More than two years after their first fight, Donald Cerrone and Rafael dos Anjos meet again on Saturday at UFC on Fox 17 with the lightweight title on the line.
Dos Anjos edged Cerrone on points in August 2013 in a clear but competitive fight, and outside of a setback against stifling Dagestani Khabib Nurmagomedov, has looked unstoppable on his four-fight winning streak which culminated in a demolition of Anthony Pettis to win the lightweight title. For his part, Cerrone has won eight in a row since the loss to dos Anjos to set up a highly anticipated rematch.
Their first fight was entertaining, and given both fighters’ improvements and the higher stakes on the line, the second should be even better.
The rest of the card is as stacked as a UFC on Fox card gets. Junior dos Santos takes on Alistair Overeem in the co-main event more than three years after the two men were first scheduled to meet at UFC 146; while there’s no heavyweight title on the line, this is a matchup that fans have dreamt about for a long time.
Nate Diaz returns to action against the rising Michael Johnson in a matchup of elite lightweights, and in the main-card opener Randa Markos draws Poland’s Karolina Kowalkiewicz in a crackling strawweight battle.
The preliminary card is outstanding as well. Charles Oliveira welcomes Myles Jury to 145 pounds in the Fox Sports 1 main event. Josh Samman takes on Tamdan McCrory in a slick middleweight fight and The Ultimate Fighter 21 winner Kamaru Usman draws England’s Leon Edwards in a matchup of highly regarded welterweight prospects.
This card is well worth the viewer’s time. Let’s take a look at each matchup.