Tom Aspinall knows a win over Alexander Volkov will push him up the official UFC rankings.
The two top contenders, aged 28 and 33 respectively, will meet in the heavyweight main event of UFC Fight Night 204 in London on March 19.
Aspinall takes on the former Bellator MMA champion at the O2 Arena on Saturday.
Volkov's No6 ranking is on the line and Aspinall is confident he can use the Russian as the ideal platform to catapult him into the title picture.
Here, GiveMeSport runs down the top 15 from the latest official rankings.
Francis Ngannou, 35, is the king of the heavyweights having successfully defended his belt against Ciryl Gane at UFC 270.
The UFC heavyweight champion is expected to sit out the rest of the year on the sidelines after undergoing knee surgery.
And Ngannou's former teammate Gane has kept his place as No1 in the rankings list, ahead of Stipe Miocic and Tai Tuivasa.
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - SEPTEMBER 04: In this handout image provided by UFC, (L-R) Tom Aspinall of England punches Serghei Spivak of the Ukraine in their welterweight fight during the UFC Fight Night event at UFC APEX on September 04, 2021 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)
Curtis Blaydes, 30, is fourth placed on the list, with Derrick Lewis, 37, fifth.
That is despite Blaydes being knocked out by Lewis back in February 2021 while he hasn't fought since his win over Jairzinho Rozenstruik in September of last year.
Speaking of Rozenstruik, he slots in at No7 behind Volkov.
The likes of Chris Daukaus, Marcin Tybura and Shamil Abdurakhimov make up the rest of the UFC's top ten.
Moving further down the list, Aspinall occupies eleventh spot as mentioned previously.
ABU DHABI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES - OCTOBER 24: In this handout image provided by UFC, (L-R) Alexander Volkov of Russia punches Walt Harris in their heavyweight bout during the UFC 254 event on October 24, 2020 on UFC Fight Island, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. (Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)
Bulgarian MMA fighter Blagoy Ivanov, 35, meanwhile somehow sneaks in at No14, even though he has not fought since dropping a split decision to Augusto Sakai in May 2020.
Walt Harris (No13) and Serghei Spivac (No15) complete the list.
There is of course no room for Jon Jones who is currently piling on the pounds in anticipation of a move up to heavyweight in the future.
UFC president Dana White told BT Sport: "It’d be good to see Jon Jones back this year.
"He says he wants to fight heavyweight.
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - JULY 06: Jon Jones of the United States looks on after his after their UFC Light Heavyweight Title bout with Thiago Santos of Brazil at T-Mobile Arena on July 06, 2019 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Jones defeated Santos by decision. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images)
"I’d like to get a Jon Jones fight at heavyweight this year if possible.”
Check out the list in full below...
(C) Francis Ngannou
1. Ciryl Gane
2. Stipe Miocic
HOUSTON, TEXAS - FEBRUARY 12: Tai Tuivasa of Australia celebrates after winning his heavyweight fight against Derrick Lewis via a second-round knockout during UFC 271 at Toyota Center on February 12, 2022 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Carmen Mandato/Getty Images)
3. Tai Tuivasa
4. Curtis Blaydes
5. Derrick Lewis
6. Alexander Volkov
7. Jairzinho Rozenstruik
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - JUNE 04: Jairzinho Rozenstruik of Suriname poses on the scale during the UFC Fight Night weigh-in at UFC APEX on June 04, 2021 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)
8. Chris Daukaus
9. Marcin Tybura
10. Shamil Abdurakhimov
11. Tom Aspinall
12. Augusto Sakai
13. Walt Harris
14. Blagoy Ivanov
15. Serghei Spivac
You can check out the official UFC rankings by clicking right here.
Eternal MMA 64 takes place early Saturday morning. The prelims will be streamed live on GiveMeSport’s official Facebook page, while the main card will be broadcast live on UFC Fight Pass.