Local mixed martial artist Carli Judice has had her eyes set on a chance to fight in the UFC ever since she first stepped foot in the ring as an amateur over two years ago.

On Tuesday, her dreams may finally come true.

With just ten days’ notice, Judice was contacted to replace a fighter on Dana White’s Contender Series. For many mixed martial artists, such a short training camp would be insufficient notice for an opportunity of this magnitude, but Judice said that she does her best to always stay in fighting shape.

“I was at work on Saturday morning and my manager called and told me that there was a fight in ten days on the contender series because one of the girls who was scheduled to fight had her opponent pull out,” Judice explained. “I feel like I’m ready for this. I’m always in the gym and I never really have a fight camp, I’m always at every practice and working hard. My coaches always told me that when it happens, it’ll happen fast.”

The ten-day notice also puts a strain on one of the hardest aspects of fight preparation: the weigh-in. The day before the fight, all fighters are officially weighed for their respective weight classes with penalties for missing weight ranging from missing out on an opportunity for a title to being unable to compete at all. Judice said that her coaches have confidence that she will be able to come in at the required weight of 125 pounds at Monday’s weigh-in.

“The question is always ‘can you make weight?’, especially in a short-notice fight. My coaches feel confident that I can do that so we’re going to do whatever it takes to get it done,” she said.

Judice’s opponent is Ernesta Kareckaite of Lithuania. Kareckaite currently has a 4-0-1 record in MMA and also competes internationally in both boxing and kickboxing. Judice said that she expects the fight to be an interesting one.

“She’s a good striker and I think that she’s going to bring it,” Judice said of her opponent. “She’s a little taller than me, so I’ll have to work around her range but I’m also a very good striker so I think this will be an amazing fight. We’re both tough and we’re both fast and strong so I think we’re going to scrap it out.”

“I don’t plan to back down and I don’t think she is going to back down either so this will be a crazy fight.”

Calling herself a “good fighter” is quite an understatement from Judice. With a perfect 4-0 amateur record and an undefeated 3-0 pro record so far, Judice has ended five of her seven fights by knockout.

She isn’t just dangerous on her feet either, as Judice is also a skilled technician in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and regularly trains with both brown and black belts.

One such black belt is Judice’s coach and owner of Headkicks Mixed Martial Arts & Fitness Club, Aaron Philips. Philips, a high-level MMA competitor in his own right, is joined by fellow coaches Walter Monceaux (boxing) and Tyler Hill (striking) on the journey to Las Vegas to make sure that Judice is in the best possible shape for her upcoming fight. Judice’s sister and brother-in-law also traveled with the team for additional support.

Tuesday’s fight could prove to be the most important one in Judice’s career thus far. The contender series puts fighters in front of UFC president Dana White as well as millions of viewers around the world. Judice said that, should she win her fight on Tuesday, her career trajectory will change dramatically.

“If you impress Dana White and win your fight, you get a contract that night,” she explained. “That’s the whole idea of the contender series, to allow fighters to have one shot to show what they have. This could be a huge switch, my life could go from working in a bakery to being a UFC fighter in one night. It could change my life in 15 minutes.”

Judice’s performance on the contender series will be aired on Tuesday, Sept. 26 on ESPN+.