Going into his fight Saturday with Jess Liaudin (Pictures), British banger Paul Taylor (Pictures) is still kicking himself over his losing performance in January to fellow Brit Paul Kelly (Pictures).

Known primarily as a kickboxer, "Relentless" enjoyed success in the wild opening exchanges and landed a stream of near-concussive shots. Taylor ultimately failed to impose his game, though, and spent much of the fight pinned on his back.

As a result, the Team Supreme fighter has heard a myriad of derogatory comments about his ground game. His patience is beginning to wear thin.

"It winds me up. This is why I felt so bad after the fight, because I didn't show what I can do on my back. I didn't engage my grappling brain," Taylor said with a note of deep frustration. "My ground is a lot better than it was on that night, and I have improved since then again. I definitely understand that the glitches are there from a spectator's point of view, but I plan to engage my grappling brain on Saturday night and pull a few surprises out."

His opponent, Liaudin, is another fighter who has a habit of delivering surprises. Taylor knows him well, having defeated the submission expert via a controversial decision in 2003.

"I just remember the controversy that's stayed around [the fight] for six years," Taylor said with a laugh. "Absolutely ridiculous! I can't bring myself to watch it because of the apparent spiking incident that he keeps going on about but nobody else brings up. I just don't watch it. It's the only thing which springs to mind about that fight for me."

The "spiking incident" Taylor refers to involved the Midlands fighter slamming his way out of an armbar Liaudin was attempting, which has stirred up mixed feelings between the two over the years.

"He maintains that I spiked him in the third round," Taylor said. "He tried to armbar me. I picked him up to dump him, and he inverted himself into the armbar while I was dumping him. So he dropped onto his head, which is a spike, and obviously spiking is illegal. He reckons that was the reason why he lost, but it was in the middle of the third round. He already looked like he'd been in a car accident."

Adamant that he had no apologies to make, Taylor pointed out that as a result of the incident, Cage Rage referee Grant Waterman now specifically mentions the scenario at each rules meeting he undertakes.

"When you listen to one of Grant's talks, he says, ‘If you get armbarred or triangled and somebody's going to dump you, you're going to hit the floor. So if you invert yourself, it inevitably means you are going to land on your head and spike yourself.'"

Despite the disputed finish, Taylor stated confidently that he feels he has nothing to prove going into the fight. In fact, he feels quite the opposite.

"That last fight was a close fight," he said. "I won't say I went out and mauled him. Far from it. Jess got me in three armbars and a triangle. It was a tough fight. It went the three rounds. It wasn't a unanimous decision by any stretch of the imagination.

"I think Jess feels that he's got something to prove because of that. Me personally, it's a fight like any other fight. I'm being paid to put a show on, and that's what I've come to do on Saturday night."

Both fighters have extensive backgrounds in stand-up competition and are known for having a dazzling arsenal of kicks. Taylor, however, believes there is no comparison between the two in terms of effective kicking.

"Not being arrogant, but Jess is more of a flicky kicker," Taylor said. "I don't think he's ever stopped anybody with his kicks or anything like that. I definitely think I've got the stronger, more powerful kicks. Hopefully we'll see who's the better fighter. We'll see who's the better kicker, and it's going to go my way Saturday night."

Although he showed great respect for his opponent's all-around ability, Taylor appeared quite certain that he holds the edge going into the contest.

"His weakness is going to be how he approaches this fight," Taylor remarked. "If he thinks he's going to put me on my back and if he thinks he's going to have the run of the ring when he's on top, it's going to be completely different [than] that."

As a parting shot, Taylor promised an aggressive, determined performance Saturday -- something fans around the globe are coming to expect from the hard-hitting fighter from Walsall.

"It's going to be fast and explosive," Taylor said. "You know, that's what I do. That's what the UFC likes. I know I've had two losses, but I've had two fights of the night. My style is fast and explosive, and you're going to have to match that pace for three rounds."