So far, UFC lightweight Beneil Dariush hasn’t got the chance to fight top-tier competition. But he plans on changing that in 2015.

“This year, I’m going to be top 10,” he told MMAjunkie. “I don’t know where I stand, but I’m going to beat everybody, and I’m going to move into the top-10.”

Dariush (9-1 MMA, 3-1 UFC), 25, needs to pass his next test if he ever hopes to climb the rankings. On Saturday, he meets inventive striker Daron Cruickshank (16-5 MMA, 6-3 UFC) on the FX-televised preliminary card of UFC 185, which takes place at Dallas’ American Airlines Center.

Cruickshank, 29, looks to rebound from a disappointing setback in his previous fight. This past December, his bout with K.J. Noons was declared a no-contest when an accidental eye-poke prevented him from continuing. He later revealed the strike caused a tear in his tear duct, necessitating surgery.

Prior to that, Cruickshank outpointed Anthony Njokuani to notch his sixth UFC win. But he’s suffered setbacks against John Makdessi, Adriano Martins and Jorge Masvidal.

Dariush, meanwhile, has lost just once in the UFC’s octagon. A first-round TKO loss to Ramsey Nijem came 11 months ago.

“I see myself dominating Cruickshank,” Dariush said. “He’s good, but I’ve got to beat him everywhere. He showed amazing transitions in his fight against Njokuani. His last fight, he got poked in the eye, but if you watch the first round, he was showing great striking, great wrestling.

“The guy’s good everywhere. He doesn’t necessarily have holes, but I think I can beat him everywhere, and that’s where the difference is.”

Check out the above video, produced by our partner Rick J. Lee, to hear Dariush talk about his strengths and weaknesses, his fight with Cruickshank, and his thoughts on the drug testing in the UFC.

And for more on UFC 185, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.