Given he’s only known the UFC almost exclusively for nearly 13 years, it’s understandable if Gleison Tibau is in some strange waters this week.

Tibau (32-14) on Saturday fights fellow veteran lightweight Efrain Escudero (30-13) on Golden Boy’s first foray into the MMA world. The card is headlined by a trilogy fight between UFC Hall of Famers Chuck Liddell and Tito Ortiz.

Tibau made his UFC debut in March 2006, and after a May 2007 fight in his native Brazil for a regional promotion, the UFC has been his exlusive home for more than a decade. After a four-fight skid, though, and a two-year suspension for a failed drug test, he was let go.

“After my last UFC bout, my contract wasn’t renewed, so I told my managers I’d be up for any offers,” Tibau told MMAjunkie. “(My manager) Alex Davis let me know about this opportunity with Golden Boy. I said I was in. I want to put on a great show in this organization, and if Golden Boy has other fight cards, I want to keep doing that with them.”

It’s coming up on four years since Tibau’s most recent win, so the motivation is just as understandable as being a little unsure about how things work in other promotions. Tibau admitted to feeling at least a little out of sorts.

He also said he was considering a move up to 170 pounds for the fight. Tibau long has been considered one of the world’s biggest lightweights. But if that move happens, it’ll be down the road still.

“This is my first fight outside the UFC after so many years,” he said. “It does feel a bit strange. I was used to how the UFC runs things. But I’m very motivated. I was thinking of fighting as a welterweight, but Efrain Escudero said he’d only go up to 160 pounds. So, I’ll be a little bit heavier, and a bit stronger. I’ll have a better, more calorie-rich diet, so I expect to be stronger in the fight. I’m very motivated for this card.”

Tibau said he hopes the show is successful, given the Liddell-Ortiz headliner. It’s an opportunity for fighters to have another outlet beyond the UFC, Bellator, PFL and any of the many regional promotions in the U.S.

“There’s a great rivalry between Chuck Liddell and Tito Ortiz going back several years,” he said. “I hope to have a great fight, same as the headliner, so we can have other fight cards under the same banner. I think that MMA fans will want to see this card since it features great names and matchups. Golden Boy already has a great name in boxing. Without a doubt, they’ll be making a lot of noise in MMA, too.”

First, though, Tibau has to get past Escudero, who is coming off a June short-notice win at PFL 2 in the lightweight tournament. Escudero missed weight for that fight, but won with a third-round submission. In his follow-up, though, he again missed weight and his fight was canceled.

Escudero won Season 8 of “The Ultimate Fighter” and had three separate stints with the promotion. He went 5-7 in the UFC overall.

“Efrain is very experienced,” Tibau said. “He was in the UFC for several years. He’s a ‘TUF’ champion. He has good wrestling, jiu-jitsu, and striking – he’s a complete fighter. I think Efrain and I should have fought (when we both were) in the UFC since we were in the same weight class. It just never happened. Now is the time. He’s skilled and he looks for a fight. It’s going to be an enjoyable fight.

“I think this is a great opportunity to show MMA fans that I’m back and I’m hungry. I expect to be making noise in my weight class for years to come.”

For more on Golden Boy MMA: Liddell vs. Ortiz, check out the MMA Rumors section of the site.