The UFC returns to Pittsburgh for the first time since 2011 this Sunday night with a solid event. Unfortunately, injuries and other unforeseen circumstances have gutted the card; while still decent, it’s nowhere close to what it was scheduled to be a month ago.
Former lightweight title challenger Donald Cerrone moved up to welterweight and was scheduled to face Tim Means in a violent special attraction. A flagged drug test pulled Means from the bout several weeks ago, however, and Brazil’s Alex Oliveira stepped up to create what should be an action-packed headliner of two fighters bearing the nickname “Cowboy.”
The stakes are low in the main event. Cerrone will be on the UFC’s roster for as long as he wants to be, and while he needs wins to keep making money, another title shot is probably out of the question. Conversely, nobody will look askance at Oliveira if he loses, while a win represents a huge step up for him.
The rest of the card looked outstanding several weeks out with scheduled fights between Brandon Thatch and Siyar Bahadurzada and John Lineker and Cody Garbrandt, but both of those have disappeared. Thatch vs. Bahadurzada was moved to UFC 196, while Lineker had to pull out due to dengue fever.
The co-main event pits Derek Brunson against Roan Carneiro in a middleweight tilt that feels necessary and makes sense, though it probably won’t do much to raise the pulse of the viewer.
Garbrandt is still on the card in what should be a fun fight with elite grappler Augusto Mendes, and Dennis Bermudez takes on Tatsuya Kawajiri in an excellent featherweight matchup. The lightweight tilt between James Krause and Shane Campbell is flying under the radar but should be a great action fight.
The prelim headliner between welterweight up-and-comers Alex Garcia and Sean Strickland is the highlight of the undercard, which otherwise features a mixture of prospects and journeymen.
Let’s take a look at each matchup at UFC Fight Night 83.