Brazilian slugger Luis "Banha" Cane is a man of few words. He prefers to let his hands do the talking. And in his main-card opening bout with Steve Cantwell at UFC 97 in Montreal, Cane plans to let his hands ask for a title shot.

"This fight is an important step," Cane said. "I really want to be among the top of the division, and this fight should pave the way to putting me there."

With eight of his nine wins coming by KO or TKO, Cane has quickly earned a reputation as a fearsome striker. His right hand slap to the face of former UFC fighter Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou at UFC 89 – shortly before rocking him with a straight left – preceded his second consecutive TKO win in the UFC.

Cane believes he'll look even better on Saturday night.

"That is a normal move I use," he said. "The last fight I fought with an injury, but now I am 100 percent. I trained very hard for this fight, and fans should see a better Luis Cane."

Cantwell has quickly developed a reputation of his own, closing out his run in the WEC as the organization's final light heavyweight champion. While Cantwell has three career TKO wins of his own, Cane enters the bout unconcerned.

"He is a talented and tough guy, but I am not worried about being hit hard," Cane said. "I will impose my game."

"I am accustomed to being faced with hard hitters, so I won't be intimidated. But who knows? It's MMA, so maybe I'll get the chance to show my ground game."

Cane does own one submission victory in his career. Of course, his opponent tapped out due to a series of brutal soccer kicks from "Banha".

Meanwhile, Cantwell earned a bit of infamy with his wild celebration after injuring Razak Al-Hassan's arm in a gruesome technical submission win. Cane said he's comfortable testing Cantwell's skills on the mat.

"(Cantwell) is a young guy, and he got caught up in the moment," Cane said. "But I think I have developed completely as I fight. Whoever was in doubt before now knows who I am and what I can do."

With his lone career loss coming via disqualification to James Irvin in his UFC debut, a win over Cantwell would be Cane's third-straight in the organization. While the Brazilian stopped short of a firm prediction, Cane believes the bout could be a highlight of the evening.

"I am prepared give my best and that this will be a good fight for the fans," he said. "It won't go to the end."

It didn't take long for UFC matchmaker Joe Silva to find a new opponent for Rashad Evans after former light heavyweight champion Chuck Liddell had to drop out due to an injury. The former "Ultimate Fighter" winner will now face James Irvin in London.

"I was probably upset about the Chuck thing for maybe a couple of hours, then they was telling me I was fighting James Irvin and I was like, 'Aw man I've got to snap out of that, that kid's just knocking out everybody,'" said Evans. "I can't be on his highlight reel so I've got to train really hard."

The fight between Evans and Liddell was set to headline the card and while no formal announcement has been made by the UFC, this new match-up will likely be a co-main event with another fight.

While Evans remains focused on Irvin he still expressed his disappointment about the fight cancellation with Liddell.

"I definitely didn't expect it you know. I was very excited for my fight with Chuck Liddell, but I guess we'll have to do it another time," Evans stated.

"I'm a little bit disappointed, but I think I'm at the point where I'm kind of over all of it and focusing on my new opponent. He's very tough and brings a lot of things to the table so I definitely can't go in there being sad cause I'm not fighting Chuck."

This isn't the first change of opponents Evans has had to deal with as he was originally slated to face Thiago Silva as a part of the upcoming UFC 84 card on May 24.

"This is my third opponent so hopefully nothing happens to James Irvin," Evans commented with a laugh. "I hope he has a good training camp."

Obviously, the match-up with Irvin brings a different dynamic to Evans and his training camp, but it's something that he along with head trainer Greg Jackson will analyze over the next six weeks.

"I think that James is a bit more explosive than Chuck," Evans stated. "He's very explosive and he's an athletic fighter so he definitely presents his own problems being that fighter. He's a game opponent and he's definitely going to be a tough fight."

Evans is already in New Mexico working alongside teammates such as Keith Jardine, Nathan Marquardt, and Joey Villasenor who are all preparing for fights around this same time as his.

And while the former Michigan State wrestler is now focused on James Irvin, he hopes Liddell comes back soon and a fight between the two can happen.

"I hope James stays healthy the whole camp and I wish Chuck the best on his recovery so we can get in there and do it."