Jared “The Jackhammer” Papazian plans to smash Mike Easton this Friday at UFC on FX 1

Jared “The Jackhammer” Papazian wanted to be in the UFC badly. Yet, though the call hadn’t come yet, he was confident that it would come…and soon. Papazian was so confident that he’d get the nod, in fact, that he recently turned down a bout in another organization in order to prepare for a fight in the vaunted Octagon.

Turns out he was right.

It was recently revealed that “The Jackhammer” (14-6-0-1) will take the place of the injured Ken Stone in his bout with Mike Easton on this Friday’s historic “UFC on FX 1” event. Scheduled to take place at the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee, the Papazian-Easton bout will be on the main card, broadcasted to a national cable audience. On the strength of a three-fight win streak and eight victories in his last nine bouts, Papazian is ready to show the MMA world what he can really do in the Octagon.

“I know that I’m supposed to be nervous, but I’m so prepared that I don’t really have room to be nervous. I’m excited to be able to get out there and show the world what I’ve got, and take that next step towards the title. It’s going to be an awesome night, and I’m glad I get to be part of it.”

Considered by many to be the best bantamweight competing outside the UFC, “The Jackhammer,” along with his trainer, former UFC lightweight Alberto Crane, has been preparing for this opportunity for quite some time.

“We’ve known that Jared had the talent to compete and excel in the UFC for quite some time. But we needed to let his record catch up with that skill set, and we needed to get him some interview opportunities to help build him up. In today’s MMA world, you need to be able to sell the fight and yourself. We wanted Jared to be ready for that. And it looks like it worked.”

Profiled recently in Sherdog.com’s “Prospect Watch” series, “The Jackhammer” is just 23 years old, but has already packed twenty pro fights into his  3 ½ year career. Now, with a goal of getting into the UFC realized, some might think Papazian will relax and just enjoy himself. But that’s not the case. With his trainers, including Crane (BJJ), Gokor Chivichyan (MMA), Rick O’Kane (Muay Thai and boxing), Andy Dermenjian (wrestling), and Leo Frincu and Joey Alverado (strength and conditioning) pushing him, along with his training partners, including Savant Young, Shawn Yacoubian, Keenan Lewis, and Martin Gantt, “The Jackhammer” is doing everything he can to reach his ultimate goal in the fight world: the UFC bantamweight belt.

“I’m ready to prove I belong in the big show, but I’m not satisfied with just getting here. I want Dominick Cruz and I want that belt. That’s the bottom line.”

But first things first, and that means a dominant performance against Mike Easton this Friday.