Pietro Menga aiming to upset the odds against Tim Elliott as he makes his long-awaited UFC debut

Manchester flyweight Pietro Menga will make his UFC debut this weekend and has promised an “aggressive free-for-all” against Tim Elliott this weekend, having received the call to face the former title challenger on just 12 days’ notice.

Menga, a 29-year-old from Manchester who boasts a flawless professional record of 13-0, is one of Britain’s most exciting MMA prospects and has been desperately trying to earn his shot in the UFC.

He had personally contacted UFC matchmaker Mick Maynard to ask him to put him on the short-notice list for all upcoming flyweight and bantamweight belts, and had even just made an application to try out for the next series of The Ultimate Fighter, at featherweight.

But just two days after submitting his application Menga finally received the call from the UFC to fight at his favoured weight against Elliott, who came close to stunning flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson when he fought for the title in December last year.

“It just feels like everything is finally coming to fruition and I’m so excited, I’m enjoying the whole process,” Menga told The Independent ahead of UFC Winnipeg, which takes place this weekend. “I’ve got such a big smile on my face and I honestly cannot wait to get in there.

“For such a long time I wasn’t finding a fight in the flyweight division and so I really was considering moving up the weights to get my chance. I’m a flyweight but I really did consider going up and putting my balls on the table with the big boys at 145 [featherweight], just to see what would have happened.

“But it’s ironic, after making my application two days later I finally had this offer from the UFC.”