Alonzo Menifield | First-Time Poster Boy

“I mean, I have experience in Australia, being not the home favorite. It's like, ‘Alright, cool,’ you know? It allows me to get into it. So I'm excited.”

Menifield is excited for the opportunity, but admitted that he’s less enamored with the long-haul journey to get here. But now he’s here, he’s locked in on the job at hand and, as he put it, he’s “here to put on a show.”

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The matchup between Menifield and Zhang pits two bona fide finishers head-to-head who are both looking to rebound from recent defeats. Menifield was stopped by former title challenger Volkan Oezdemir last November, while Zhang is looking to bounce back from a knockout loss to Johnny Walker in Shanghai last August.

Menifield said that the biggest lesson he took from his defeat was simply to trust in himself more.

“Go in there and do me,” he said.

“Don't be altered by outside environments, and yeah, just get in there and always remember to be you. That's what I can take away.”

That determination to stay true to himself in fights will certainly be a factor on Saturday night, but Menifield isn’t just arriving with self-help in his armory. He’s had Zhang well scouted, and said that “The Mountain Tiger’s” recent defeat exposed some key holes in his game that he plans to exploit.

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“There's opportunities there in that area that Johnny Walker found. And then for me, there's others,” he said.

“So, I'm excited to see and find out.”

One thing Menifield was already excited to see was his face on a UFC poster. It was the first time in his career that he’s featured on a UFC fight poster, and he hopes it will be the first of many as he moves up the ranks.

“My wife was telling me, and I was like, ‘No way!’ That was my reaction,” he admitted.

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“But seeing it, I was like, ‘Oh, cool!’ And now seeing it in person, I'm like, man, that's pretty cool.”

Menifield would love to see more of himself on UFC fight posters moving forward. To do that, he needs to rack up more key victories to eventually earn himself a UFC main event. It’s on his to-do list, and he said that seeing himself featured on the poster as the co-main event attraction has got him wanting more.

“Yeah, getting in the top 10, getting a main event, a poster, you know? That's what I'm aiming for, trying to get up there,” he said.

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“To see myself on there, it's like, ‘Oh, that's cool,’ you know? (But) there's levels to it. I'm appreciative, and yeah, it's definitely making me more hungry.”

Menifield can make a big step towards being a potential main eventer with a victory over Zhang on Saturday. 

One interesting stat heading into the bout is that Zhang has only seen the scorecards once in his career. But Menifield wouldn’t be drawn on the potential tactic of trying to drag Zhang into the later rounds.

 "No, not really,” he shrugged.

“I mean, he's a first-round fighter. He fights hard. I'm excited.”

While he wouldn’t be drawn on his gameplan, Menifield said the fans should expect an entertaining encounter when he and Zhang start throwing leather at Galaxy Arena.

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“I think they call it a ‘Clash of the Titans.’ Expect us to go at it (and) entertain,” he said.

“In a perfect world, he gets into his zone, and I catch him (and) put him away.”