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Mateusz Gamrot and Jalin Turner were not paired under the most convenient circumstances, but concessions must be made in the pursuit of glory. Gamrot and Turner have the opportunity to showcase their potential on the main card of Jon Jones' long-awaited return at UFC 285 on Saturday.

Turner was originally scheduled to fight Dan Hooker in a Fight of the Night candidate between two established strikers. The fight would have demanded that Turner, No. 10 in the UFC's rankings, fight backwards in exchange for Hooker's (No. 11) remaining name value. Unfortunately, Hooker broke his hand and Turner was left without an opponent. UFC matchmakers picked up the phone and Gamrot answered the call on three weeks' notice.

Poland's Gamrot (No. 7) is arguably the best pure wrestler in the lightweight division, a stark contrast to the challenges that Hooker presents. Turner is now presented with the opportunity to expedite his climb to the world title, but he admits that pivoting from Hooker to Gamrot on short notice is not the wisest decision.

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"I mean, honestly, no, but I don't look at it that way. I'm chasing greatness," Turner told CBS Sports. "So we're going to see what we learn from this. Or if I get it all done how I anticipate the fight to go, we just go from there. And I just want to keep rising in the rankings anyway. So why not fight number seven instead of sitting back and waiting for somebody lower-ranked anyway?"

"I just wanted to stay on the card. I want to fight, you know? And then at the same time, I was like, who better to attempt to test my grappling accolades against than Gamrot?"

Check out the full interview with Jalin Turner below.

Gamrot publicly campaigned for a fight against Michael Chandler, who has since been paired with Conor McGregor to coach on The Ultimate Fighter. Itching to change his fortunes after a setback against Beneil Dariush at UFC 280, Gamrot accepted the urgent request to fight a lower-ranked opponent. Expect a cool and composed Gamrot despite his eagerness to steady course.

"This was a really big lesson. I learned a lot from the fight with Dariush," Gamrot told CBS Sports, noting that he trained with Dustin Poirier to prepare for Turner. "Dariush is a great person. I give him a lot of respect and I wish him all the best. I hope in the future he gets the belt. This was a big lesson. The big thing is maturing as a fighter. I better control my emotions. My last event in Abu Dhabi was a big event, a big pay-per-view, a big press conference. I think I had too many emotions during my fight. Now it would be a lot different. As I said, I matured as a fighter. My heart is cold. I know what I have to do and I can't wait for this fight.

"I made a couple of mistakes. Maybe I wanted to do my wrestling too much. My wrestling was not well prepared. Sometimes I shoot too much to the legs and Dariush could see everything. But now it will be a lot different. I improved my striking skills. I believe in my striking and the fight with Jalin Turner, I want to make f---ing gore in the cage."

Check out the full interview with Mateusz Gamrot below.

Turner's willingness to fight Gamrot under less-than-ideal circumstances is rooted in his incomparable confidence. Turner is fearless and more than happy to accommodate Gamrot's bloodlust.

"I don't fear any man that can bleed. We all bleed the same," Turner said. "I've always been that way. I've always prided myself on that. I just didn't want to make a career of being that guy to fight whoever all the time. I want to be a champion. I have set goals."