Birmingham fighter Tom Breese has set his sights on breaking into the top 10 of the UFC middleweight rankings by the end of the year.
The 27-year-old bounced back from a split decision loss against Sean Strickland in June 2016 by making an impressive start to life at the 185lb limit as he stopped Australia's Dan Kelly.
His first-round victory in Liverpool last May earned him performance of the night honours and he is now looking to continue the momentum against Brazil's Cezar Ferreira at London's O2 Arena on March 16.
Ferreira has stepped in for the injured Alessio Di Chirico ahead of what could be a busy year for Breese, who wants to fight three or four times before 2020 and move up the middleweight ladder.
He told Press Association Sport: "I want to be potentially top 10 at the end of the year. I think it's a weight where I can perform at my best and where my body can perform at its best.
"I'm the best version of myself right now and there's a good nine weeks until fight night. I'm going to get sharper, stronger and better technically.
"I'm not looking past Ferreira. Every fight that I have is the biggest fight of my life and this is the biggest fight of my life.
"But it's very important I get in there regularly. I look after my body and I stay healthy. For me it's just about fighting regularly because I've got all the skills in the world, I believe.
"I don't want to be that forgotten guy."
Breese boasts a professional record of 11-1 and he takes the only blemish of his career pragmatically, beaten narrowly on points by an opponent fighting in his home state.
He believes he has learned from the setback, adding: "I'm a much better fighter because of it.
"It was a split decision in the guy's hometown so it could have gone either way.
"I don't believe anyone's ever beaten me and I really look to progress my career at middleweight and show the best of what I've got."
– Fans are advised to register their interest via ufc.com/London to gain early access to tickets and to follow @UFCEurope on Twitter for all the latest updates. Tickets to UFC FIGHT NIGHT LONDON go on general sale on Friday, February 1, via AXS and Ticketmaster. Fight Club members will have the opportunity to purchase tickets early on Wednesday, January 30, whilst those who registered their interest early in this event will gain access on Thursday, January 31.
