At this point, Marcin Tybura will tell you, with a laugh, calls from his manager are met with expectations of bad news. But that’s not what he got when his phone rang a little more than a week ago.

Tybura (16-2 MMA, 3-1 UFC) was set to headline next month’s UFC Fight Night 121 event at Sydney’s Qudos Bank Arena opposite Mark Hunt (13-11-1 MMA, 8-5-1 UFC). The call was meant to inform him that was no longer happening. But then came the twist: Tybura had the option of meeting former UFC heavyweight champion Fabricio Werdum (22-7-1 MMA, 10-4 UFC) instead.

Tybura first ran it by his coaches. But the “yes” to the new matchup took no longer than an hour to come. Sure, Tybura is now dealing with a “completely different” opponent, with a completely different style. But with six weeks to go, altering the game plan seemed like a minor sacrifice in light of the possible rewards.

“It’s really special for me to fight a Top-2 fighter in the world already in Fabricio,” Tybura told MMAjunkie. “I recognize (he’s) one of the best heavyweights in the world – even the best, because he beat Fedor (Emelianenko) in his prime time, and he beat Cain (Velasquez) at a time when he was unbeatable.

“This guy has something special. I know he’s good. This is the top. That’s what I wanted to do when I came into the UFC, and now it’s happening. So I’m just happy.”

Tybura believed he couldn’t get any more motivated than he already had while training for Hunt, who’s currenly No. 10 in the USA TODAY Sports/MMAjunkie MMA heavyweight rankings. But the name of No. 3-ranked Werdum, fresh off a 65-second submission win over late replacement Walt Harris at UFC 216, managed to bring that up a notch.

Of course, what ended up being fine news for Tybura led to a much less uplifting situation involving Hunt. After the UFC cited health concerns and pulled him from the headliner, the ever-candid Hunt made his (ill) feelings on the promotion’s decision public.

Amid threats of a lawsuit against the UFC – another one, that is – Hunt said he was “misquoted” in story (that he penned himself) in which he addressed the toll that his career as a fighter may have had in his brain, including slurred speech and memory loss.

Asked about his feelings upon hearing some of his peers discuss brain trauma, Tybura clarified he doesn’t have access to all the information around Hunt’s health status. But he’s not on board with the way he went about addressing them.

“We all try to show that this is a sport; it’s not only striking somebody in the head,” Tybura said. “I don’t think he should say some stuff like this. But I also don’t think I should be the one to say if somebody is healthy to fight or not.

“I don’t actually know all the details. I’ve just seen the news, the interview he did. I think he shouldn’t say that. He shouldn’t say that.”

On his end, Tybura is certainly enjoying the journey. Now riding a three-fight winning streak, capped off by a UFC Fight Night 111 decision win over Andrei Arlovski, Tybura has recently taken a big step to up his game: He temporarily relocated from his native Poland to the U.S.

Seven weeks into his training at Jackson-Wink MMA, the 31-year-old seems to be happy with his choice.

“So far, it’s amazing, a completely different camp that I used to do,” Tybura said. “And I think it’s much better than what I did before.”

There are a few reasons for that. Apart from the experienced coaches, who offer their expertise not only in training but strategy-wise, Tybura gets to train and spar with high-level talent from all over. While he already felt he was making steady progress in his homeland, his evolution is clear to him.

Of course, there’s a downside to it all; it’s not really easy being away from home. But even that doesn’t faze the heavyweight.

“I’m actually chasing my dream,” Tybura said. “So that’s the price, and I’m cool with that completely.”

Whether his sacrifices will pay off remains to be seen, but beating Werdum would certainly bring some serious validation to the Polish heavyweight’s rise. While Tybura is only four fights into his UFC career, there’s something to be said for getting past an ex-champ in a somewhat shallow division.

Of course, there’s a lot to happen atop the heavyweight ladder. Alistair Overeem, for instance, is scheduled for a high-stakes UFC 218 bout with Francis Ngannou. Velasquez, who’s recently said he’s at “80 percent” in his recovery from injury, is eyeing a 2018 return.

But Tybura is already daring to think a little higher.

“I never talk about what the future is after the fight,” Tybura said. “I actually like to be focused on my task, which is to fight Fabricio Werdum. But, you know, he was a champion like a few months ago.

“So me beating him would be, I think – nothing less than ask for a title shot.”

For more on UFC Fight Night 121, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.