Justin Willis believes he will be the next UFC heavyweight champion after Daniel Cormier. Willis will co-main event this weekend’s (Sat. March 23, 2019) UFC Nashville event. He faces fellow top-ranked heavyweight Curtis Blaydes.

Speaking to MMA Junkie at the UFC on ESPN+ 6 open workouts, Willis declared that he is next in line to be heavyweight champ after Daniel Cormier retires:

“I’m next up,” Willis said. “I’m next up to be champion. After (Cormier is) done doing what he’s doing, I’m next up after him.”

Those are bold words from Willis, who has won all four of his fights in the UFC. His last fight resulted in a unanimous decision win over Mark Hunt in December. Now, he’ll step into the cage against Blaydes, who recently had a five-fight win streak snapped by Francis Ngannou. “The Predator” downed “Razor” in just 45 seconds in their Beijing main event.

Ngannou is the only man to have ever defeated Blaydes in his mixed martial arts career. Willis hopes to change that come Saturday night:

“This is another brick in the road,” Willis said. “I’m going to continue to get better, and this guy is the next guy up. The next guy I’m looking to dominate. … I know what I am, so whatever the public sees after this fight, I could care less about all that stuff. All I care about is proving myself right.”