Hector Lombard will soon fight Josh Burkman. It’s not exactly his dream scenario, though.

Lombard (34-4-1 MMA, 3-2 UFC), who was forced out of an August bout with Dong Hyun Kim, will meet the returning Burkman (27-10 MMA, 5-5 UFC), a recent WSOF title challenger, on Jan. 3 at UFC 182.

It’ll likely be a pay-per-view bout on what’s expected to be a major show. And for that, Lombard, who’s ranked No. 8 in the USA TODAY Sports/MMAjunkie MMA welterweight rankings, is thankful.

But?

“I wish I could fight a higher (ranked) opponent,” he recently said.

He mentioned Tyron Woodley (a budding rival) and Matt Brown as the type of opponent he’d like to fight to help move up the ranks, but both were recently booked for other matchups.

“But it is what it is,”Lombard said. “I’m happy for this opportunity, and my goal right now is to win this fight and move forward.”

Check out the full interview above.

And for more on UFC 182, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.