His name is Nick Pace, and yes, he's fighting in UFC 139

To most, he's simply the other guy on the fight card, the guy listed as the opponent of former champion Miguel Angel Torres in his quest to regain prominent stature in the bantamweight division.

But to Nick Pace, he's the guy who is going to make folks reconfigure their thought patterns.

"I'm Nick Pace, the underdog, the kid that's supposed to get his ---- beat," said Pace, who fights Torres on the undercard of UFC 139 in San Jose, Calif., on Saturday. "I'm supposed to lose this fight. I'm supposed to get dominated. OK, so, when I see him on Saturday, I want him to prove me wrong. Show everyone I'm supposed to lose. Let's go, show me."

The fight will air live on Facebook.com/UFC shortly after 6 p.m.

That Pace, 24, a Brooklyn native and Staten Island resident, is part of the live-stream prelims online is not surprising. He's had just eight pro mixed martial arts fights, only three of which were under the Zuffa banner. Pace (6-2, 1-1 UFC) needs time to grow his name, his resume, his fan base. But Torres? Wasn't it just a short time ago that he was wearing the WEC belt around his waist and riding a 20-fight win streak?

Torres (38-4) has lost three of his past five fights since August 2009. And at 5-9, Torres still possesses the length to keep shorter fighters at a distance. Pace is 5-6 and will need to keep moving forward to neutralize Torres' reach advantage.

"When someone tells you you're fighting Miguel Torres, you're like, 'Let me get on that treadmill, let me start hitting that bag, let me start moving my head around kickboxing, let me work hard,' " Pace said.

Not lost on Pace, though, has been the shadow cast by his opponent's name recognition. It's something that has fueled his training at Tiger Schulmann's MMA in New Jersey.

"Right now, I'm living the dream, and this is a very defining moment in my life. Five years from now, 10 years from now, I'm going to look back and say this is where my life is because of today."