Don't let a little thing like back-to-back losses to Jose Aldo (UFC 129) and Chan Sung Jung (UFC 140) fool you, Mark Hominick is still one of the best fighters in the promotion's 145-pound division.

Just ask him, he'll tell you.

"The Machine" was unplugged by "The Korean Zombie" in just seven seconds last December following a failed bid to capture "Junior's" featherweight belt in front of a hometown crowd in Toronto; however, prior to his recent troubles, the Canadian was able to string together five straight wins with four finishes.

Can he start the streak anew at UFC 145?

That's where he'll take on rugged veteran Eddie Yagin, and as he tells the Winnipeg Free Press, his April 21 bout at the Philips Arena in Atlanta, Georgia, is going to remind everyone that he's "still one of the best in the division."

Those comments, after the jump.

"I'm reminding them that I'm still one of the best in this division. I didn't even watch [the Jung loss] again ... I fought out of character, came out so reckless and aggressive and I paid the price. It's weird that after 10 years fighting professionally you have to learn a beginner lesson but that's what happened in that fight. Fighting out of character you sometimes have to pay the price. It's weird because I almost have to sell (Yagin's) credibility. This guy's been in the sport longer than me. ... He came up in the Hawaii-based promotion and he was a headliner over there. And he's fought a lot of tough guys over the years. He's never shied away from taking tough competition. He's got a dangerous overhand right and he's got a really good guillotine. So it's a fight. This is no easy task. But I'm trained, ready, ready to take him out."

Yagin (15-5) came up short in his Octagon debut, losing on points to Raphael Assuncao at UFC 135 last September. Prior to that, the "Filipino Phenom" won seven of eight fights with six stoppages. He's clearly got the goods to make this thing a fight.

But can he pull off the upset?

For a closer look at the UFC 145 contest between Mark Hominick vs. Eddie Yagin check out or in-depth fight preview by clicking here.