Misha Cirkunov has had a drop down to the middleweight division in his back pocket for a long time. He’s set to finally make the move on Saturday at UFC Fight Night 193.

Cirkunov (15-6 MMA, 6-4 UFC) said fighting at 185 pounds has always been something he was going to do. He did his best to thrive in the light heavyweight division, but the results weren’t exactly what he wanted, so now it’s time for a change.

He’ll get no layup for his division debut in the form of a matchup with Krzysztof Jotko (22-5 MMA, 9-5 UFC), but Cirkunov thinks it’s going to be a good test as he attempts to become an immediate player in the weight class.

“I think it’s the right time,” Cirkunov told MMA Junkie and other reporters at Wednesday’s UFC Fight Night 193 media day. “I tried the waters at 205. The highest I got was No. 8 in the ranking. The competition at 205 is steep and guys cut a lot of weight. I always knew down the road I could make 185 as well. I just wanted to know how far I could go. Now I know. I had 10 fights and I’m 6-4 at 205. Now I want to see how well I can do at 185. I think I have a bright future at 185. As long as I can do the exact same thing in training as in the cage I think I can do better at 185 than I did at 205.”

Cirkunov said he’s going to be better conditioned, faster, and still powerful now that he’s fighting 20 pounds lighter than he has for his entire UFC tenure.

To hear more from Cirkunov, watch the video above for his entire UFC Fight Night 193 media day interview.