NEWARK, NJ - APRIL 27: Kurt Holobaugh stands in his corner between rounds in his bantamweight fight against Steven Siler during the UFC 159 event at the Prudential Center on April 27, 2013 in Newark, New Jersey. (Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)

Kurt Holobaugh earned a UFC contract with his first round KO victory over Matt Bessette in the inaugural Dana White’s Tuesday Night Contender Series event and hopes to make his Octagon return in October or November and has an opponent in mind.

April 27, 2013 is a date that has stuck in the mind of Kurt Holobaugh through most of his professional MMA career.

That was the date of his first appearance in the UFC. Holobaugh stepped in on short notice to face Steven Siler at UFC 159. Even though the Louisiana native had only been competing professionally for two years, he still put on an exciting fight and lost a close decision to Siler that night.

He would not get another chance to compete inside the Octagon; until now.

Holobaugh extended his winning streak to four-fights with an exciting first-round KO victory over the No.1 ranked fighter in New England, Matt Bessette in the main event of the inaugural Dana White’s Tuesday Night Contender Series event last Tuesday night. He, along with bantamweight Boston Salmon, were awarded UFC contracts from president Dana White following the fight card. It was a surreal moment for Holobaugh – not only because he earned himself a ticket back in the UFC, but he had found an answer to a question that has hampered him since his only UFC appearance back in 2013. For Holoabugh, he got a little extra motivation after a pre-fight conversation with referee John McCarthy.

“One thing I’ve always wondered since I was cut from the UFC, was does Dana White, Sean Shelby, all of those guys from the UFC even know who I am,” Holobaugh told FanSided MMA. “John McCarthy is in the back giving us the rules in the rules meeting and Zu (Anyanwu) is with me because he was going to be refereeing our fights. So he’s talking to us, we’re going over the rules and when he’s done he looks at me and goes, ‘Kurt, welcome back!’ I’m like ‘Oh, sh-t’, John McCarthy just welcomed me back. The same thing with Dana, we’re doing the interview after the fight and he welcomed me back, and it was great. It let me know, that even after all of these years, they remembered who I was. I knew I wouldn’t be denied.”

Holobaugh earned his opportunity on the show after defeating Gesias Cavalcante at Titan FC 44 back in May to become the organization’s interim lightweight champion. Bessette, who is the reigning CES MMA featherweight champion, had been on an impressive winning streak of his own. While fans who were familiar with the regional MMA scene were excited for this matchup, Holobaugh was also, despite not knowing a lot about his opponent heading in.

“I wasn’t really familiar with him at all,” Holobaugh said. “I knew who he was just because I keep up with some of the regional champions and regional promotions. But I had never scoped him out as a future opponent before. Once they gave me the name, it clicked in my head a bit more, I remembered the name, remembered seeing him fight. I can always tell if an opponent is a good matchup for me, and he definitely was.”

Bessette, as it was said countless times on the broadcast, has a reputation of being incredibly durable. Early in the fight, Holobaugh had landed a couple of big shots with a small flurry following and it looked like Bessette was in trouble. “The Mangler” kept his composure in tact and continued on, despite breaking his hand seconds into the fight. Bessette’s toughness did not surprise Holobaugh, but it was his own start to the fight that did a little bit.

“One thing I can tell you about Matt Bessette is that he keeps really good composure when he’s hurt,” Holobaugh said. “He got a really good poker face. I knew that he was hurt. I knew he had his poker face on. But, I knew he was keeping good composure. A lot of people are telling me how great of a performance this was – when I came out, I felt slow, I felt a little flat. I didn’t feel as fast as I felt in my last couple of fights at 155-pounds. I think I actually put on a little too much for the fight inside of the Octagon. Then I started feeling it, I got into a rhythm, and I hit Matt with a big punch, and I think it was a jab. But I heard the jab, I felt the jab and it felt like it stuck right to his face. I looked at him and I was like, ‘Damn, this guy does have great composure because he’s got a great poker face right now.’ I even said it to myself.”

Holobaugh told FanSided MMA in the past that his victories over Calvalcante and others have felt relatively all of the same. It was a culmination of hard work and dedication that boiled to the surface following each grueling fight camp. It was always the thrill of victory. For this particular fight, that was certainly there, but it was more of a feeling of relief, knowing that he worked so hard for an opportunity to get back into the No. 1 organization in the world.

“It was a huge relief,” Holobaugh said. “I’ve been working really hard since 2013 to get back. I felt like my first stint in the UFC, I didn’t get a real chance to show these guys what I actually had. I was still a rookie, I was still young in the fight game and I still went out and put on a good fight (with Siler). But I was heartbroken – I was there and I didn’t even realize I was there. I didn’t even feel like I fought in the UFC. The road back, the shows I had to fight on, the opponents I faced, it just gave me so much motivation and so much confidence that I knew I belonged in the UFC. When the relief came off, I realized, ‘I finally had done it. I’m back.'”

With great performances from Boston Salmon, a submission victory for Charles Byrd, a KO victory from Azunna Anyanwu and an exciting win for UFC veteran Joby Sanchez on the card, there were a lot of fighters who could’ve made a strong argument for a UFC contract following the inaugural DWTCNS event. When the dust settled on The Ultimate Fighter Gym and the event, Holobaugh knew his time had come for a long-awaited return to the organization.

“Yeah, most definitely,” Holobaugh said. “I think it’s just the way I fight. I’m a pressure fighter, I push forward, make guys miss and then counter back with bombs. I feel like I’m hitting as hard as I’ve ever hit in my life right now. My last four fights have been finishes over extremely top and high-level opponents. I feel like I can knock out any featherweight in the world right now. I think the type of fighter that I am is going to bring me a lot of bonuses. I don’t see many guys fight the way I do. I can make terrible fights with wrestlers who want to lay and pray me, I can make those fights exciting, too.”

Holobaugh has remained extremely active, finishing all four of his victories in the last 13-months to get back into the UFC. While Holobaugh wants to stop and smell the roses for a little bit, he has eyes on UFC 216 in October at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, as well as the big UFC 217 event at Madison Square Garden on November 4. Holobaugh is just excited to get back in the Octagon, and if he has it his way, he has an opponent he would like to share the cage with.

“I’ve always had that Artem Lobov guy on my radar. I’ve always wanted to fight that dude,” Holobaugh said. “He’s one guy I wouldn’t mind fighting. I still want to take a look at that featherweight division and get a bunch of names familiar in my mind so when they call, I know who that guy is.”

The second week of Dana White’s Tuesday Night Contender Series will take place this Tuesday night in The Ultimate Fighter Gym and will feature a light heavyweight main event between TUF 19 competition Dan Spohn taking on Angel DeAnada. The event will kick off at 8PM EST on UFC Fight Pass. After the five-fight event, UFC president Dana White will award at least one UFC contract based on performance.