Thomas Almeida joins growing list of bantamweights targeting Bryan Caraway showdown

Call him the bantamweight version of fellow undefeated Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter and lightweight contender Khabib Nurmagomedov, or just call him "the next big thing," but the name Thomas Almeida will soon become one that is of the household variety.

Especially if he can take it to Bryan Caraway, who is quickly becoming the next Michael Bisping (because of this), or one of the other top-10 ranked bantamweights in front of him.

"There's nowhere to run now, I'm in the top 10. If I could choose, I wouldn't want to fight a Brazilian. I'd rather fight a foreigner, especially if it's here in Sao Paulo. I would like to fight here on November 7," Almeida told Brazilian outlet Sexto Round (via Bloody Elbow). "I think Bryan Caraway would be a cool fight. He's Miesha Tate's boyfriend or husband, I don't know, so there's already some interest from the media. I think that would get me more attention."

Almeida, who just turned 24 years old and holds a professional record of 20-0, recently signed a new fight-five UFC contract earlier this month. His last victory was a come-from-behind, technical knockout win over British brawler Brad Pickett at UFC 189 in July.

Caraway, meanwhile, got himself back on the winning track by soundly defeating former World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC) champion Eddie Wineland at UFC on FOX 16. However, I'm not sure if Caraway has his sights set on a showdown with the blistering Brazilian contender, seeing as he's currently mixing it up on Twitter with fellow top-10 bantamweight Aljamain Sterling.

I can't see any fight with Almeida being a letdown at this point. Caraway fits the bill and is a tough out for anyone in the 135-pound division.

Unless anyone has a better opponent in mind?