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Tommy McMillen wants the UFC to call him if Alexander Volkanovski or Movsar Evloev needs a replacement at UFC 333. The unbeaten featherweight volunteered for backup duty before his Noche UFC fight with Marwan Rahiki and said he would target either man for the right purse. McMillen, 11-0, first has to protect his record Saturday at Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale, Arizona. Rahiki enters at 9-0, giving the main-card matchup two unbeaten prospects whose combined 20 professional wins include 18 finishes. McMillen discussed Rahiki and the UFC 333 title fight in a complete interview published during Noche UFC fight week. Watch the source video below: McMillen framed the attention around Saturday’s matchup as the result of opponents using his audience to build their own profiles. I mean, yeah, that's why these guys call me out at my weight. None of them really want to fight me. They know I'm a kid that likes to fight. No one looks at me as an easy fight. They just don't have a choice. They need my name to build a platform for themselves. Who else are you going to call out at 145 pounds? You're going to call out the kid that's breaking world records, cashing 100K bonuses and lapping everybody else in this game. All these guys have five, six, seven, eight fights in the UFC, and I have a social media following bigger than all of them. They need me and they're just doing their job by talking about me. I think I need to start getting some thank-you letters from the guys that I choose and say yes to fight, because I'm putting them in the spotlight. I'm making everybody talk about them. McMillen Dismisses Rahiki’s First Two UFC Wins Rahiki stopped Harry Hardwick after a doctor ended their fight between the second and third rounds, then knocked out short-notice opponent Michael Schmid in 77 seconds. McMillen, who previously said he remained hungry after back-to-back UFC stoppage wins, was not impressed by either performance. I'm not too impressed, to be honest. I've watched a little bit on him because my coach Tim sat me down and had me watch some stuff. I seen he fought Harry Hardwick in his debut, and Harry Hardwick beat him up in the first round. Harry Hardwick won the first round, and Harry Hardwick's a 50-50 fighter. He's very mediocre, and Harry beat him in the first round. Then Marwan obviously broke the kid's jaw in the second round and the fight got stopped. It was one to one. He never really got the finish. They just called the fight because of the doctors. So, not that impressed with that one. For his last one, he had a last-minute replacement. He fought some dude that was like 5-3 off the streets. It was in an empty arena on the prelims where no one was watching, and he couldn't even catch a 100K bonus on the dude. So I'm not too impressed. But I think his name gets thrown in there with 'undefeated prospect' because I guess that is what he is. At the end of the day, there can only be one. When I got offered this fight, this is the fight that I wanted. This is what sets me apart from the rest of these upcoming undefeated prospects. I'm going to go out there and show I'm on a different level than these guys. I'm running laps around these guys. I'm cashing 100K bonuses every time I fight and I'm breaking world records in the middle of all of this. I'm going to make a statement this Saturday. McMillen also promised another appearance before the end of 2026 if he beats Rahiki. He said his activity is a choice rather than a promotional demand. Not if, but when that happens, there's pros and cons to everything. When you're the superstar in the spotlight like me and you have the balls to carry yourself the way I do and be my authentic self in front of the world and not really care what people think, you're going to get a lot of hate. At the end of the day, I get to do what I want. I get to pick when I want to fight, and the UFC is gladly going to give a kid like me any fight card I want because of the way I fight and the way I entertain the masses. Luckily for you guys, the fans and the haters and the UFC, I like to fight all the time and will fight as many times as I can. So, yeah, you bet I'm going to turn around and fight again this year. The 28-year-old rejected the idea that the UFC has protected him. He pointed to his July stoppage of Alberto Montes and Saturday’s matchup with another unbeaten opponent. I don't think I'm getting built up at all. I just went out and fought 12-1 Alberto Montes, a black belt since 2017, a 12-1 veteran in the prime of his career, 32 years old. That's not an easy fight. That's another top prospect. I opened up as plus money for that fight. People thought I was going to lose that fight. Vegas thought I was going to lose that fight. I opened up at plus 165. The odds only switched to my favor and went to minus 200 because when you see free money on the ground, you pick it up. That's what everybody did that believes in me. I don't think I'm getting some special treatment at all. Now I'm here fighting another undefeated prospect. I think his record and his hype is a lot more than how good he actually is. I think I'm going to expose that this Saturday night, but in the fans' eyes and a lot of people's eyes, this kid is up there in talks for one of the better upcoming prospects. I'm turning around and fighting him right away. I don't really think I'm being built up in any way. I think I'm earning everything that's happening in my life. That comes with how I fight. A lot of people don't have the balls to fight the way I fight. I'm putting on banger performances for the love of the game. I just truly love this. I think people can tell that about me now. That's one thing you can't say: I love this stuff. That's what's helping me win and take me to where I need to be. I'm just going to let my love for the game carry me to the top. The Volkanovski Callout Started With A Money Question McMillen clarified an earlier clip about facing Volkanovski. He called the champion the greatest featherweight, but still backed himself against the winner of Volkanovski versus Evloev at UFC 333. First of all, that was a clip taken a little bit out of context. The first question I got asked that day was who is one of the GOATs right now at 145. The GOAT at 145 has to be Volk. He's earned his spot as the GOAT. Then he asked after I mentioned Volk, if the money was right, because he wanted to see where my mentality is, 'Would you fight Volk?' And I'm like, 'Of course.' You don't get to the UFC and do the things I'm doing and not just be down to fight anybody for the right amount of money. So, 100 percent. But then the question on top of that was, 'Do I think I could win?' And yes, 100 percent. I don't think there's a guy in this world at 145 pounds I can't beat, and that's where my confidence comes from. I truly believe I can beat anybody at 145 pounds. I know I have the tools to do it. I'm 6-6, 220 pounds. I'm a big 45er. Then you add the fact that I've been wrestling my whole life. I can stop people's wrestling if I need to, and then just my love for fighting and being able to fight with anybody. I think I have the tools to fight anybody in this world at 145 pounds. Asked directly about serving as the official replacement, McMillen mocked Evloev’s wrestling-heavy style and said he would accept the assignment. So the UFC hit me up if they need a backup for that fight, Volk and whatever the other dude — the other dude's so boring, let's be real. Everybody wants to see him win. Wrestlers, you guys want to go out there and lay on people? I could do that too. I could have done that all my last fights. I could go out there and lay on these guys and be a Khamzat and just do all that. That's just boring. No one wants to do that. So let's hope Volk wins. But 100 percent, if the UFC wants to pay me and be like, 'Yo, Tommy, come be the backup for this fight,' send me. I'll pull up there with a bag of Cheez-Its and dust any one of them boys. UFC 333 is scheduled for October 24 in Abu Dhabi. McMillen’s path to any role on that card begins with Rahiki on Saturday, when one of the division’s unbeaten prospects will leave Glendale with his first professional loss.