Mark Chant, 41, stabbed the man five times in the chest and slashed his face with a 6cm blade on March 1 last year.

Appearing at the County Court in Ballarat yesterday, Chant, of Barkly St, pleaded guilty to intentionally causing serious injury and recklessly causing injury.

According to a police summary tendered to the court, Chant became increasingly agitated with his victim while drinking at an Ararat hotel.

Crown prosecutor David Cordy said tensions escalated when Chant's de facto started dancing with her brother, "something the defendant didn't think was appropriate".

The summary said Chant and his girlfriend left the hotel around midnight and were joined at home by the victim soon after.

Upon his arrival, Chant screamed at the man and headbutted him before crashing through a kitchen window, the document said.

The victim then left the house, but was stabbed five times in the chest when Chant caught up to him in the front yard. The document said the victim's mother separated the two and her son collapsed in the street.

Defence counsel Jim Shaw said his client was affected by a combination of alcohol and medication - including morphine, tranquillisers and methadone - at the time of the incident. He said Chant was extremely remorseful.

Mr Shaw asked the court to consider Chant was no longer in contact with his victim, and had withdrawn from alcohol and drugs.

In sentencing, Judge Leo Hart agreed Chant's offending rose out of a particular set of circumstances which were unlikely to re-occur. Chant was sentenced to 3 1/2years' jail with a non-parole period of 18 months. He has already

served 378 days in prison on remand for the incident.