Friday 3 June 2016 06:07, UK
It took some courage for British novice Tom Breese to leave his hometown and knock on the door of a Canadian gym with the expectation of training alongside a UFC legend.
Montreal is a cold and unforgiving environment, the perfect location for the Tristar gym that bred pound-for-pound great Georges St-Pierre and current world title contender Rory MacDonald.
When Birmingham's Breese, just 21-years-old with a humble 6-0 record at the time, turned up with a one-way ticket he was welcomed - for as long as he lasted. Nearly four years later, he has been on the pay-roll and is now one of Tristar's biggest hopes.
I ended up going out to Montreal just for a few weeks but I was asked to stay on for a Georges St-Pierre training camp for one of his UFC title fights.
"Originally, I was training under Marc Goddard who is a UFC referee now," Breese exclusively told Sky Sports. "He wanted me to go out to Canada and he knew the coaches, so I snapped up the opportunity.
"I ended up going out to Montreal just for a few weeks but I was asked to stay on for a Georges St-Pierre training camp for one of his UFC title fights. That was a great opportunity and I learned so much from that experience.
"It's great to see how he trained, especially when he was fighting. He's in the gym a lot, he teaches every Monday, and he's a big help.
"Georges coaches me and the other guys. I was training with him this week. We give each other advice and we help each other grow."
Breese is now a 10-0 welterweight with three UFC victories - perhaps more impressive is that the Tristar coaching staff have kept hold of the Birmingham boy. They know a decent welterweight when they see one, having overseen St-Pierre's five-year world title reign.
His next fight against Sean Strickland is on the undercard to fellow Brit Michael Bisping's world title shot. For Breese, he has come full circle since going to his first classes to emulate Bisping.
"I started at 16, MMA wasn't too big then. Michael Bisping was just starting so I grew up seeing him. I fell in love with MMA and I've dedicated my life to it. Since the first day I went to the gym I took it seriously and wanted to be a champion.
"I saw that the 170lbs weight class was stacked so I wanted to come over to Canada and see what the level is like.
"I'm outside of the bubble which is good because I stay focused and humble. I'm prepared to be the best fighter I can be. I'd like to be a champion whether it's [Britain's] first, or just a champion in general. I'm on my own journey. But, as I say, I do miss home at times."
But will that journey ever bring Breese back to these shores permanently?
"Canada is still not home in terms of outside the gym with friends and family," he said.
"It's very different to home but the people are nice - it's half-English and half-French. I've tried to learn French and I can understand some of it, but my Brummie accent makes it too hard to pronounce the words!"
