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NASHVILLE – Justin Willis has no intention of fighting his teammate, Daniel Cormier, for the UFC heavyweight title, but he’ll gladly take the reins in the division once “DC” retires.

Cormier (22-1 MMA, 10-1 UFC) at one time set a hard retirement date for Wednesday, his 40th birthday. Injuries and big-fight opportunities have pushed back that timeline, though, but that doesn’t seem to bother Willis, a rising contender who is Cormier’s teammate at American Kickboxing Academy in San Jose, Calif.

Willis is not rushing to be champion, but once Cormier hangs up his gloves, “Big Pretty” thinks he’ll be near the front of the queue. Especially if he gets past Curtis Blaydes in Saturday’s UFC on ESPN+ 6 co-headliner.

“I’m next up,” Willis told MMA Junkie at UFC on ESPN+ 6 open workouts. “I’m next up to be champion. After (Cormier is) done doing what he’s doing, I’m next up after him.”

UFC on ESPN+ 6 takes place at Bridgestone Arena. The entire card streams ESPN+.

Willis, an honorable mention in the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie MMA heavyweight rankings, gets an opportunity to take a huge leap forward against No. 7 Blaydes following a signature win over Mark Hunt at UFC Fight Night 142.

There’s been no shortage of verbal offense from Willis ahead of the matchup. He’s labeled Blaydes’ personality and fighting style as “boring,” and said “Razor” wilts when the fight isn’t going his way. Blaydes has opted not to engage in the trash talk but instead prefers to settle things inside the cage.

That works just fine for Willis, though. After years of training alongside the likes of Cormier, Cain Velasquez, Luke Rockhold and more at AKA, Willis knows exactly what he’s capable of. He’s only been able to show so much through four UFC fights, but plans to show much more at UFC on ESPN+ 6.

“This is another brick in the road,” Willis said. “I’m going to continue to get better, and this guy is the next guy up. The next guy I’m looking to dominate. … I know what I am, so whatever the public sees after this fight, I could care less about all that stuff. All I care about is proving myself right.”

For more on UFC on ESPN+ 6, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.