Shortly after it was announced that Lyoto Machida would be part of Bellator 213 in Honolulu, Tywan Claxton promptly jumped in with a suggestion: How about throwing Bellator’s older Machida brother, Chinzo, in there and making it a family affair in Hawaii?

Claxton didn’t elaborate much further beyond his tweets, but it didn’t seem like too bad of a deal. Although Chinzo was coming off a loss, he’d kicked off his Bellator run with a two-fight streak, both knockouts. And, as an unbeaten prospect, Claxton could certainly benefit from the boost that comes with the Machida name.

That, however, didn’t happen. Claxton (3-0 MMA, 3-0 BMMA) will instead meet Bellator newcomer Kaeo Meyer (3-3 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) at Bellator 212, which takes place Dec. 14 at Neal S. Blaisdell Center in Honolulu, the day before Bellator 213.

So how upset was Claxton about missing his original target?

“I’ve never been to Hawaii; I just wanted to go to Hawaii,” Claxton told MMAjunkie with a hearty laugh. “So I wasn’t disappointed at all. I don’t know that guy, I don’t have anything against him or a certain reason to fight him. I just saw that, ‘Hey, Lyoto is on the card, maybe Chinzo wants to jump on and fight me.’”

All’s well that ends well, it seems, as Claxton gets to cross that one off his bucket list and fulfill his wish of fighting once more in 2018.

Securing that Hawaii spot, however, involved some flexibility on Claxton’s end. He got an opponent about two weeks ago – only to have that fall through. Although they eventually found a substitute, Meyer is coming down from 155 pounds to meet “Air” at a 150 catchweight limit – meaning that Claxton, a featherweight, will have a “bigger body” to deal with.

“(Meyer) is a tough Hawaiian kid,” Claxton said. “We both got the fight on short notice, so in my mind it’s just like a bar fight.”

Claxton finishes that bar remark with another laugh. In fact, there is no tone of lamentation in his re-telling of how the bout came together. As far as preparation goes, he says, he’s been training hard for a solid eight weeks in hopes he’d get the spot. Not to mention, he basically trains year-round.

And the fact that he’s facing a Bellator debutant didn’t seem to faze him all that much, either. Although the 26-year-old prospect had previously addressed his desire for big-named opposition, from touted prospects to the champ, Claxton also understands that there is a process here – and he’s actually quite content with his.

“I’m just happy to stay active,” Claxton said. “This is my fourth fight in 13 months. So, that’s all I can ask. Whomever I fight, it doesn’t really matter. In order to be the best, you’ve got to beat everybody. The time is going to come. (Bellator matchmaker Mike) Kogan’s done a great job, and I think he’s always had my best interest at heart. I like Mike Kogan a lot, so I don’t really question him too much.

“If he says this is what it’s going to be, it kind of is what it’s going to be. And, when the fights come – we know, the ‘Pico’s, and the ‘McKee’s, and the ‘Pitbull’s. When those fights come, they come. But until then, I’m happy to continue to fight, continue to grow as a fighter and make it happen.”

Even talking of “Pitbull,” meaning featherweight champion Patricio Freire, may seem somewhat bold for someone who’s just three fights into their pro MMA career. It is worth noting, though, that Claxton’s road hasn’t exactly been typical.

Right off the bat, in what was both his pro and Bellator debut, “Air” scored a flying-knee knockout that quickly went viral.

His following wins, a TKO and a unanimous decision, weren’t as categorical as his debut. Still, they were clear wins, and while Claxton can still find flaws in them, he believes they were useful to showcase different parts of his ever-evolving game.

“When you look at the first fight, and you look at the flying knee finish, you saw that I am capable of doing extraordinary things, let’s put it that way,” Claxton said. “You saw that I’m a very talented individual, physically. You see different physical capabilities. And the first guy that I fought was a tough striker, so you see that I am capable of explosive techniques that can knock out any striker.

“My second fight, I was a little disappointed because I didn’t really give myself time to really execute my game quite to the fullest extent. Because of that, I was a little upset, but I still got the finish. And you got to see a dominant ground performance. This last fight, you got to see me dominate a guy on my feet, dominate a guy on my ground, so I was a little more happy with that.”

There was still some disappointment there, as Claxton didn’t get the finish. So, coming into his fourth Bellator outing, what can we expect?

“A little bit more striking, a little bit more ground, a little bit more cage,” Claxton said. “And I’m also looking for the finish. I think if you just go through and watch my fights, you can see that not only am I getting better, I’m also getting a lot more comfortable inside that cage.”

For more on “Bellator and USO Present: Salute the Troops,” check out the MMA Rumors section of the site.