THINGS are moving really quickly for me. The UFC has confirmed that my fight v Mike 'Quick' Swick will not only be an elimination fight leading to a title shot in 2010, but will also be the co-main event at UFC 105 at the MEN Arena, Manchester on November 14.

To be the co-main event alongside five-time UFC champion and Hall of Famer Randy 'the Natural' Couture – who fights light heavyweight Brandon Vera – is a bit of a dream come true.

The biggest fight of my career just keeps getting bigger. It is also going to be a special night because my girlfriend, Elizabeth, will be watching from ringside for the very first time.

She's flying in from LA especially to see this, although I won't see much of her until after the fight because I will spend fight week pretty much alone.

I take my X-Box into the hotel room and, other than for ticking over in workouts and PR appearances, I barely see a soul until the weigh-in.

Spending time alone allows me time to focus on the fight, on bringing out aspects of my personality which will aid me in the fight.

I've been changing my training up a lot for this fight. I have a new striking coach who is giving me a fresh pair of eyes on my striking game. I am not looking to change anything, just refine it here and there.

Swick isn't a great technical striker, but he has power and – as his name suggests – he's very fast.

I have read some articles on the internet saying that I may lack the "killer instinct" in this fight with Swick because I've hung out with Mike and we get along very well.

Not gonna happen. Guys like Paul Daley, Jimmy Wallhead and Dean Amasinger from the Rough House gym are some of closest friends I have, but I punch them in the mouth every day in sparring. A couple of days of pleasant conversation with Swick won't save him from the beating I am going to give him next month.

Some people are saying this is a big step up for me, and while Swick has more experience in the UFC, I think his best win was over Marcus Davis.

And a win over Davis was my best win in the UFC. Davis carried a serious shoulder injury into the Swick fight and Mike just kept taking him down and doing nothing on the ground. It was a boring fight but you don't know what you are going to get with Swick.

At UFC 99, against Ben Saunders he scored a very impressive KO. But, on the whole, it is easier for me to prepare for Swick than it is for Swick to prepare for me.

I've only had three fights in the UFC and I've not shown even half of my skills yet. There are lots of things I do well that Swick has no clue about, whereas Swick has been in the UFC for four years and I know exactly what he can and can't do.

I think this is the fight of the night. My style will gel very well with Mike's. We both come from a kickboxing background, we both have very fast strikes and there's so much on the line for us both.

The last tickets for UFC 105 are available from ticketmaster.co.uk