Tom Aspinall knows he's been given a huge opportunity at UFC London.
Originally scheduled to fight on the main card, the 28-year-old, who fights out of Liverpool, was offered the opportunity to face to be the main event - facing UFC veteran and fifth-ranked Alexander Volkov.
Aspinall is currently on a four-win streak since joining the UFC, with a tough opponent in Volkov winning three of his last four, after only being defeated by Ciryl Gane.
It's a big step up for Aspinall, who is well aware that he'll be the underdog coming into the fight.
But that doesn't faze him. It's actually something he enjoys.
The calm heavyweight spoke to the ECHO on potentially being overlooked - and how he'll look to show exactly what he's capable of on March 19.
Aspinall said: "It doesn't really bother me. I don't feel like I need to go on and talk about how dangerous I am. But if I don't, I feel like people look past it.
"Look at my record, I finish all of my fights. I am dangerous, I am one of the most dangerous guys in the UFC - just because I don't bang on about it doesn't mean it's not true.
"But I'm okay with being overlooked because of that, it doesn't bother me at all. I'd rather people overlook me, because they're going to be in for a shock."
Confident in his abilities, Aspinall feels he's one of the heavier hitters that the industry has ever seen.
He said: "I'm OK with it going five rounds, if they want it to go five rounds it can go five rounds.
"I am one of the most devastating punchers the UFC heavyweight division has ever seen, just because I don't talk about it a lot and just because I don't big myself up.
"Watch my fights. I am one of the most devastating punchers the UFC has ever seen."
A win over Volkov would give Aspinall a huge boost.
The heavyweight division is in somewhat disarray. Current champion Francis Ngannou is now technically not under contract with the company, after defeating the up-and-coming superstar who many believed would take over in the aforementioned Gane.
Ngannou has now defeated every opponent who is universally deemed as worthy opponents of his, except for one...
But that's not something Aspinall is even considering right now. He added: "I couldn't give a s*** about challenging for a title at the moment.
"Not thinking about nothing except for punching Volkov straight in the face. That's all I'm thinking of. Nothing else."
Should Aspinall leave UFC London victorious, he'll certainly enter the conversation of one who could be close to their shot
UFC FIGHT NIGHT®: VOLKOV vs. ASPINALL tickets go on sale from 10 a.m. GMT on Friday, February 4, via AXS and Ticketmaster. To stay up to date with the latest ticketing information, register your interest via UFC.com/London.
