Not many fighters would be openly confident about beating Patricio 'Pitbull' Freire, but Pedro Carvalho has vowed to dominate him.
Portuguese native Carvalho, who's been fighting out of SBG Ireland for over three years, has the opportunity to do just that when he faces the Bellator two-weight champ next Friday at Bellator 241.
With Pitbull hand picking Carvalho as a challenger for the featherweight strap, the 24-year-old has made the bold claim that he'll finish the 30-4 Brazilian in Connecticut.
"I'm going to finish Patricio 'Pitbull'," Carvalho told the Irish Mirror.
"I'm going to go out there and do the things that I always do; put pressure on him, make him work, make him tired and after that I'm going to find his breaking point.
"After I find that breaking point that's it, I'm going to pick my shots and sooner or later the finish will happen. This fight won't go to the judges.
"I'm not only going to win against Patricio, I'm going to dominate him and I'm going to finish him."
Born and raised in Portugal, Carvalho was drawn to Ireland by the lure of SBG and John Kavanagh at the age of 21.
The 11-3 kickboxer has called Dublin home for over three years now, and now identifies as not only Portugese - but also Irish.
He continued: "I've been living in Dublin for more than three years now. It was SBG (that attracted me to Dublin), SBG was the one reason why we went to Ireland in the first place.
"And when I arrived, not only was I super well received, I was supported like a native and I also identified a lot with the culture from the very beginning.
"They made the integration of a guy who was 21-year-old to a new country so much easier. For me, Ireland is not even a second home - it is my home.
"It's the same as Portugal now. Portugal is my country, but Ireland is also my country. To represent it is a big honour, with the Portugal flag - but also the tri-colour flag.
"I never felt foreign, I always felt like an Irishman in Ireland. The support is incredible and each fight even more people will come to me and wish me luck. It's been fantastic."
If Carvalho is to get his hand raised on Friday night, he'll be Kavanagh's first champion with the promotion.
And as he watches teammates like James Gallagher, Kiefer Crosbie and Peter Queally all flying high and starring in blockbuster 3 Arena shows in the capital, Carvalho has a dream of his own.
He wants to bring a world title to the 3 Arena and defend it on front of the Irish crowd.
Carvalho added: "One of my goals is to fight in the 3 Arena - to get (to experience) one of the best crowds in the world.
"I've been to so many places at this stage and they don't even compare to the Irish crowd. Having the opportunity to perform in front of them, represent them and to see that environment and atmosphere with my own eyes is something that I want to do before I die.
"Even if I'm like 55-years-old, I don't care. If I get the chance I'll fight there - I have to do it at least once.
"In the future, if I can bring a world title to defend that's even better."
In the quarter-finals of the Bellator Featherweight Grand Prix, Carvalho has plenty to get out of the way before he could realise that dream.
But less than a week out from his shot at glory, every day is a step closer to potentially becoming a world champion.
He added: "I'm one day closer to becoming a world champion, I couldn't be better.
"I've been in the organisation for the last year and a half and it's been the best experience of my life. I'm about to fight for a world title and it can't get much better than that!
"I'll be in the cage, the prestige of a Bellator belt - that's all I care about."
