ABU DHABI – The first fight between Edson Barboza and Paul Felder was an all-out war.

Barboza defeated Felder by unanimous decision at UFC on FOX 16 in 2015 in a “Fight of the Night” battle. It was only Felder’s third fight in the UFC and Barboza thinks both fighters have grown exponentially ever since.

They are now set to rematch Saturday at UFC 242 in Abu Dhabi, and Barboza foresees another war.

“I love to watch his fights – he’s a very good striker, very good MMA fighter,” Barboza told MMA Junkie. “He’s getting better every single fight. But I’m getting better, too. That makes me very excited. If the last fight was fight of the night, you guys imagine Saturday night. It’s going to be crazy. Be ready guys.”

At an open workout session for UFC 242, Felder had a message. He said his battle with Barboza is a war of martial arts and integrity, and Barboza echoed that sentiment.

“I started with martial arts at 8 years old,” Barboza said. “My mom and dad taught me my whole life to respect, and that happened between me and Paul. I think most guys in the UFC, it’s all about respect. It’s our job. I understand it’s our job, and Saturday night, 15 minutes, it’s going to be a big war. Then after, peace.

“That’s what I train for. I train for a 15-minute big war.”

Barboza (20-7 MMA, 14-7 UFC) made the move to American Top Team several fights ago, and though he’s lost three of his past four, training at a talent-filled gym like ATT allows him to be pushed by some of the best fighters in the sport.

“It’s awesome because I have the opportunity to prove myself every single day against the best guys in the world,” Barboza said. “It’s helped me a lot, pushed me every single day to get better. You guys are going to see a different Edson Barboza.”

He will share the card with his teammate, interim lightweight champion Dustin Poirier, who will attempt to take the overall title frrom lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov in the main event.

Having already fought Nurmagomedov at UFC 219, naturally Barboza tried to give Poirier some pointers.

“I was training with him a little bit,” Barboza said. “He helped me a little bit in my last fight against (Justin) Gaethje, and I talked to him about my fight against Khabib, tried to help him a little bit. It’s good for us. We have the whole team here together and two wins in the book for sure.”