MELBOURNE, Australia – To be clear, Kelvin Gastelum has plenty of respect for Robert Whittaker – he’s just not overly impressed with anything he sees.

“Obviously, he’s a champion for a reason,” Gastelum told MMAjunkie. “He comes in with a lot of tools, but I’m in the gym constantly with guys that are just as good if not better than Rob, every single day, and that gives me confidence.

“He’s a competitor, and he wins fights. He doesn’t necessarily bring a lot of special skills to the table. I’ve had 14, 15 fights in the UFC. I’ve been through a lot of obstacles, seen a lot of styles, seen a lot of different fighters – trained with a lot of different fighters, fought a lot of different fighters – and so I just don’t think he brings anything special to the table. But I can’t underestimate him or his abilities.”

Gastelum (15-3 MMA, 10-3 UFC) meets UFC middleweight champion Whittaker (20-4 MMA, 11-2 UFC) in the main event of this weekend’s UFC 234 event, which takes place Sunday at Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne, Australia. Due to the time change, the event airs on pay-per-view in North American on Saturday.

It’s an opportunity Gastelum has openly chased for years, going as far as changing his Twitter display name to “#OnAmission4Gold.” Now it’s just days away, and Gastelum admits he’s shockingly calm in the final build-up to the card.

“It’s kind of interesting,” Gastelum said. “Obviously, I’m super excited for the opportunity and super excited for the fight, but it’s not quite the feeling that I thought it would be once the time came. It kind of feels just like any other big fight that I’ve had. You know, I’ve had some pretty big fights before in my career, and it kind of feels like that.

“I guess I’m just not letting myself get caught up in all of it, not making too much of it – as much as I probably should – in my own head.”

It’s likely no accident that Gastelum feels that away ahead of the key clash. The 27-year-old’s work ethic and preparation process are well-known by now, so the physical side of the sport has never been a concern, outside of his days of brutal weight cuts down to the welterweight division. But Gastelum believes that balancing his mental approach to the sport is what can take his performance to the next level.

“I know that in my career, that’s what I’ve done,” Gastelum said. “I try not to get caught up in the moment, not to overthink things, and I think that’s been part of my success, is not overthinking and not getting caught up in the moment and not getting caught up in the nerves and stuff like that. I think it keeps my head pretty level and my emotions pretty leveled up until fight night.

“Fight night is my favorite night. That’s where I have fun.”

In Whittaker, Gastelum faces a foe that may be shockingly similar in many respects. Both are former winners of “The Ultimate Fighter.” Both have competed in the UFC’s welterweight division but are finding perhaps their best form at 185 pounds. Both are hard-working athletes from humble beginnings that don’t generally prefer to engage in much pre-fight banter.

So when Gastelum boldly proclaims his belief that a first-round knockout is on the horizon, he wants to make it clear there’s no intention of disrespect for his opponent. It’s simply a reflection of the confidence he currently feels.

“When I say things like, ‘I’m going to knock him out in the first round,’ I mean it, but I’m ready for a 25-minute war,” Gastelum said. “But when I see Rob, I just see hard work. I see a lot of heart. I see a lot of will. Just like me – I don’t bring a lot of special abilities like, let’s say, Israel Adesanya. He has a special talent. I’m not necessarily the greatest striker or the greatest wrestler or the greatest jiu-jitsu guy. I’m just in there to win fights, and that’s what I think that Rob is good at, too.”

Whittaker is currently ranked No. 1 in the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMAjunkie MMA middleweight rankings, while Gastelum sits at No. 7. But when they step in the cage, it may simply come down to who performs best on the night.

Gastelum will have the added burden of traveling across the Pacific Ocean to fight in Whittaker’s backyard, but the challenger came out two weeks ahead of time to acclimatize, and he says his preparation has gone almost eerily well.

“I feel great coming into the fight,” Gastelum said. “It’s crazy because the whole camp has been pretty smooth, pretty perfect – almost too perfect, where I was, like, worried. I was like, ‘Something is bound to happen because everything is going too perfect.’ The same thing when I came out here to Australia. Ever since I stepped foot out of my house, just the whole process has been amazing, has been smooth. I haven’t had any hiccups. I haven’t had any trouble.

“In every camp, you have something. You have little injuries. You have little hiccups. You have obstacles coming left and right, but for this camp, there was none of that, which was really, really cool for a change.”

Gastelum’s pre-fight aura suggests a feeling of destiny, that UFC 234 will provide him the moment he’s earned through his dedication to the craft. There is no “if” when he speaks, only “when.”

“This is something I’ve been working for almost my entire life,” Gastelum said. “The majority of my teenage years and now my 20s and going into my late 20s, I’ve dedicated most of my life toward this sport, toward this goal, and it’s finally here, and I’m going to do everything I can to make it happen. Man, I’m just excited. It’s going to mean the world to me. I’m going to burst out into tears, just like I did when I won ‘The Ultimate Fighter,’ for sure.”

If Whittaker’s recent pre-fight track record is any indication, Gastelum won’t find victory easy. And while he’s envisioning an impressive, emphatic finish, Gastelum admits he’s prepared for an epic battle.

Still, he’s not backing down from the prediction he’s carried with him to Australia: first-round knockout.

“I’m not no Mystic Mac or anything, but yeah, that’s what I’m still thinking,” Gastelum said. “I feel like if I put my hands on anybody, I can put the lights out on anybody in the world.

“I’m very well prepared for this fight. But at the same time, I’m prepared for a 25-minute war. I say that I’m going to knock him out in the first round, but that’s just me in my head. That’s just the scenario I see playing out in my head. But obviously, I could be wrong. It could be a 25-minute war, which I’m ready for.”

For more on UFC 234, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.