Despite just two victories in his past six fights and a pair of horrific knockout losses, noted striking specialist Melvin Manhoef said he’s nowhere near ready to retire.

Manhoef (29-12-1, 1-1 BMMA) will celebrate the 20th anniversary of his MMA debut in early December, not long after he’s scheduled to fight Hisaki Kato (5-1 MMA, 1-0 BMMA) in the main event of Bellator 146 on Nov. 20.

During his lengthy career, “No Mercy” has competed in 44 MMA fights and dozens of kickboxing matches. As of late, however, it appears his long time in the sport has started to catch up. He’s suffered brutal knockouts in his past two contests, which raised questions about whether he’s still physically capable of competing at a high level.

Following a knockout loss to Alexander Shlemenko at Bellator 133 in February (a result later overturned to a no-contest due to a failed drug test), Manhoef was handed a mandatory six-month medical suspension due the damage sustained in the cage.

Some fighters would take such a suspension as a red flag given the overwhelming concern about brain trauma in sports, but Manhoef said he actually used the time off to rediscover his drive for competition.

“The break was good for my health and I’m very glad they made me do it so I could rest my head a little bit and everything. It was good and it was rehabilitating for me,” Manhoef told MMAjunkie. “I really missed fighting. I was training for a long time without a break and I got my pleasure back. That’s also important.”

Manhoef’s current nine-month layoff is the longest he’s had from MMA since 2011. However, during this break he did not compete in other combat sports as he has in the past. Manhoef said he can’t recall the last time he went such a period without strapping on a pair of gloves, and absence made his heart grow fonder, he said.

“If you’re fighting so much, every time it’s just normal,” Manhoef said. “The fighting wasn’t the No. 1 for me anymore. Because of this, I was searching for what I could do different and this what I had to different. I had to take time away and have no so many things on my head, change camps and focus on training. This is what a real fighter needs to do and this is what I am. It was a good learning lesson.”

For the first time in several years, Manhoef left his native Netherlands to seek a different environment for preparation. He traveled to Sweden and spent time training with two-time UFC title challenger Alexander Gustafsson and other notables like Jimi Manuwa, Ilir Latifi and Makwan Amirkhani.

The change in surroundings did Manhoef well, he said, so much so that his perspective on his future has completely shifted. At 39, fighters would typically be looking at the end of their career. Manhoef said that’s not the case for him, though, because he now feels he’s capable of accomplishing much more, including a Bellator title reign.

“I’ll decide when I want to stop; my body is OK to do it,” Manhoef said. “I’ve had 20 years in the business and I like to fight. You have good times in the fighting and bad times in the fighting. I don’t want to go away on two losses. I want to go away as champion, and that’s what I’m going do. Before I’m going to stop I will take the Bellator belt. I’m going to take it and then it can be time for me to go away as champion. I want to defend it first a few times then I will say, ‘OK, my time is finished.'”

If Manhoef has any hopes of sniffing a Bellator championship, he must defeat Kato at Bellator 146. The event takes place at Winstar World Casino & Resort in Thackerville, Okla. The main card airs on Spike following prelims on MMAjunkie.

Kato will enter the event after scoring a huge first-round knockout of Joe Schilling in his Bellator debut earlier this year. Although he’ll enter the contest at a significant experience disadvantage, Manhoef said Kato is a dangerous opponent that deserves his respect.

“I was impressed when he knocked Joe Schilling out cold like that; he’s a great fighter,” Manhoef said. “From the six fights he has, he’s won five by KO. This is a guy to watch. To match him up against me I hope it’s going to be a good fight and I can win this fight. This is very important for me of course. I don’t think this fight will go three rounds because we both have crazy power in our hands.”

Manhoef hopes a victory over Kato will begin to shake the image that he needs to retire. He made his goals for the future clear, and even though his best days may be over, Manhoef said he still has the drive to succeed and believes he can be a top competitor. Now all he has to do is convince everyone else.

“This is my life, this is what I do and this is my bread and butter,” Manhoef said. “I need to prove people wrong and prove I can still do it. If I win three, four, five times in Bellator, people will change their minds. This is what I have to do and this can only be done by myself.”

For more on Bellator 146, check out the MMA Rumors section of the site.