots and go back to the drawing board.
I vigorously train in my jui jitsu and my wrestling, but my stand-up game gives me a huge advantage in defending take-downs.