Wales' Elliott 'nowhere near his peak yet'

British welterweight Oban Elliott insists he is "nowhere near his peak yet" as he prepares to take on Preston Parsons at UFC 304.

Elliott, 26, is on the Manchester undercard where Leon Edwards and Tom Aspinall are both scheduled to defend their titles in the co-main events.

Elliott defeated Val Woodburn by unanimous decision on his debut in February.

The Merthyr Tydfil fighter has called the experience "a dream come true".

"It was just as scary as I thought it would be," said Elliott, "I'm super happy I got the first one under my belt, it all feels a bit more normal now.

"Fighting in that big stadium, talking to Joe Rogan, hearing Bruce Buffer call my name out, getting my hand raised.

"Now I know what it's like, I've been there, seen it, flown across the world to do it.

"I'm really excited for the future now."

The Welshman is on a six-fight win streak but says his win-loss record is not what motivates him.

"I want to make better than my last fight," said Elliott.

"I don’t see it as a win or a loss. Did I perform or paint that picture exactly how I wanted it? Last fight I can’t say I did.

"I got the job done so yeah happy days, but I’m keen on having this fight playing out exactly as I’m visualising it and it’ll be on show for the world to see."

The Welshman says he has been "on a high" since he earned his UFC contract on Dana White's Contender Series in August 2023.

"My life has totally changed," said Elliott.

"I learned that no matter what, I can do anything in this life, not to sound corny, I realise that I dreamed of doing it all this time.

"I’ve worked to do it, I went out and did it, so if I can take an idea like that and turn it into reality, there’s nothing stopping me turning all my ideas into reality.

"I’ve learned I can deal with the pressure, I’m built for it, I’m made for this."

Preston 'Pressure' Parsons comes into the fight on the back of a win against fellow American Matthew Semelsberger in January,

It will mark his fifth fight in the promotion, with a record of two wins and two losses in the UFC and 11-4 overall.

Nine of Parsons eleven wins have come by submission, but Elliott insists he is "ready for anything".

"You say he likes armbars, well you saw me get arm barred by the Brazilian in the Contender Series and I bicep curled out of it," he said.

"I’ve been knocked out in fights and gone on and won them, I’ve been choked out in fights and gone on and won them, so we’ll see what he brings.

"I've got nothing but respect for Preston, he’s a fighting man, flying across the world to fight me, he’s just next, there’s no ill-will.

"We’ve got 15 minutes to see who the better man is, I know I’ll be ready, I’m sure he’ll be ready."

The fights begin at 23:00 BST on Saturday, with the main card scheduled to start at 03:00 on Sunday.

Elliott insists the late start time will not be an excuse.

"We’re cage fighters, we can’t pick and choose when they make us fight, who cares? All this complaining," he said.

"It’s not very good for the fans but for me I don’t care when I fight.

"It’s probably bad for Tom [Aspinall] and Leon [Edwards] at the top of the card and Paddy [Pimblett] but they’re getting paid a lot of money to do it.

"It is annoying but on the night, there won’t be one fighter who’ll care.

"Nobody will be in their changing room thinking, 'Oh it’s a nightmare this, 2am'.

"Everyone will be focused.

"It’s a good card all round [UFC 304] but being biased my fight is the best fight, the rest is the encore."