Seven-fight UFC veteran Ricardo Almeida is targeting his Octagon return - and welterweight debut - for UFC 111, which is tentatively set for March 27 at the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J.

Almeida would love to compete in his home state again and is jumping at the opportunity to get on the UFC 111 card.

"I wasn't born in New Jersey," Almeida told Sherdog.com. "But ever since I moved to the U.S. in 1997, it's been my home."

Almeida last fought in his home state all the way back in May 2001, where he suffered a disqualification loss in his UFC debut against Matt Lindland at UFC 31 at the Trump Taj Mahal in Atlantic City, N.J. He also runs his jiu-jitsu school, Ricardo Almeida Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Academy, in Hamilton, N.J.

Almeida's welterweight debut was originally set for UFC 106 on Nov. 21 against former UFC welterweight title contender Jon Fitch, however, Almeida was forced out of the event after he tore the MCL (medial collateral ligament) and meniscus in one of his knees while training for the bout. The injury did not require surgery, but Almeida was forced to do an intense rehabilitation program.

Even though Fitch has an opponent now, as he is facing UFC sophomore Mike Pierce at UFC 107 on Dec. 12, Almeida still wants a fight with the top-ranked American Kickboxing Academy product. He feels that a match up with Fitch, who is arguably considered to be the number two welterweight in the world, could propel him to the top of the division quickly if he is victorious.

"I don't have anything personal against Fitch," Almeida said. "I'm interested in fighting guys who can get me to the top of the division. Fitch is a great fighter. Pretty much everyone agrees Georges St. Pierre is the number one guy in the world and Fitch is number two. Who wouldn't want to fight the number two guy in the world?"

Almeida is 9-1 in his last 10 bouts, most recently picking up his second straight win over Kendall Grove at UFC 101 in August in what was his final fight as a middleweight. His lone loss over the successful stretch came against Patrick Cote at UFC 86. Almeida sports a 4-3 record in seven fights with the UFC, scoring other Octagon wins over Eugene Jackson, Rob Yundt and Matt Horwich.

Besides his seven fights with the UFC, Almeida fought his other seven career bouts with Japanese promotions Pride and Pancrese, where he was the fourth Pancrase Middleweight Champion. The third-degree Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt has put together an 11-3 MMA record since turing pro in Dec. 2000. He holds other notable career wins over the likes of Ikuhisa Minowa, Kazuo Misaki, Ryo Chonan, Yuki Sasaki, and is one of only two men to submit UFC middleweight contender Nate Marquardt.