Paddy Pimblett is banking on his self-assuredness to triumph over Ilia Topuria.

The fighter has reportedly signed his contract for a January showdown with the UFC lightweight champion and is now waiting for his opponent to do the same. In a chat with boxing star Anthony Joshua, the Liverpool native expressed his unwavering belief in his own capabilities.

“Yeah, that [confidence] is bred into me, I don’t know what it is, I am just 100 percent confident about everything all the time,” he said.

“I’m the opposite to a pessimist. I think Liverpool are going win everything. I think all my teammates are going to win every fight they ever have. I think I’m going to beat every single person that gets put in front of me, and it’s just built into me. My coach says it – Paul – he says ‘Your biggest attribute, your biggest weapon is your confidence.’

“It’s mad because I’m not confident in any other walk of life. When I first met my wife and we were younger, she had to kiss me! I didn’t kiss her! But I know that I was born to do this, just like you were born to box.

“It’s just into me. I have a saying, ‘What’s the point of being nervous when you know you’re going to win?’ When people say ‘How are you not nervous?’ I’m like, ‘Nah I don’t get nervous, what’s nerves?’

“For me, my mentality in general, I just don’t think I can lose.”

Pimblett also opened up about his biggest challenge – his battle with his mental health. Pimblett has been outspoken about the subject, having lost a close friend to suicide.

And he recently teamed up with the UFC to launch a new venture to improve mental health through MMA.

“[My biggest challenge is] definitely depression,” he added. “The mental health side of things, injuries cause them [and then you get] worse mental health, you know what I mean? When you get injured and you lose a fight because of it, or you can’t train.

“I had to sit out for 18 months at one point because I got an injury, and my mental health at that point hit rock bottom. I had to go and see counsellors and stuff to get through it, so that’s probably a side to the sport that people don’t see.”