It’s been a trying 18 months for Javy Ayala.

During this time, Ayala (11-7 MMA, 6-4 BMMA) was booked for two fights – both against Vitaly Minakov. However, each bout fell through during fight week. Ayala hopes a third booking against a different opponent will be the charm for his return at Bellator 239, where he takes on Valentin Moldavsky on Saturday.

“I feel good,” Ayala told MMA Junkie. “I’m excited to get back in the cage, finally. It’s been over a year, but I’ve been ready, and I’m excited for it. … It’s been a little frustrating for me, especially with these last two fights. They ended up falling off last minute. It’s been hard staying in fight camp, falling off, and then going right back into fight camp – but I feel like it helped keep me in shape. It helped keep me sharp and ready for this one.”

Although he wishes he had been able to compete sooner, Ayala thinks the layoff had its upside, too. For a year-and-a-half, Ayala has been able to focus on improvement.

“I’m going to look a lot sharper,” Ayala said. “I’ve been able to get a lot more one-on-one time. This layoff, I’ve been able to sharpen and tighten things up with my coaches.”

Moldavsky (8-1 MMA, 3-0 BMMA) doesn’t have the name recognition of former Bellator heavyweight champ Minakov. However, Ayala recognizes the challenge the under-the-radar Moldavsky presents. He expects the Russian fighter will look to drag the bout into the later rounds.

“They told me, and I was like, ‘You know what? Yeah, that’s a good matchup,’” Ayala said. “They actually offered me a while back to fight him, and it ended up falling off. I’m happy they’re giving it back to me and giving me the opportunity to step in there with him.

“… Honestly, (the later rounds) is where I feel like he’s going to want to go. I’m comfortable going into the later rounds, like when I fought Roy Nelson. I feel like my cardio is there, and I can still perform in those late rounds.”

When he looks into his crystal ball, Ayala sees his hand being raised at the end of the night. How? Ayala expects to hand Moldavsky the first stoppage loss of his career.

“I see us starting off, we collide, and it’ll become an inside fight,” Ayala said. “I’ll land a lot of bigger elbows and drop him with one of those elbows. I’ll finish the round with ground-and-pound.”

Bellator 239 takes place Friday at WinStar World Casino Resort in Thackerville, Okla. The main card airs on Paramount and streams on DAZN following prelims on MMA Junkie.