Dhiego Lima (left) (photo via UFC.com)

By Kelsey Mowatt

If after surveying the line-up for UFC 184 the scrap between Tim Means and Dhiego Lima pops out at you, in a “Fight of the Night” contender sort of way, well, the latter agrees with you.

The welterweights are set to throw down on Saturday night, and when Lima recently appeared on Full Contact Fighter Radio, the TUF 19 finalist had this to say:

“Man. The same one as you. It was awesome. My manager didn’t even ask me. As soon as they said Tim Means he took it, because he knew that’s the type of fight I’m looking for,” the 26 year-old relayed, while discussing his reaction to the bout and its promising appeal. “He’s a fighter man. He comes to fight every time, and that’s exactly the types of fights I’m looking for. Man. I’m really excited.”

As Lima noted, Means has forged a reputation for being an aggressive and pressuring fighter, and the former lightweight appears to have found a new home at 170. Means is coming off decision wins over Hernani Perpetuo and Marcio Alexandre Jr., and has gone 4-1 since he moved up to welterweight.

“There’s nothing that really concerns me,” said Lima, when asked what concerns him the most about Means’ skill set. “He’s a fighter. He brings it. He does a lot of spinning attacks that I’ve got to watch out for. Man. There’s really nothing to worry about. It’s a fight. That’s why I’m looking so forward to this fight. It’s a fight. He’s going to come forward, he’s going to punch me, he’s going to kick. If he needs to, he can take it to the ground. So, I’ll be ready for anything.”

While Means has turned to his wrestling game more often in recent bouts, the FIT NHB fighter is best known for his striking pedigree.

“He uses his distance really well,” said Lima, when asked to break down Means’ stand-up skills. “But at 155, a lot of the guys he fought were way shorter than him. So it’s a little different. You saw him fight Neil Magny and he couldn’t really find his distance.”

“I’m a tall guy as well,” added Lima. “I’m pretty sure we’re going to have about the same reach. So, it’s different when you fight a shorter fighter and a taller fighter. I’m used to fighting taller guys, guys with long reaches as well, so, I’m looking to give him a hard time in that department as well. I want to control the distance and we’ll see what happens.”

Lima is coming off a unanimous decision win over Jorge Oliveira, who unlike Means, is not a familiar name to many fans here in North America.

“Definitely man, definitely. That’s the first thing I thought,” said Lima, while discussing the opportunity he’s been given in fighting an established vet like Means. “This guy has over five fights in the UFC, everybody knows who he is; he’s coming off a good performance, so, it’s going to be great for me man. That was the type of fight I was looking for and they needed two guys to step in, and we both did…”

UFC 184 will be hosted by the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California.