The UFC has put together a stacked card for its UFC 209 event this Saturday, March 4, in Las Vegas. In the main event, welterweight champion Tyron Woodley takes on Stephen Thompson in a rematch of their November 2016 draw at UFC 205, which was one of the most competitive and compelling fights of the year.
The rest of the event is full of both meaningful and entertaining matchups. The co-main event is one of the very best fights the UFC can put together right now, an interim title fight featuring surging lightweights Khabib Nurmagomedov and Tony Ferguson. The two fighters have combined to go 20-1 in 21 total UFC bouts and might just be the two best fighters in the division ruled by Conor McGregor.
The lightweight scrap between Lando Vannata and David Teymur features a pair of entertaining, up-and-coming strikers in a great action fight, while a heavyweight banger pitting Mark Hunt and Alistair Overeem against each other in a rematch nine years in the making opens the main card. Former light heavyweight champion Rashad Evans makes his middleweight debut against Dan Kelly.
Promising prospects litter the preliminary card. Blue-chip featherweight youngster Mirsad Bektic gets a big step up in competition against Darren Elkins, while bantamweight Luke Sanders gets a huge matchup with Iuri Alcantara. The light heavyweight fight between Tyson Pedro and Paul Craig, the Fight Pass headliner, will crown the most worthy young up-and-comer in that talent-starved division.
Let’s take a look at each individual matchup.