By Hunter Homistek

Experience matters in MMA. 

Valor Fights 33 title challenger Kendrick Miree understands this point well. The 33-year-old strolls into his main-event matchup May 14 opposite the 19-year-old, undefeated champ Sid Wheeler as a heavy underdog.

To Miree, the odds mean nothing.

"I’m the guy. I’m the fighter in this fight," Miree told FloCombat. "It’s the other way around. It’s not me versus the champion, it’s the champion versus somebody that could be a legend one day. It’s a big difference."

With experience under the World Series of Fighting banner and years of training alongside some of the best fighters in the sport at the Blackzilians, Miree feels he—not Wheeler—should be the favorite in this showdown.

When a grown man fights a boy, he says, there's just no competition.

"Think about an uncle, then his little nephew’s trying to raise up on him," Miree said. "It’s like, you got to put him in his place, like, ‘Hold up, little boy. I’m the man here. You’re the boy, remember?’"

While techniques and skills can be learned, there's a certain x-factor that can only come with age, Miree says.

"I think about it like I’ve got grown-man strength," Miree said. "He hasn’t hit puberty yet. He hasn’t got the grown-man strength yet."

Add in his big-fight experience under the WSOF banner, and Miree believes Wheeler is ripe for an upset. The hometown kid might be 4-0, and he might be hyped as the next big thing in the region, but Miree believes it's all coming to an end Saturday.

"He’s been fighting guys that have nine-to- five jobs that have nothing to do with fighting," Miree said. "I have a nine-to- five job. My nine-to- five job is training."

Wheeler looks past Miree and sees a bright future—possibly one inside the UFC Octagon. Miree's heard the same siren song. He started his professional career 5-0 (all finishes) and he saw an eight-walled arena ahead. That's where he went wrong.

"I was 5-0, and I was like, ‘I’m going to the big show,'" Miree said. "And I was ahead of myself. That hurt me for what was in front of me, so he’s got to focus on what’s in front of him."

In Miree's eyes, though, there's no way this ends poorly for Wheeler. Win or lose, the 19-year-old will receive a boost for his career.

"If I whoop his butt, I push him to the next level. If he wins, I push him to the next level," Miree said. "When I whoop his butt and put him out, he’s still going to learn something from his butt-whoopin’…He might say, ‘Man, I don’t want to get hit like that again, daddy. I think I need to go to 170.’ He might start knocking people out at 170. You know he don’t knock out people, whereas I do."

The mission for Miree is simple: Go in, do work, get the belt, get paid. While the "Uncle vs. Nephew" dynamic provides a fun thinking point, it's all about getting that "w" and representing the Valor Fights brand at the Camp Jordan Arena.

"My mind is to be the Valor middleweight champion," Miree said. "I love a war, and that’s what’s about to happen. I hope he realizes we're in for a war. I’m not up there to pad your record, my friend. I’m up there to whoop you, to put you in your place. That’s what I’m there for."