Jack Della Maddalena will make the first defence of his welterweight title at UFC 322 against No.2 pound-for-pound former lightweight champion Islam Makhachev.
The Russian enters the bout as a significant favourite with the bookies, but Della Maddalena's long-time coach Ben Vickers believes that this contest will be "easier" than his pupils' last fight where he took the belt from Belal Muhammad.
The 29-year-old won a unanimous decision against Muhammad where he controlled much of the fight with his elite striking and defensive wrestling.
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"Belal’s a bit more unorthodox, so a bit harder to cope with whereas Islam’s a more traditional sort of striker," Vickers told Southern Cross Combat.
"I like the matchup, I really do.
"I think it might actually be a bit easier than the Belal fight, just given the styles and that."
When addressing the lopsided betting line, Vickers suggested that the oddsmakers aren't properly factoring in the size advantage that the Perth-native will hold.
"There’s two ways it could go: does not having to cut weight help him or does carrying that extra weight hinder his cardio? We don’t know how that’s going to play out yet," he said.
"He’s obviously never fought at 170-pounds before as a competitive fighter.
"So it’s going to be his first time stepping up a weight class, in a title fight, doing five rounds with the champ.
"It’s a tough ask for Islam and I understand that his body of work and the way that he’s sort of dispatched with everyone of late makes him the favourite, but I really think Jack’s going to have a good time in this fight."
When the two men face-off in the octagon it will be a collision of lengthy win streaks: Makhachev has won his last 15 fights, while Della Maddalena is riding an 18-fight streak.