LAS VEGAS – Emil Meek has the biggest test of his career at UFC Fight Night 124, but “Valhalla” believes he’s ready for the challenge, thanks to the help of a few “f*cking crazy f*cking vikings.”

Meek originally thought he was going to compete at this past weekend’s UFC 219 event in Las Vegas, and the Norwegian native decided to come to Sin City early to take advantage of the UFC Performance Institute for the final stages of his preparation. Meek said the decision was made easier by the difficulty he often faces finding available bodies to fill his camp during the holiday season back home.

“Over here, the training goes all year ’round, and it’s a lot of really good, talented training partners here,” Meek told reporters backstage at UFC 219. “I feel really, really, really sharp now.”

However, the promotion ultimately decided to shift a fight between Meek (9-2-1 MMA, 1-0 UFC) and Kamaru Usman (11-1 MMA, 6-0 UFC) to UFC Fight Night 124, which takes place Jan. 14 at Scottrade in St. Louis. The night’s main card airs on FS1 following early prelims on UFC Fight Pass.

It’s a big step up in competition for Meek, with Usman sitting at No. 9 in the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMAjunkie MMA welterweight rankings. But Meek insists it’s exactly the type of fight he had been seeking.

“It feels really right,” Meek said. “It feels fun. Like I said before, it’s one of those fights that makes me want to get up in the morning and work my f*cking ass off until I pass out. It’s like everything I have in my mind, I don’t want to do anything that can damage that.”

To assist him in that effort, Meek said he’s enlisted a few key figures to help him in Las Vegas.

“(I) took a bunch of Norwegian f*cking crazy f*cking vikings coming over and just having fun, training hard, getting work in over at Xtreme Couture and some of the guys over there,” Meek said. “Kevin Lee helped me a lot with the wrestling, and it’s been really good.”

For Meek, the fight is his first since December 2016, with injuries delaying his targeted rise up the ranks. But believes now is his moment, and he thinks Usman will provide his path to the top.

“I will be the best Valhalla there is on Jan. 14,” Meek said.

To hear more from Meek, check out the video above.

And for more on UFC Fight Night 124, check out the MMA Rumors section of the site.