Mark Hulme has decided it's time to be a little selfish for once.

For years, Hulme (13-3) was one of the key ingredients in the training laboratory that concocted unorthodox-yet-elite UFC middleweight champion Dricus Du Plessis. Between fights of his own and Du Plessis, it was go, go, go.

From early 2023 to early 2024, South Africa's Hulme came to a realization the hard way. A hectic schedule led to burnout, further worsened by a plummet in passion during a stint as cast member on "The Ultimate Fighter 32."

"I had just come off five fights," Hulme recently told MMA Junkie. "It was a tight schedule accompanying the champ between each of my fights to each of his fights. I've said this many times, but I'm going to stick to it. I quite literally died a metaphorical death in 'The Ultimate Fighter.' You put all of your hopes and dreams into one basket. I really do everything right. I train when I need to train. I do my brain training, my neuro training. I eat well. I sleep well. I work on my mentality. I love exploring philosophy and psychology. I'm literally trying to love and while I'm loving, I'm doing something that I love. At that stage of my life, all of my hopes and dreams were in this basket of the UFC. It got taken from me by first-round guillotine."

Ireland's Paddy McCrory made relatively quick work of Hulme in the opening round of the bracket. Hulme revealed he fought with a "questionable" bicep, which he later tore completely.

"For so long, it was on my bicep and how I'm going to get around this in the fight," Hulme said. "Ultimately, I didn't. It wasn't nice. But I can honestly take my hat off to Paddy McCorry. I bless him. People need to understand fighting is not just winning."

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by OKTAGON (@oktagonmma)

A metaphorical revival

With a loss, albeit exhibition, Hulme took a breather, which was required competition-wise as the reality series was recorded and then aired. When he was able to resume fighting, he did – and he's glad he found OKTAGON. He made his promotional debut in the opening round of the Tipsport Gamechanger tournament when he defeated UFC alum Andreas Michailidis.

"It's seriously fun. It's seriously fun," Hulme said. "You're not just idly sitting somewhere, chasing a bout, waiting to climb the ranks, waiting for guys to be ready to fight. It's just kind of like you're promised these four fights. They have been postponed. You kind of roll with the punches with it. It's exciting."

Hulme returns for his tournament semifinal bout Saturday at OKTAGON 74 in Prague. He fights Dominik Humbuger (10-2), an opponent he selected.

"When I watched him fight I told my coach, 'This is my next opponent. I can shine against him.' The way he moves, I went and studied all the fights. He's quite quick on his feet," Hulme said. "That night, I just saw someone who was lagging. I saw someone who was slow. His punches were so slow. He was hurt multiple times during the fight. The one good thing that he had going for him was his composure. That's something that I'll definitely be watching coming into the fight. He comes out the first round quite relaxed and I believe tactically he does that so his opponent's adrenaline can spike. In the second round, he comes out pushing hard. Whatever he's got planned, I've got plans of my own. Everyone has plans until they get punched in the f*cking nose, and it turns into a dog fight."

Should he win this fight, Hulme will face the winner of Mick Stanton (14-8) vs. Kerim Engizek (22-4), which takes place on the same card. A final tournament victory, should it occur, will mean Hulme pockets 1 million Euros.

While what exactly his path will look like going forward is unknown, Hulme knows he's on the right one regardless.

"There are so many narratives in my life," Hulme said. "MMA has just been a passion of mine. It's something I haven't been able to let go of. I probably won't let go of it until I'm 35 or 36 or past my prime. Until then, it's really working out for me to take it day by day. I had that metaphorical death in 'The Ultimate Fighter' and my bicep, I severed it not long after that. I had a complete reconstruction. I went straight back in the gym, straight back into training, not knowing where the road was going to lead me. It's a lifestyle. It's a passion of mine. I don't just do it for the glory. I don't just do it for the money. I do it because I clearly love it.

"So we'll see. After this fight, I'll see who I face and the same thing with the next fight. Ultimately, if I win this tournament, and there's no reason I shouldn't, I'm putting all the work in and I believe I'm better than all the people in the tournament, then I'll see what's next. I'll see what doors get opened. I'm not going to put my hopes and dreams into any basket. But I also won't say no to any opportunities that might arise in the future."

This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: 'TUF' burned out Du Plessis training partner, but OKTAGON revived him

MMA Mixed Martial Arts News, Photos, Stats, Scores, Schedule & Videos