It's often said that for a fighter it doesn't get bigger than competing in the UFC, but if you at look at the career of Luke Barnatt, you might have to think about that twice.

Barnatt this weekend is on the brink of taking over the European middleweight scene and he's done it all since being let go by the UFC back in 2015. After suffering successive losses to Sean Strickland, Roger Narvaez and Mark Munhoz, Barnatt was cut from the organization and left facing the harsh reality that at 26-years-old his best days could well be past him.
 
Two and half years down the line, Barnatt has defied the odds and worked his way back into the talk of being one of the best 185-pound fighters in the world. This weekend, Barnatt gets the opportunity to really put a marker in the sand when he takes on the European middleweight king pin, Mamed Khalidov at ACB 54.

Nothing bigger than this

This is as big as it gets wherever you are in the world and the stakes simply couldn't be higher. Speaking exclusively to FloCombat last week Barnatt spoke about the significance of the fight and what it meant to him to be fighting in the UK again.
 
"It's a big fight, you don't get bigger than Mamed Khalidov in Europe," Barnatt said. "In Poland and Russia, Mamed is one of the biggest, if not the biggest names in MMA. The fight was in the making for three months, but now we're just a week away from it.

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"To be honest I imagined the fight would happen in Moscow, just before Christmas though I heard it was going to take place in Manchester, in the Manchester Arena. At first I couldn't believe it. My last big fight in England was in London and I won by first round knockout, before that it was Andrew Craig in the MEN Arena in Manchester and I won by second round submission. Both these times I think were two of the best performances of my career.

"I'm now bringing one of the best European MMA fights ever to England. This is the first time he's fought outside of Europe for the first time in like five or seven years. It doesn't get bigger than this, it simply doesn't."

Respectful, but not intimidated

While some fighters in Europe would be overwhelmed by the thought of taking on Khalidov, Barnatt isn't one to be fazed by the name on the paper. Though respectful of Khalidov's legacy and stature in the sport, the Englishman says he won't let it play a factor in the fight on Saturday night and that he'd be treating this fight the same as any other.

"In his last fight he didn't look incredible, but I think he was recovering from some sort of back surgery or something like that," Barnatt said. "They [ACB] originally tried to make the fight in late 2016, but he said he needed more time to recover. I'm now expecting he's fully recovered so I'm preparing for the best version of himself.

"This guy is a finisher and you just need to look at the number of first round finishes he's got. Just look at his record--he's fought some of the best and shown he can finish fights. On the other hand, I think he is slowing down a little bit and I'm so sure he has the gas tank, the cardio or the drive that he used to have.

"That said, I think he's taken this fight to prove all those things wrong. He's taking on a young guy who's a tough task for him and he didn't need to do this. He's out there to prove a point and that makes him very dangerous. He's out to prove he's still a player and that he's not fading away and I'm well aware of this."

Khalidov is dangerous, but I've got more weapons

While wary of Khalidov's mindset to prove his doubters wrong, Barnatt is also aware he must respect the physical challenge that the Polish fighter brings to the cage. The Englishman has done his homework for this fight more than ever before and feels like he knows where can hold the advantages on Saturday night.

"Mamed is a very unique athlete in the fact that he's a finisher," Barnatt said. "He's got an elite, high-level ground game that you would see from like a really high-level black belt. He's not complete everywhere, but he's an attacker and he's always dangerous trying to rip your arms, legs or head off. He's unpredictable and he can be very dangerous, very fast. It's all about focus and not allowing yourself to get drawn into one of his traps.

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"I know I've got some big advantages over him. He almost has to get lucky to beat me, while I can go out there and out strike him, out grapple him and out wrestle him. I can punch and kick him from any angle. People keep saying the height and the reach are my big advantages, but actually it's the fact I can be in his face for fifteen minutes and I'm never going to get tired. I'm an extreme pressure fighter and I've never been finished. I will never give up and I'm going in there to give everything I've got for the fans."

Right place at the right time

With that said, Barnatt had a message for the fans coming to see him take on Khalidov next weekend. Suffice to say, Barnatt believes everything has slotted into place and that everything that has gone before has been all about setting up this moment for him on Saturday night.

"I'm the happiest that I've ever been, I've trained the hardest that I've ever trained and my camp has gone the smoothest it ever has," Barnatt said. "I've got all my people around me from my own gym and everything is just falling into place at the right time. This is my time, this is the start of something for me and I can't wait to show the people of Manchester what I'm all about now.

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"They will get to see me not only fight the great Mamed Khalidov, but beat the great Mamed Khalidov and bring his great unbeaten streak to an end. This is the start for me and I'm coming to Manchester show everyone that I'm not just the best in Europe, but that I belong there with the best in the world."

The next step …

Barnatt said all options would be open following a win on Saturday night and that he would sit down and think about it before committing to anything. A return to the UFC could be on the cards, but first he will talk to Dana White to gauge the lay of the land.

"I feel like the best is yet to come from me--I've not even started," Barnatt said. "I'm 28-years-old and I'm on a four-fight win streak with so much experience already behind me. I'm about to headline and bring the great Mamed Khalidov to Manchester for ACB's first ever show there.

"I feel like I owe it to myself to do the UFC properly--that's just how I feel. When I beat Khalidov I'll easily be the highest ranked middleweight in the world outside of the UFC so there's no reason why they wouldn't snatch me up. But, it's not just that black and white. I want to start a family, I've got my wife and I'm living in Spain working on new projects and basically just building my life. Building the rest of your life while in the UFC isn't really that possible because it's all engrossing.

"As far as I see it I have three options after I win. The first one is to rematch Mamed in KSW and take his middleweight title there. The second option is I stay in ACB and fight for their middleweight title. Then of course, there's option three--go back to the UFC. If I speak to Dana or whoever and the make it worth my while then that's always the option.

"The thing is the UFC will control my life--tell me where to fight and when to fight. Do I drop everything? I feel like I owe it to myself to take on the UFC again, but a part of me also thinks I owe it to my wife to do the right thing by her. Like I said, it all comes down to who makes me the best offer, but first I'm going to deal with Khalidov."