Jai Herbert looking for winning streak at UFC 286 to prove he's legit

LONDON – With an up-and-down start to his UFC career, Jai Herbert is hoping a bit of a streak will lead to some validation.

Herbert (12-4 MMA, 2-3 UFC) takes on Ludovit Klein (19-4 MMA, 3-2 UFC) in a lightweight bout on the UFC 286 prelims Saturday at The O2 in London. The main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPNews and early prelims on ESPN+.

A former Cage Warriors champion, England’s Herbert started his UFC run with back-to-back losses. He’s working off a win in front of his home British fans in London this past July, though, and can start thinking about a climb if he beats Klein.

“That’s one of the goals I’ve got now in my career is to put a win streak together and get a winning record in the UFC – so I can prove that I’m a legit guy and I deserve to be here,” Herbert said at Wednesday’s UFC 286 media day. “Then I want to push on to the top, toward the top of the division. That’s very important to me.

“It’s been a bit of a rollercoaster, up and down, but I wouldn’t have had it any other way. I’m just happy the way it’s going and I’ve got a lot more confidence now, as well, so I’m going to draw from that confidence and get the victory on Saturday.”

Check out Herbert’s full media day interview in the video above.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 286.