While it might not do blockbuster business, next weekend’s UFC 209 is a massive card for hardcore MMA fans. Headlined by a pair of quite intriguing title fights, the card also features plenty of fan favorites, plus several of the more highly regarded prospects on the roster right now. The most important event will be the welterweight title rematch between Tyron Woodley and Stephen Thompson. Their struggle on the huge UFC 205 card turned out to be a much better competition than many expected, end in a vast majority draw. Woodley had the a lot more demonstrative moments in the fight during the first and fourth rounds. But, Thompson was able to back him against the cage for long stretches of the middle rounds, and although he did not accomplish much once there that he took those rounds. The fifth saw Thompson open up on a weary Woodley and end the struggle on a strong note, but it was only enough to get him back flat on two scorecards. Just as Woodley and Thompson did at UFC 205, the co-main occasion could steal the show as well. The interim lightweight title bout between Khabib Nurmagomedov and Tony Ferguson comprises two of those fighters in the branch who have taken the long road to their name shots. Nurmagomedov is currently 8-0 inside the Octagon and 24-0 overall in his career. He has been tapped for large things considering entering the UFC, and after overcoming a rash of serious harms, eventually seems always fit and is favored to win the belt on March 4th. Ferguson has seen his own bumps in the road on the road for this particular shot. After winning the 13th season of’The Ultimate Fighter’ back in 2011, he also scored three consecutive wins. He dropped a decision to Michael Johnson in 2012 that just stopped his sanity for a moment. Since that time, he’s reeled off nine consecutive wins against the likes of Rafael dos Anjos, Edson Barboza, and Josh Thomson, consistently putting on must-see struggles. The combo of both Nurmagomedov’s dominance and Ferguson’s high-paced, all-action approach creates their imaginations of the best bookings at the UFC in some time, and almost makes you forget that there is a man out there holding the UFC lightweight name who seems to possess no desire to defend it. The principal card of UFC 209 additionally offers a heavyweight rematch between Alistair Overeem and Mark Hunt. The two fought DREAM back in 2008 under a variety of conditions. Overeem was just beginning his transformation to Ubereem, while Hunt’s devotion to the game was about based on Mario Yamasaki’s desire to stop fights on time. Both men are much different fighters in this time, as Overeem has adopted a much more conservative fashion and Hunt has rounded out his game significantly. In their first fight, Overeem quickly took Hunt down and submitted him, but we have not seen too much of his offensive fighting game lately. Will this fight mark its return, or will the K-1 Grand Prix winners participate on the toes? Rounding out the most important card, former light heavyweight champion Rashad Evans makes his long-awaited middleweight debut against the constantly surprising Dan Kelly. The currently 37-year-old Evans is 2-4 in his past six, and has not won a fight since 2013. Kelly, despite turning 40 later this season, has impressed in his UFC run — despite the level of competition was a far cry from what Evans would have provided within his prime — heading 5-1 despite being that the gambling underdog in every one of his UFC outings. Finally, among the rising stars at lightweight has the chance to flaunt his striking, although from a technical perspective this may be his stiffest test yet about the feet. Lando Vannata stormed into the UFC, almost upsetting Tony Ferguson on brief note in his introduction, then scoring the popular pick for 2016’s knockout of this year against John Makdessi. He’ll be facing an underrated opponent in David Teymur, who has a pair of TKO wins on his UFC restart after breaking into the organization through TUF. The undercard also includes some fights to keep your eyes on, as undefeated prospects Mirsad Bektic, Luke Sanders, Paul’The Bear Jew’ Craig, and Tyson Pedro create their yields. Both have been paired together in a light heavyweight division which desperately requires fighters to grow up the ranks. Meanwhile, Bektic and Sanders face their stiffest professional evaluations against Darren Elkins and Iuri Alcantara, respectively.
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