JAVID BASHARAT fully expected to be a ranked bantamweight when he made his second octagon outing of the year.
The Afghan-born Brit has been nothing short of dominant in his first two years in MMA's premier promotion.
The 28-year-old has gone a perfect 3-0 inside the octagon, racking up wins over dangerous duo Trevin Jones and Tony Gravely in his first two outings.
Many expected a ranked opponent or a spot in the top 15 to be Basharat's future following his January shut-out of the then-undefeated Mateus Mendonca.
But he's had to make do with a clash against fellow outsider Victor Henry at UFC 294 on Saturday night, which, apart from the stylistic match-up, he's somewhat frustrated about.
The Snow Leopard told SunSport: "Everything has gone very well [so far]. But the only thing is I feel like I should be ranked [already].
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"Because I'm fighting the guys that people don't really [want to fight]. They're dangerous fights, they're heavy hitters of the division.
"Trevin Jones, had a positive record in the UFC when he beat Timur Valiev who was ranked high at the time and beaten [Raoni] Barcelos everyone was talking crazy about how good Barcelos was.
"Trevin beat that guy and he beat Mario Bautista, who everyone is crazy about right now. He knocked him out, he didn't even just beat him.
"And Tony Gravely, he was a Division 1 wrestler – so that was a nightmare stylistic match-up for me.
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"Everyone thought that he was going to be a tough fight to see where Javid was at.
"And I made light work of him. I fought him with one eye the whole fight. I got cut in the first minute of the fight and that was light work.
"And then I had an undefeated Brazilian from Charles Oliveira's team. So that in itself, whether he was good or not, there was no blueprint to beat him.
"I had to find out on fight night how to beat him. I hadn't seen him lose a round until I fought him. And he came off a 40-second knockout on the Contenders Series.
"These are all tough fights, these are all heavy hitters that I've fought. And everybody else is ranked higher than me, which I don't understand."
Barring a surprise defeat to the recently retired Raphael Assuncao, 36-year-old Henry has impressed during his UFC run with wins over the once-highly-touted Barcelos and Gravely.
But he built a solid resume outside of the UFC, so much so that Basharat believes he'll be a shoo-in to face a rank opponent should he get past the American.
Dana White's Contenders Series alum Basharat said: "Me and Victor should both be ranked.
"I feel like Victor is that calibre. He's got a great resume outside of America in Japan. He has wins over Kyler Phillips and Raoni Barcelos.
"This is a great fight and this is a fight that's going to put me on the map.
"I'm already on people's maps, but this is the one that is going to change it a little bit."
He added: "I'm asking for top ten after this. I already think Victor is top 15 as far as I'm concerned."
I feel like I should be ranked
Basharat punched his ticket to the UFC two years ago with a brutal beatdown and submission of Oron Khalon, who branded him a "terrorist" in their pre-fight face-off.
An all-important octagon finish has eluded him so far, but he won't go out of his way to get one against Henry.
"Since the beginning of my career, I've never ever looked for the finish", the Xtreme Couture standout said. He added: "It just happens.
"I'm always looking to finish the fight, that's the objective of the fight is to win and beat the guy before the time is done.
"The main objective is to win. The finishes, whether they come or not, a big part of that is up to the other guy too.
"Trevin had never been finished, so they gave me somebody that had never been finished in my debut.
"Tony Gravely, I front-kicked that guy so hard to the face. I don't know what made that guy stay up. So Tony did his thing.
"And then the other guy [Mendonca] had never been finished either.
"It's not like these are guys that are finishable guys that I'm fighting, unlike some of these other guys."
Going 4-0 in the UFC with a victory over Henry would be the perfect way for Basharat to end the year, which he hopes to see out in style.
He said: "This is going to be a great fight. Victor does a lot of things similar to me. But I just feel I'm younger, tougher, more skilled.
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"And at the end of the day, skills are going to pay the bills. That's one thing coming with an undefeated record everyone assumes you're skilled.
"But I know I can make him quit in there. Because the will must be stronger than the skill."
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