The Octagon heads to Hidalgo, Texas, on Saturday with a fun show on Fox Sports 1. Name value isn’t the card’s strong suit, but it should produce action from top to bottom.
In the main event, Dustin Poirier takes on Michael Johnson in a barnburner of a fight between lightweight contenders on the cusp of the elite in MMA‘s most stacked division. On paper, the matchup between skilled, powerful and quick-paced strikers looks like a potential Fight of the Year contender.
Similarly well-matched bouts adorn the rest of the card. The co-main event between Uriah Hall and Derek Brunson matches up-and-comers in a stagnant middleweight division and could turn into a grinding affair, but the fight between Evan Dunham and late replacement Rick Glenn will be all action. The main card opener features blue-chip prospect Islam Makhachev and Chris Wade in a strong lightweight scrap.
There are no well-known names on the preliminary segment, but as with the main card, action fights should abound.
Let’s take a look at each matchup.