Riding a three-fight winning streak, Kelly will welcome Rashad Evans to arguably the toughest division in the UFC.

Evans is a titan of the organisation. Winner of The Ultimate Fighter season 2 as a heavyweight 11 years ago, "Suga" went on to capture the light heavyweight title in 2008.

He last fought for the title four years ago, dropping a unanimous decision to Jon Jones, and he has gone 3-2 since that loss, prompting a decision to drop down to middleweight.

Dreaming of going to the Olympics since watching the Seoul Olympics on television at the tender age of eight, Judo competitor Evans achieved that goal four times and has since gone on to coach the Australian Judo team at the Rio Games.

While his Judo career has ended, Kelly has not lost the drive for competition.

"Back in 2006, I was doing a bit of cross-training with [UFC veterans] Hector Lombard and George Sotiropoulus, Sam Greco was also floating around at the time, and Hector said, 'Hey Dan, want to have an MMA fight?' " he said.

"I asked him when and he said two weeks and I said 'Yeah, why not?' Then I went back to Judo and kept doing that stuff and I didn't really jump back into MMA again until 2012.

"I'd always been a fan of MMA but I never thought of it as a career or anything that's for sure.

"That fight actually took place on a raised platform, like a Bloodsport fight, and one of the ways you could win was by throwing your opponent off the platform as long as you didn't go with him, that's how I won the fight, I had to throw him off three times in a round to win.

"It was a weird intro into the sport, and for me back then it was just a bit of fun. I just thought I'd have a go and that was it."

A return to the sport in 2012 yielded immediate results. Kelly won his first six fights, and was asked to compete in The Ultimate Fighter Nations, pitting a Canadian team against an Australian team.

Now, as he prepares to take on Evans in Vegas, he believes his age has played a huge part in his success.

It doesn't hurt that fans have rallied around the "Dad's Army" hashtag that has become his calling card.

"I'm an older athlete, and everyone I've got around me, all my coaches are dads, and it's good to differentiate yourself from others.

"Being older... perspective does change with age a lot. You look at things and you appreciate where you are a little bit more than when you're a little bit younger as an athlete.

"The nerves and everything remain the same but you're a little more grateful for opportunities."

The opportunity to fight Evans is something Kelly is grateful for, but he also believes he can't afford to game-plan too much for the former Light Heavyweight champion, renowned for both his wrestling skills and the power in his hands.

"You can watch as much tape as you want on someone and it can all go belly-up as soon as you get in there with them… If you worry too much about what they're going to do and defending what they're going to do, where are your avenues to win the fight?"

"I know what he does, I've been watching him the whole time I've been in the UFC and there's enough tape floating around of me as well, it's just going to be when we get in there and who can impose their game the best."

UFC 209 is live this Sunday, headlined by a title-fight rematch between welterweight champion Tyron Woodley and challenger Stephen Thompson, while top-ranked lightweights Khabib Nurmagomedov and Tony Ferguson will clash for the interim belt in the co-main event.