Calvin Kattar credits much of his success in the octagon to keeping his circle small.
Some of his peers at the top of the sport like Israel Adesanya, Conor McGregor and Francis Ngannou come from MMA super-gyms like City Kickboxing, SBG Ireland and Xtreme Couture where fighters flock from all corners of the globe to train with the elite teams there.
But not Kattar - that's just not his style. He prefers the quiet life.
Hailing from Methuen, Massachusetts, the UFC featherweight joined forces with Rob Font in 2019 to create the 'New England Cartel' under the guidance of head coach Tyson Chartier, who also doubles up as his manager over at TopGame Management.
According to Kattar, too much can be a bad thing, as the biggest MMA gyms in the world 'simply don't give a s---' about every person who walks through their doors.
"For us, our coaching staff, our teammates, everyone cares," he tells GIVEMESPORT.com.
"There's only four of us in the gym so they're emotionally invested in us. That's why when Rob is fighting I'm sweating all the time because I care about him. He's my teammate.
"All these top teams simply don't give a s---, it's just the job, but that's like a huge difference.
"It sounds so bare minimum but it's not the case in a lot of these f------ gyms.
"I've been trying to find this for 15 years because in New England there's a lot of places with dojos but not one gym that has everything so you've kind of got to piece it together.
"You've also got to find coaches that are okay with you going to box with this guy or wrestle with this guy.
"I've been trying to put that together over the course of 15 years like I didn't have that from day one.
"So yeah, it took a long time to set that up, to develop the team around me.
"Credit to Rob, Rob's the one that already had Tyson involved, he had a nutritionist, he had a strength and conditioning coach.
"I just kind of linked up with them and worked with the people he already had in place then just added my own flavour to it.
"We go to the fights now I feel like we're even more prepared, because these bigger teams, they don't care, they don't give a f--- about you."
Speaking to GIVEMESPORT, 33-year-old Kattar also explains how his mother Sandra, a single mum of three, is his biggest fan and in turn, the driving force behind his success.
"Probably my mother, probably my mother. Yeah, she's the best. She's always helping me out for fights," he says.
"That's the big motivation, her and the family, but definitely my mother.
"She was a single mum raising three kids, trying to do things right for her and the rest of the family, trying to get life-changing money while you can still spend it and enjoy it before you get too old.
"The more I fight the more we'll be able to get bigger and bigger cheques so hopefully I can repay her for everything that she has done for me.
"My family were so excited to see me fight in Vegas - I want to say it was the Stephens fight - it was supposed to be on the March card before the pandemic. As soon as they booked it my sister bought her flight.
"Not only did she buy her flight but she also bought tickets to a f------ show like Cirque du Soleil and then we ended up moving the fight a couple of days later so I was like go figure."
Kattar (23-5) is the UFC's No. 5-ranked featherweight. The Massachusetts native is coming off a unanimous decision win over Giga Chikadze at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on January 15.
He also holds wins over Shane Burgos, Andre Fili, Dan Ige, Ricardo Lamas and Jeremy Stephens, has won three of his last four fights overall, and is one of the most dynamic and exciting fighters on the roster today.
The Boston Finisher has also shared the octagon with Max Holloway which saw him receive a six-month medical suspension from fighting after suffering one of the most brutal beatings in UFC history.
Has that experience put him off facing Holloway again? Not one bit.
"I want that sixth round with Max which sounds crazy, right, like who even does that? We'll run it back eventually," he says.
"But honestly whoever man, put them in there with me and I'll knock them all down one by one.
"It doesn't matter to me. 'Zombie', he's booked, Brian Ortega, nobody knows what he's doing, but I honestly don't care. It doesn't matter when or where. I'll fight anybody.
"I'm just staying ready. I'm good to go whenever. I'm right up there in terms of the title picture.
"After my loss to Max, everyone kind of wrote me off, but I ended up proving them all wrong.
"Everybody was on the Giga hype train, he was chatting all kinds of s--- about the champ, but I'm not like that.
"You've got to do your work, earn your place, don't try and skip the queue."
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