WILTSHIRE fighter Kent Kauppinen is set to take on Dutch MMA legend Melvin Manhoef in Bellator’s light-heavyweight feature fight at Wembley Arena on Saturday.

Kauppinen, who trains in Melksham, will be fighting at Wembley Arena for the third time in his career and recorded a stunning knockout of Alessio Sakara in Italy last time out.

The 27-year-old holds a record of 11 wins and four defeats from his fledgling pro career and is taking on experienced Dutchman Manhoef, who boasts a record of 30 pro wins, 14 defeats and one draw.

However, Manhoef has not fought competitively since a defeat in April 2017.

Kauppinen is excited to walk out at Wembley once again and is quietly confident of claiming a huge scalp.

He said: “It will be nice to fight back in the UK again. My last time out was in Italy, so I’m excited to get back in front of a home crowd and fight at Wembley again.

“This will be my third time, and I’m really looking forward to it.

“I’m still trying to make a name for myself. The guy I’m fighting is a huge name in the MMA world, so it would be nice to get his scalp on my record with a win.

“I’m always confident in fights, but when you’ve got two big guys in there together, you never know what could happen.”

As well as entering the bout in better form than his opponent, Kauppinen is five inches taller than Manhoef at six feet.

The Wiltshire fighter believes he is in the best shape in a long time and is targeting a repeat of his previous victory over Sakara – a first-round knockout after just 70 seconds.

Though, Kauppinen is aware the end result could quite easily be flipped on its head if he is not sharp from the first bell.

He said: “I’ve had the best training I’ve had in a long time, so I feel ready to go.

“December was the last time I fought, so I’ve had some time off.

“I’ve been back training hard in the last 16 weeks and it’s been a good training camp, and I’m ready.

“Everyone wants to win quickly. That’s the dream – winning quickly and winning by knockout.

“Potentially I can do that, but potentially he can too. Ideally, I showcase my durability, I look good and I win.”