For Michael Davis, it all started with an accidentally rented film.

Years ago, in a time when video stores were still common, Davis and his brother had received their allowance and decided to rent a wrestling VHS from a Red Deer Blockbuster. They mistakenly rented a Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) video instead.

Michael Davis says that people in MMA want to see locals succeed. (Supplied) "It just blew my mind, we were in judo and wrestling at that time, and I was hooked," said Davis.

Since then, mixed martial arts (MMA) has been his goal.

Fast forward a decade and a half and Michael Davis was well on the way to fighting in the UFC.

He racked up an eight-fight win streak and was ranked the number one 125 lb fighter in Canada. He was in talks with the UFC and the future looked bright.

Then he suffered a bad ankle injury and had to get surgery on his Achilles' tendon.

Now, two years later, the 28-year-old is trying to get back to his former position and Alberta's MMA community is helping out.

A golden opportunity

Davis was just starting his comeback when he got a break.

"I just got flooded with messages and my manager got ahold of me and told me I have to go to Vegas," said Davis.

His manager, and all those sending him messages, were talking about the tryouts for the 24th season of The Ultimate Fighter, which will take place on April 25th. The winner of the reality show tournament will get a UFC title shot.

It's a golden ticket — one that Davis couldn't pass up.

Michael Davis's journey to a tryout at the UFC started with an accidentally rented video. (Supplied) The problem was Davis, a landscaper when he's not fighting, couldn't afford to head to Vegas or take time off work. He turned to GoFundMe for help, asking for the bare minimum to cover the cost of his trip — $2,000.

In less than a day he raised 115 per cent of that, almost all of it coming from Alberta's MMA community.

"Words can't even express how much that means to me. It just shows the faith that people have in me I guess. There's some pressure because now I've got to represent Alberta with my full effort," said Davis.

"People in MMA want to see other people succeed."

At the end of April, one day after his first fight back from injury, Davis will board a plane en route to Las Vegas knowing the odds are stacked against him.

There has never been a Canadian winner in an Ultimate Fighter shot in the United States and Davis knows the competition will be strong.

But he has a secret weapon up his sleeve: a little provincial spirit.

"I'll be bringing some Alberta down there with me."