The UFC returns to Fox on Saturday, July 23 in Chicago with a decent slate of fights.
In the main event, former bantamweight champion Holly Holm takes on Kyrgyzstan-born Valentina Shevchenko in a matchup of decorated strikers with serious implications for the title in a wide-open division. This will be Holm’s first fight since dropping her title to Miesha Tate last March in a massive upset, but she can quickly reestablish herself as a top contender in the absence of Ronda Rousey.
The co-main event features a barnburner of a lightweight scrap between former Strikeforce champion and two-time UFC title challenger Gilbert Melendez and the fast-rising Edson Barboza.
The rest of the card has enough matchups to hold the viewer’s interest. Promising heavyweight prospect Francis Ngannou graces the main card against the unknown Bojan Mihajlovic in a showcase fight, while Hawaiian strawweight Kailin Curran opens proceedings on Fox against veteran Felice Herrig.
There are a few other interesting fights scattered throughout the card.
The Fight Pass headliner between Alex Oliveira and James Moontasri should have outstanding action while it lasts. The early prelims on Fox feature an excellent prospect-veteran matchup between the rising Kamaru Usman and Alexander Yakovlev. The headliner to the preliminary card is an excellent bantamweight fight between Eddie Wineland and Frankie Saenz.
This is far from the UFC’s best effort on Fox, but it still has enough intriguing fights to draw the dedicated viewer. Let’s take a look at each matchup.