As he makes his final preparations to take on Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt, Thales Leites, Sam Alvey tells Combate he’s not worried about Leites’ ground skills. In fact, he feels he can even win the fight if it goes to the ground.

“Worried is the wrong word,” Alvey said. “I’m ready for whatever he brings. I’m not worried about him. I’ve rolled with the best jiu-jitsu fighters in the world and not all of them submitted me. I’m ready for whatever Thales can bring to the Octagon. I will submit him in the third round. That’s what’s going to happen. Nobody expects this, not even him. I’m going to cash in.”

Sam Alvey currently rides a four-fight winning streak, having defeated seasoned veteran Nate Marquardt in his last outing, in January. Leites will try to rebound from an unanimous decision loss to Krzysztof Jotko in November 2016.

The pair will meet in the preliminary card portion of UFC Fight Night: Swanson vs. Lobov, on April 22 in Nashville, Tennessee. The card will be headlined by a featherweight bout between Cub Swanson and Artem Lobov.