After fighting through injury during TUF 29, Brady Hiestand is healthy and ready to showcase his skills at UFC on ESPN 30

“The Ultimate Fighter 29” bantamweight finalist Brady Hiestand is one fight away from feeling like he’s arrived.

On the main card of UFC on ESPN 30, Hiestand (5-1) will take on Ricky Turcios for a UFC contract and the right to be called the bantamweight winner of “TUF 29.”

Fighting through a strained meniscus during the filming of “TUF” was an unexpected inconvenience, but Hiestand found a way to work through it with the help of the UFC Performance Institue, despite fears it would lead to his removal from the show.

“It was just a small hiccup in the road,” Hiestand told MMA Junkie and other reporters at the UFC Apex on Wednesday. “I didn’t put too much thought into it. I was just focusing on the fights and just winning the fights. …It took me a while to even say anything because I was worried it would get me kicked off the competition.”

Now fully healthy, Hiestand is ready to take on Turcios (10-2) and show his full set of skills on Saturday. “I think you guys saw a good portion of me, but I think there was a little of my game that wasn’t shown on the show,” Hiestand said. “A lot of my kicks weren’t able to be used just because I couldn’t step on that leg weird and a few things like that. It doesn’t matter now, I’m ready to showcase what I got this Saturday.”

During “TUF 29,” Hiestand defeated Josh Rettinghouse by split decision and Vince Murdock by first-round TKO to earn a spot in the finals.

Check out the full media interview with Hiestand in the video above.