Australian UFC star Steve Erceg says he was bored out of his mind during his concussion-enforced break, and he's already plotting a plan to take down Asu Almabayev.
Erceg (12-3) hasn't fought since suffering a first-round knockout at the hands of Kai Kara-France at UFC 305 in Perth in August.
The 29-year-old West Australian will be back in action on March 1 when he takes on the No.7-ranked flyweight challenger Almabayev (21-2) in Las Vegas.
Almabayev is on a 17-fight winning streak, while Erceg has lost his past two bouts, including a tight defeat to flyweight champion Alexandre Pantoja in Brazil last May.
That title fight with Pantoja went the full distance, with Erceg on track for victory before making the ill-fated decision to take Pantoja to ground in the third round.
The bout with Kara-France didn't make it past the first round, with Erceg knocked out in quick fashion in a result that dented his chances of earning another title shot any time soon.
Erceg has spent the past five months building back to fighting fitness, with the first month-and-a-half proving particularly difficult.
"I got knocked out. I took off 45 days (after that), no head contact, which was the Australian Institute of Sport guidelines," Erceg told AAP.
"I didn't do anything super interesting during that time. I was doing some dog training stuff to become a better pet owner. I went fishing a few times. Nothing crazy.
"Most days, I was bored out of my mind trying to watch fight stuff and not being able to train."
The time spent without any head contact was Erceg's longest period of being out of action.
It's safe to say he didn't enjoy it.
"I was thinking mostly about how horrible it's going to be when I finally retire," Erceg said.
"I realised how dependant I was on training, and how much of my life revolved around it.
"Without it, I didn't know what to do. I get great enjoyment out of training and being in the gym."
Erceg still thinks about his loss to Kara-France.
"It still bothers me," he said.
"I'm not stuck on it, but I'm still annoyed when I think about losing the fight."
The headline act for the Las Vegas bout in March will pit No.1 flyweight challenger Brandon Royval against the No.6-ranked challenger Manel Kape.
Pantoja is still the champion in the flyweight division.
Erceg respects Almabayev, but he thinks he has got the weapons to defeat the 30-year-old Kazakh.
"He has a few dangerous weapons on the feet," Erceg said.
"I don't think he's as thoughtful there as I am. I don't think he's as polished there as I am.
"Mostly his biggest threat is his take-down game."
