The Bournemouth man, The Ring’s No. 2-rated cruiserweight, has penned a multi-fight deal with Dana White’s company after nearly a year out of the ring.

Now the former WBO cruiserweight world champion cannot wait to get the ball rolling on what he has described as “the last hurrah” of his career and is confident that a clash with Ring champion Opetaia is now closer than ever.

“It all happened pretty quickly,” Billam-Smith told The Ring of the deal. “It probably got started in the second week of March.

“I was under contract with Boxxer until the end of last year and had just been considering my options. Me and my team had spoken about Zuffa before because they’ve got Opetaia.

“With [Gilberto] Zurdo [Ramirez] and David Benavidez tied up in their fight, we were looking at what options we had. With Zuffa I can sign in to get a pathway to the Opetaia fight and for me that was a big part of it.

“Zuffa have said numerous times that unbeaten records don’t matter. Who knows, I might beat Opetaia in a great fight and they might want to do it again. They won’t have signed me in order to keep us apart. They’re astute business people who understand the entertainment business and that is one of the best fights in the division. Now I’m all signed in for it.”

Opetaia, the former IBF cruiserweight champion, became one of Zuffa’s most significant signings ever when he joined back in January. He then beat Brandon Glanton, a former "CBS" opponent, in his debut with the organisation on March 8 in Las Vegas.

Billam-Smith added: “I want hard fights, I want things that I can get up for, headlining shows in big fights. I've done everything else I'm able to do in the game. And now it's about a bit of legacy. For me it’s just about something that gets me excited.

“I think he will be within my next three fights from now. It won’t be next, but it could be in the next two after that. We will see how the dates align but it’s going to happen.

“I’ve wanted it to happen ever since his manager was ringside when I boxed Isaac Chamberlain. Here we are now and I think signing for Zuffa shows I’m definitely keen for that fight.”

Opetaia was controversially stripped of his IBF cruiserweight title for taking on Glanton in a Zuffa event, which the sanctioning body did not recognize. That decision was subject to legal action from Opetaia and his team, who accused the IBF of co-ordinated, industry-wide collusion in a bid to punish the undefeated Australian for working with Zuffa Boxing.

Incidentally, Billam-Smith is currently No. 3 with the IBF, who had looked set to order him to face his compatriot Viddal Riley, ranked No. 2, for their still-vacant world title.

However his decision to join Zuffa makes that fight and that world title opportunity seem unlikely. For Billam-Smith, who has already achieved his dream of becoming world champion, belts are no longer of paramount importance.

“All I want to do is prove to everybody that I’m the best in the world,” he said. “That’s it, and I don’t believe a belt can tell me that.

“Belts don’t make fighters, proving yourself against other great fighters is what it’s all about. I want to prove to everybody that I’m the best and for me that starts with Jai Opetaia. Later down the line I would then love to prove it again in a rematch with Zurdo.

“Viddal Riley just beat Mateusz Masternak and the IBF could have made that for their vacant title so Riley would be world champion now. But not because he’s proven he's the best because he’s not even the No. 1 in Britain.

“For me it’s about chasing the biggest names in the division and although he is nearly there, Viddal is not quite there yet. That fight could definitely happen in the future but it won’t happen anytime soon.”

Billam-Smith, who turns 36 in August, has not boxed since his victory over Glanton at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on April 26 and is now ready to make up for lost time in the closing stages of his career.

“I've got family at home and I don't want to be boxing forever,” he added. “So finances obviously come into it. But I wouldn't do it just for the money, I need to be up for it. You're either moving forward or you're moving backwards, that's how I always view things.

“We've got two kids at home now, and I have had chats with my wife Mia just saying ‘babe, this is the last hurrah in terms of the last portion of my career.' I don't want to be going on near 40. I've got a few years left and I just want to give it everything.

“This opportunity with Zuffa allows me to do that. I'm more motivated than ever and announcing this deal now has just amplified that even more.

“This is a multi-fight deal for a few years and all I can say is that we will have news of the first fight soon. Hopefully we could have an announcement on that next week and then I’ll be out in the next few months.”