Chidi Njokuani entered the sport of MMA with a reputable name due to the exploits of his older brother Anthony, but he’s emerging as a star in his own right as one of Bellator’s most successful welterweights.

After getting off to a 5-3 start to begin his fighting career, the 28-year-old has now won 12 of his last 13 bouts (excluding one no-contest) highlighted by an unblemished mark in four appearances for Bellator. Up next, he gets an opportunity to leap up the rankings when he faces former champion Andrey Koreshkov in the main event of Bellator 182 on Friday at the Turning Stone Resort Casino in Verona, N.Y.

Though Njokuani came in heavy at the weigh-ins for the second time in three fights —turning his meeting with Koreshkov into a 175-pound catchweight bout — he’s been trending in a positive direction in all other areas.

This will be Njokuani’s second time headlining a Bellator card. At a show in January, he took out 56-fight veteran Melvin Guillard via a one-sided unanimous decision.

It hasn’t always been easy for Njokuani though. A gifted striker, he confessed that he thought he could coast through training due to his natural abilities and it wasn’t until he buckled down in the gym that everything clicked.

“I think my turning point was right before I got to Bellator,” Njokuani told MMA Fighting. “I just really decided to focus more on training and being more disciplined or staying in the gym a lot. And then it started to show and slowly I just realized if I train a little more I can do a little more, if I train a little harder I can do a little better. Now it’s starting to really come into its own. Now it’s normal for me to be in the gym all the time.

“The turning point was probably back in my last RFA fight, or even the Tachi fight with Max Griffin. But yeah, it happened when I got to Bellator, I figured I just really need to crack down on my sh*t. Quit wasting my talents.”