Unbeaten UFC bantamweight Javid Basharat is plotting an attack on the promotion's top 15 much sooner than most other prospects his age.
The likes of Paddy Pimblett and Sean O'Malley have taken the slow burn approach on their way to the top, taking on a series of lesser opponents before gradually building to the big names. But after earning himself a UFC contract on Dana White's Contender Series last year, Basharat faced Trevin Jones in a difficult test.
Now, he takes on promotional veteran Tony Gravely in a bout that could land him just underneath the rankings after less than a year in the UFC. Gravely has half as many fights in the promotion as Basharat has in his entire career, and has won four of them only losing to Brett Johns and Nate Maness.
