LAS VEGAS – Heading into the first headliner of his 16-fight UFC career, Brad Tavares has been clear in that he doesn’t believe Israel Adesanya deserves the spot he’s in after just two octagon outings.

Adesanya (12-0 MMA, 2-0 UFC), as one would expect, disagrees. Not only that, he believes he’s the one that made Tavares’ (17-4 MMA, 12-4 UFC) biggest UFC opportunity possible.

“Be honest: If not for me, he wouldn’t be here,” Adesanya told reporters, including MMAjunkie, ahead of Friday’s The Ultimate Fighter 27 Finale. “He’s in the red corner because he’s ranked higher or whatever. But rankings is just opinions anyway, so I don’t care about them. He’s only here because of me. I might be blue corner, but I’m the A-side of this.”

That’s not all that Adesanya and Tavares don’t see eye-to-eye on when it comes to Friday’s 185-pound headliner, which airs on FS1 from Pearl Theater in Las Vegas.

Let’s go back in time a bit here. Adesanya was the one who shot the first jab, when he said Tavares made for an easier stylistic matchup than previous opponent Marvin Vettori – whom “The Last Style Bender” beat via split decision at UFC on FOX 29. To that, Tavares responded: “He hasn’t fought someone like me.”

Adesanya, predictably, begs to differ. And, in the process of explaining why, he’d like to offer some clarifications on his kickboxing record – which he says stands at 75-4, with 29 knockouts.

“That’s a lot of fights, and that’s not including the amateur ones I had,” Adesanya said. “And the boxing fights, which is 6-1. So, yeah, through my whole career I’ve seen guys like Brad. And guys who do it better than Brad, his style. So he might try and say I haven’t seen anyone like him before. I’ve seen many people like him before. Check my resume.”

Should Adesanya pull it off, he’ll join a somewhat select club: Out of all of Tavares’ bouts since 2012, he’s only been beaten three times; current middleweight champion Robert Whittaker and recent title challenger Yoel Romero were responsible for two of those losses.

After the loss to Whittaker, Tavares went on a tear that included the likes of Elias Theodorou, Thales Leites and Krysztof Jotko. Meaning: It takes something to beat the sturdy Tavares. Fear not, though, for Adesanya is confident that he has whatever that something is.

“I feel I’m better than those guys,” Adesanya said. “You guys might have your own opinions. Everyone say what they want and (expletive), but he loses to higher-quality competition. I’m the cream of the crop. So, come Friday night, it’s another one.”

Ahead of his first UFC headliner at International Fight Week, which also happens to be his first fight in Las Vegas, Adesanya has “a lot of boxes to tick.” But even if he won’t be able to fully relish the attention until his hand is raised, he isn’t fazed by the high-visibility position in which he sits.

If anything, five months after his UFC debut, Adesanya believes Friday’s bout will present the perfect occasion to really “let everyone know who I am.” This time, though, the resourceful fighter’s plan is to make his display in the cage speak for itself.

And, boy, is that plan rich with specifics.

“Last time, I pissed all over the cage. It hit on someone’s grave, blah blah blah, but this time, I really want to show out,” Adesanya said. “I feel like I’m going to need less than three rounds – two rounds. He’s one of those guys – you watch him when he fought Whittaker. The way Whittaker struck him was a little bit clumsy, but it was clean. Because Whittaker sometimes throws himself over the shots, over the center, off-balance. I’m not like that.

“I’ve done that in the past, and I’ve learned from it. He’s one of these guys, like I’ll hit him enough times within the first 30 seconds, minute, and he’ll be like, ‘Oh (expletive), all right. Takedowns.’ And then sloppy, panic-shooting and panic-striking. You can see it every single time.

“If it doesn’t happen in the first, I get more comfortable as the fight goes so. So, yeah, second or third round. But I just don’t see this fight going five rounds. Five rounds is too much. I’m finishing him.”

Adesanya’s plans aren’t limited to the fight, though. While fighters often offer the “I’m focused on this one” answer to questions of what’s next, “The Last Style Bender” hasn’t been shy about telling what’s on the horizon. One of his targets is stand-out Darren Till, whom Adesanya believes won’t be staying at welterweight for long after his grueling, ultimately botched weight cut in May.

But a possibility that seems closer – quite literally, in the geographical sense – is Uriah Hall. While Adesanya would welcome whomever wins the bout between Hall and unbeaten Brazilian force Paulo Costa, which takes place the following day at UFC 226, it seems things with “Prime Time” might be getting a little personal.

First, Adesanya compared Hall’s style to a Tekken experience in which you just “button bash.” Hall’s reply was that “chump change” Adesanya was a result of the “Conor effect” and was merely trying to take shortcuts to the top – “(expletive) him,” Hall summarized.

Curiously enough, Adesanya’s analysis was similar to the vet’s. He said that Hall is a “clout-chaser” and, upon seeing him get some shine, tried to get some of it for himself.

“He just wants to jump the bandwagon and say some (expletive), try to get some clout,” Adesanya said.

Adesanya says he ignored all that, but that will no longer be the case once his work is done Friday.

“Post-fight, (Hall’s) going to get it,” Adesanya said. “Like I said, 226, I’m going to sit cageside, and he better win this fight. If he does, I’ll see him.  You know when ‘Rampage’ (Jackson) and Rashad (Evans) did it? I want to see him. I want him to feel me. Because he’s been around. He’s just avoiding me the whole time.”

To hear more from Adesanya, check out the video above.

And for more on The Ultimate Fighter 27 Finale, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.