"He's a big, gnarly, Russian wrestler and a tough fight for anybody, especially for me because I have these decision losses and this is a guy who wins decisions. In the back of my mind, I know I have to go out there and finish this guy. I don't know how to win decisions. He's a good guy with decent stand up and real good control on the ground, and he looks strong as hell. I just have to keep it in his mind and show him throughout the fight that I'm the younger, stronger and faster fighter out there."  - Steve Cantwell

Young up-and-comer Steve Cantwell talks about his upcoming fight against the very seasoned Vladimir Matyushenko at UFC 108 on Jan. 2 in Las Vegas, NV. The match up will be on the unaired preliminary portion of the card.

Cantwell will be fighting to keep his job with the UFC, as he has lost back-to-back fights inside the Octagon against Luiz Cane at UFC 97 and, most recently, against Brian Stann in their rubber match at UFC Fight Night 19 in September. He opened up his UFC career with a impressive first-round submission win over Razak Al-Hassan in December 2008.

The UFC picked up the well-rounded Cantwell after the WEC dissolved its light-heavyweight divison, which was not too long after he won the WEC light-heavyweight title by defeating Brian Stann at WEC 35 in August 2008. He had put together a 3-1 WEC record in four fights with the promotion, with all of his three wins coming via stoppage. Cantwell's other WEC wins came against Justin McElfresh and Tim McKenzie. He suffered his lone WEC loss against Stann in their very first match up.

Make sure to check back with us the day of the event for free, live, round-by-round coverage of UFC 108 right here at FiveKnuckles.com! Join expert analyst Mike Williams as he takes you through the entire fight card blow-by-blow and then keep it right here for all the post-fight news and notes you can handle!