“My division is very exciting at the minute. You’ve obviously got the top 15 guys. But then just outside of that, you’ve got the likes of Topuria’s brother (Alexandre). You’ve got (the likes of) Payton Talbott (and) Malcolm Wellmaker, who’s making a big splash now. So there’s these other young prospects on the rise. I want to throw Nathan Fletcher’s name into the mix with all of them.
“I think that Rinya is the perfect guy, a stepping stone in the right direction towards those type of names. So they are the conversations I want to be having after Saturday night – me getting in there with the likes of those guys.”
Victory would put him on the path he wants to be on, as he looks to become one of the most notable prospects in the division. To do that, he wants to be as active as possible, and he admitted that, results aside, his UFC run to date has been pretty much as he’d expected.
“This is how I envisioned my UFC career going,” he said.
“Obviously, I would have liked to have gotten the win last time, but if I can be active as possible and get maybe two, three fights in every year, that’s what I’m looking to do. And even more, if possible.
