Melvin Guillard’s debut with WSOF on Saturday was going to be a big deal, but now it’s an even bigger one.

That’s because Guillard (31-13-2) will have a lightweight title shot on the line when he meets Gesias Cavalcante (18-7-1), a onetime teammate and training partner, at WSOF 11.

“We were teammates, and we got along great,” Guillard said. “But just like he looks at this as a big fight for him, it’s a big fight for me, as well. We’re good friends, but we’re going to put the friendship aside in the ring. We’re going to fight our asses off to get to that next level – they called us today and said, ‘The winner gets a title shot.’ Now we have a lot more on the line than we thought.”

WSOF 11 takes place Saturday at Ocean Center in Daytona, Fla. The Cavalcante-Guillard title eliminator opens up the main card, which also is WSOF’s debut on NBC (4 p.m. ET) following prelims on MMAjunkie (2 p.m. ET).

Guillard will be fighting outside the UFC for just the second time in more than nine years. See what else he and “JZ” had to say about their big fight in the video above.

And for more on WSOF 11, stay tuned to the MMA Rumors section of the site.