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CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – It’s been a long road back for Charles Rosa.

After 30 months away from the cage, Rosa (11-3 MMA, 2-3 UFC) returns at UFC on ESPN 6 against fellow New Englander Manny Bermudez (14-1 MMA, 3-1 UFC) on Friday at TD Garden in Boston. The card airs on ESPN2.

After he suffered a neck injury in late 2017, Rosa was unable to receive proper clearance from UFC physicians. Not only did he have to pull out of his scheduled bout against Dan Ige at UFC 220 in Boston, Rosa was told by one doctor it was “improbable” he’d ever fight again.

Sitting in the doctor’s office, Rosa wasn’t willing to take no for an answer. He vowed he would one day compete again. At a Wednesday media day, Rosa recalled his frustrations during that time.

“I had that moment where the doctor said, ‘You should consider hanging it up,’” Rosa said. “That almost bought tears to my eyes when he said that. There was silence in the room. I stopped and I said, ‘What’s the other option?’

“He didn’t really say, so I told him what the other option is: ‘I’m going to defy all odds and I’m going to beat this. I’m going to work hard and I’m going to do everything I can possibly do to come back.’”

During his absence of more than two years, Rosa still has been active in the gym. The injury didn’t prevent him from training. The native of Peabody, Mass., packed his bags and traveled around the world in search of the best gyms and physical therapy facilities possible.

A miserable situation to endure turned out to be a “blessing in disguise,” according to Rosa. The time away from pro competition allowed Rosa to focus on priming his body in the most professional ways possible.

“I would train since I started training jiu-jitsu and MMA and wrestling. I just trained six hours a day, every single day, even on Sundays,” Rosa said. “Even though people told me to take days off, I didn’t believe in that. I just thought the harder you worked, the better you got – which is kind of true. But you’ve also got to take care of your body.

“Like my dad told me, ‘If you don’t take a break, I ought to give you one.’ I think that’s what kind of happened, and I broke my body a little bit and overworked it. But I learned from my mistakes and I’ve built my body up to be the strongest it’s ever been.”

It’ll be Massachusetts vs. Massachusetts when Rosa and Bermudez square off. Now training mostly in South Florida at American Top Team, Rosa said he’s never crossed paths with Bermudez.

Despite “The Bermudez Triangle’s” submission prowess, Rosa said he’s not overly concerned. He expects his game to be more well-rounded and his improvements to shine through.

“I just feel like he’s a one-trick pony,” Rosa said. “I’m a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu and I train at American Top Team with the best fighters on the planet. … There’s no denying that American Top Team has all the tools and people I need and I get the best looks. I know that if I can hang with those guys that are specialists in each thing that there’s no doubt I’ll be ready for Manny.’”