While it might not do blockbuster business, next weekend’s UFC 209 is a huge card for hardcore MMA fans. Headlined by a set 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 main event is going to 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 contest than many expected, ending in a vast majority draw. Woodley had the a lot more demonstrative moments in the struggle throughout 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 didn’t achieve much once there he took those rounds. The fifth saw Thompson open on a weary Woodley and finish the struggle on a solid note, but it was only enough to get him back level on two scorecards. 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 features just two of those fighters in the division who’ve taken the long road to their title shots. Nurmagomedov is now 8-0 inside the Octagon and 24-0 entire in his career. He has been exploited for big things considering entering the UFC, and after overcoming a rash of severe injuries, finally seems always fit and is favored to win the belt on March 4th. Ferguson has seen his own bumps in the road on the way for this shot. After winning the 13th year of’The Ultimate Fighter’ back in 2011, he scored three consecutive wins. He fell a decision to Michael Johnson in 2012 that only stopped his sanity for a moment. Since that time, he has reeled off nine consecutive wins against the likes of Rafael dos Anjos, Edson Barboza, and Josh Thomson, consistently putting on must-see struggles. The combination of Nurmagomedov’s dominance and Ferguson’s high-paced, all-action strategy makes their bout of the best bookings in the UFC in a while, and almost makes you forget that there is a guy out there holding the UFC lightweight title who seems to have 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 in DREAM back in 2008 under far different circumstances. Overeem was only beginning his transformation to Ubereem, while Hunt’s commitment to the sport was about in line with Mario Yamasaki’s desire to stop fights punctually. Both guys are a lot of fighters at this point, as Overeem has embraced a much more conservative fashion and Hunt has rounded out his game considerably. In their first battle, Overeem immediately took Hunt down and filed himbut we have not seen too much of his offensive grappling game lately. Will this battle 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 always sudden Dan Kelly. The now 37-year-old Evans is 2-4 in his last six, and has not won a fight since 2013. Kelly, despite turning 40 after this year, has impressed in his UFC run — despite the amount 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 might be his stiffest test yet on the feet. Lando Vannata stormed into the UFC, nearly upsetting Tony Ferguson on brief note in his debut, then scoring the favorite choice for 2016’s knockout of this year against John Makdessi. He’ll be facing an underrated opponent in David Teymur, with a pair of TKO wins his UFC resume after breaking into the business through TUF. The undercard also has some struggles 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 using a light heavyweight division which desperately needs fighters to grow up the rankings. Meanwhile, Bektic and Sanders face their stiffest professional tests against Darren Elkins and Iuri Alcantara, respectively.
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