The Ultimate Fighting Championship returns to Houston with a stacked card this Saturday on pay-per-view. In the headliner, light heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier takes on former top contender Alexander Gustafsson in an outstanding scrap. While Gustafsson’s booking drew heat from fans who would’ve preferred not to see a challenger who was melted in his last outing, it is one of the best fights that can be made in the division.
The long shadow of Jon Jones hangs over the entire event. Forty percent of the fighters on the main card—Cormier, Gustafsson, Rashad Evans and Ryan Bader—have fallen to the longtime and now former light heavyweight champion. This fight is for the full title only because the UFC has made it so, not because there’s any doubt as to who the best 205-pounder on the planet happens to be.
Jones will likely get the winner of the main event when he returns from his suspension. While Cormier holds the belt he won against Anthony Johnson, this is essentially a glorified top contender matchup. With that said, it’s still an outstanding fight.
The rest of the card is stacked to the brim with meaningful and entertaining bookings. In the co-main event, former welterweight champion Johny Hendricks takes on Tyron Woodley in a likely top contender matchup. The winner will likely draw the winner of Robbie Lawler vs. Carlos Condit in January.
Further down the card, the hits keep coming. Bader takes on Evans in what could also be a top contender matchup at 205 pounds, with the winner getting a shot at either Gustafsson or Cormier if Jones can’t return to action in the near future.
Shawn Jordan and Ruslan Magomedov meet in a matchup of two of the division’s best younger fighters, with Magomedov in particular on the cusp of breaking through to the divisional elite. Jessica Eye takes on Julianna Pena in the main card’s opener as The Ultimate Fighter 18 winner gets a shot at vaulting herself into the top 10 and eventual contention.
The preliminary card is as good as it gets. Joseph Benavidez takes on Ali Bagautinov in the Fox Sports 1 headliner, and every fight beneath that carries some level of interest. Rising stars Yair Rodriguez and Rose Namajunas compete for attention with a matchup between violence specialists Albert Tumenov and Alan Jouban.
Even the Fight Pass portion of the event is outstanding. Sergio Pettis draws former top contender Chris Cariaso as he attempts to stay relevant in the flyweight division, rising star Islam Makhachev takes on Adriano Martins and hot prospect Sage Northcutt makes his debut in the evening’s curtain-jerker.
Let’s take a look at each individual matchup.