I remind him that he’s shown plenty of character thus far in life and in a six-fight UFC career. He doesn’t deny it, but also believes there’s always room for more.

“When things go south and don’t work out, I try to use it in a way to build strength instead of dwelling on it and saying, ‘Oh crap, why me?’ So I said I’m gonna get as healthy as I possibly can, the fight will come around, and now I’m ready and I’m fighting in my hometown.”

Ah, the hometown fight. Bochniak has a couple of them under his belt as a UFC fighter, losing a hard-fought decision to Charles Rosa on short notice in 2016, and then defeating Brandon Davis in January 2018. You might think someone in Bochniak’s position is a little jaded about competing in TD Garden by now, but you would be wrong.

“This is my third time fighting in the Garden, and every time I drive by it on the Zakim Bridge, I slow down and look at it and it fuels my fire to push hard that day so I’m one hundred percent prepared for October 18th,” he said. “I embrace every fight, but fighting in Boston, man, I train right down the street. Everyone from the suburbs, like Gloucester, my hometown, is gonna be in the Garden, and all my training partners who go to school in Boston or work there are gonna be there. So it’s really cool to represent Boston and I’m excited to fight hard.”