MELKSHAM UFC fighter Bradley Scott believes his close relationship with Jack Marshman will have no bearing on how the pair’s fight pans out at the 02 later this month.

The 28-year-old, who ‘saved’ his UFC career 12 months ago when beating Scott Askham by split decision, will face Marshman at London’s 02 Arena on Saturday, March 17.

It will be the 10th UFC event to be held in the capital and will present Scott with his first bout since crashing to a TKO loss to Jack Hermansson in Mexico City last August.

Though Scott has failed to string together two wins since 2012, the Bath-born puncher still holds a steady 12-5 professional record.

And he’ll be hoping to add another digit to his win column in two weeks’ time.

He said: “I’m excited about this bout.

“Jack and I have known each other since the beginning. We’ve been on the same circuit and the same fight cards.

“It’s weird that we’ve come together now to fight on the biggest stage in the world.”

Having sparred with Marshman previously, Scott understands the threats his Welsh opponent – who holds a 22-7 record – can present.

A ‘technically sound’ fighter, Marshman was due to face Brazilian fighter Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos before the South American was forced to withdraw from the fight with a knee injury – opening the door for Scott.

Scott said: “I go out of my way to speak to Jack, I’ve trained and sparred with him and he is a nice guy with a good coaching team.

“We’re very similar – he was in the paramilitary and I always wanted to go into the military – so we’ve followed a similar path.

“All of that doesn’t have any bearing on the fight though, I’m going to go out there and give it all I’ve got and I know he will too.

“We’ll both be looking for the finish, we’re both exciting fighters and I want to get a Performance of the Night bonus.”

Expanding on his pre-fight comments, Scott said he knows Marshman’s game plan - stating ‘he fights the same every fight’.

“Jack’s a good fighter,” said Scott.

“He is technically sound and his striking is better than he is given credit for.

“When I trained with him I was really surprised by how good his Jiu Jitsu is – he is really strong off his back.

“I know what Jack is going to do, he fights the same every fight, so it’s just a question of whether I can implement my own game plan.

“I’ve been training for the fight to go anywhere, which will only help me develop as a mixed martial artist.”

Watch Scott in action at UFC Fight Night on BT Sport on Saturday, March 17.