When it comes to the typical ranked veteran vs. unranked prospect matchups, there are usually interesting dynamics involved.

Take Bryan Caraway vs. Cody Stamann, for instance. Stamann, 28, is only two fights into his UFC run. Sure, he won both against tough opponents in Terrion Ware and Tom Duquesnoy, but it’s a leap to meet a longtime contender in Caraway who, at Saturday’s UFC 222, gets to officially walk out to the octagon for a ninth time.

The main risk is obvious. Stamann (16-1 MMA, 2-0 UFC) gets to fight a well rounded opponent who certainly knows his way around the octagon. But, considering the leap that beating a name like Caraway (21-7 MMA, 6-2 UFC) could mean to his standings, the possible rewards are certainly appealing.

The stakes for Caraway, however, are quite different. Currently ranked No. 11 in the USA TODAY Sports/MMAjunkie MMA bantamweight rankings, he’s coming off two wins and isn’t too far off the title picture. Sure, scoring a third straight win after a long layoff isn’t too shabby – but then it’s your rankings being jeopardized over someone who won’t offer a step-up in return.

But Caraway doesn’t look at it like that.

As he prepares to walk out to the octagon for the first time since May 2015, at Las Vegas’ T-Mobile Arena, he sees in the tough, game Stamann a “great opponent to come back to.”

“He’s one of the top guys,” Caraway told MMAjunkie Radio ahead of the preliminary card bantamweight bout, which streams live on UFC Fight Pass. “Even though he doesn’t have a lot of experience in the UFC, he does have a good record. And he’s undefeated in the UFC. He showed up – and most people, in the first fight, get jitters, and he performed well.

“He came off a really good win over Tom Duquesnoy in his last fight, who’s had a lot of hype behind him. I think this is definitely a good challenge. He might not be ranked, but I’m not taking him lightly.”

While getting past Stamann is, of course, the immediate goal, Caraway has some other plans laid out already. The main one is the same as most of his peers: a UFC title. But the mid-term goal is something that makes particular sense in light of Caraway’s most recent rough stretch: staying active.

“I’m going to try to get four fights this year,” Caraway said.

That’s four more than last year. Although Caraway was twice booked, first against fellow contender Jimmie Rivera in January and then against Luke Sanders in December, injuries forced him out of both bouts. He’s only fought once in 2016, as well as 2015.

While Caraway is now healthy and ready, with the assistance of his Xtreme Couture teammates and the thriving UFC Performance Institute, it’s been a rough stretch. The injuries played a part. After all, it’s not like active fighters enjoy sitting out an entire calendar year. But there was also a deeper, more personal component. Like a handful of his high-level colleagues, Caraway was deeply affected by the loss of MMA coach Robert Follis late last year.

Caraway had known Follis since his late teens and was guided by him after moving to Las Vegas half a decade ago. For Caraway, Follis’ death meant not only the loss of a trainer, but that of a dear friend, mentor and even father figure.

There’s hardly much good to be taken from tragedies like these, but Caraway also knows there are lessons to come out of bad times. In his training, which Caraway says he kept “old school” this time around, that meant having to turn to himself for answers that he would have normally turned to Follis for.

“I realized how much I relied on (Follis), and I think the adversity is where people grow the most,” Caraway said. “And not having him here has been hard emotionally, but it’s brought a lot out of me.”

Ultimately, the grief too has become some type of fuel for Caraway. And being able to pay homage to both Follis and Caraway’s mom, who has a birthday coming up, are added incentives for the bantamweight to come out of the Stamann clash victorious.

“I’m just pumped to get in there, “Caraway said. “I know (Follis) would want me to be in there, and he’d want me to fight. He wants me to fight three, four times this year. He wants me to win the title. He believes in me and believes that I can be the world champ. And he’s worked with some of the top, best guys in the entire world for 20 years. So I really believed him when he said that I could win the world title.”

To hear more from Caraway, check out the video above.

And for more on UFC 222, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.

MMAjunkie Radio broadcasts Monday-Friday at 1 p.m. ET (10 a.m. PT) live from Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino’s Race & Sports Book. The show is hosted by “Gorgeous” George Garcia, Brian “Goze” Garcia and Dan Tom. For more information or to download past episodes, go to www.mmajunkie.com/radio.