Calgary’s Matt Krayco (7-7) will look to make it three wins in a row on Feb. 10 when he welcomes Minnesota-native Vyron Phillips (7-4) to the cage at Fight Night 6 in Lethbridge.

Krayco, 26, will be riding a wave of confidence heading into this welterweight bout with Phillips, 35, having won his last two fights, and three including a kickboxing match.

Phillips will present one of the toughest challenges Krayco’s had to face in his MMA career, but Krayco said he can’t envision a situation where he leaves Lethbridge without a victory.

“Wherever the fight’s taking place in there, I see me outworking him, and whatever he’s bringing, I’m going to be a step ahead of him every time,” said Krayco in an interview.

“Whether it’s a knockout, a TKO, or a submission, it’ll be me there with my hand raised at the end, and that’s all that matters.”

Krayco’s Positive Mindeset

Krayco said the reason behind his recent success isn’t just the work he’s been putting in at Dynamic MMA, but also his mindset over the last couple years.

He said everything in his life is how he wants it right now, which has allowed him to continue devoting time and effort to MMA, which he holds a great deal of passion for.

“I enjoy training, I enjoy working hard, and I enjoy the competition,” said Krayco.

“Everything’s really been coming together.”

Although Phillips will be one of his toughest tests to date, Krayco said, regardless of the opponent, he tries not to look too in-depth at their style and tendencies.

He said he prefers to focus on fine-tuning his own skills, and to be prepared for anything when the cage doors close.

“No matter who the opponent is, I try to have everything as well-rounded as possible, because the fight can go anywhere.”

Phillips Looking to Put on a Show

Much like Krayco, Phillips is also not one to look at film or study his opponents.

Phillips said as an amateur he used to be real keen on researching his opponents as much as he could, but as a professional, it’s a lot harder to do with fighters constantly improving.

“As a professional, guys are evolving and getting better, so you can’t really watch tape and figure guys out,” said Phillips in an interview.

“I always seem to get guys who drop out at the last minute, so preparing for one particular guy is not always good, so I always just train for everybody.”

This will be Phillips’ second fight since suffering a gruesome injury at Hard Knocks 54 where he broke his leg and ankle.

When the injury occurred, he said the reason he was crying and emotional wasn’t because of the pain, but because he had just completed a long recovery from a bicep injury, and his future in MMA was in question.

“I was thinking this might be it. I might be done,” said Phillips.

But he’s not done. Far from it. He recovered from his broken ankle and leg in less than six months, and would go on to return to the cage six months after his injury, earning a unanimous decision victory in the process.

“After the surgery, I told myself I wasn’t going to let this injury end my career. I’m going to leave on my terms only.”

With the injury now firmly in his rear-view, Phillips said he’s interested in putting on a fight-of-the-night type show on Feb. 10.

He said he’s never been able to find an opponent who’s been willing to just stand and bang with him. But he’s hoping Krayco will be that guy.

“I wouldn’t mind going out there and seeing who’s striking is better, and just giving the fans in Lethbridge a show,” said Phillips.

“At the end of the day, we’re both professionals and we’re both entertainers. If we can’t entertain, our goals of the UFC aren’t going to happen.”