The UFC will return to pay-per-view tomorrow night as UFC 185 will come from the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas and will be headlined by Anthony Pettis defending the lightweight title against Rafael dos Anjos.
The co-main event will also be a title fight as Carla Esparza defends the women’s strawweight title for the first time since winning the title last year as he is challenged by Joanna Jedrzejczyk
Let’s take a look at the 5 most intriguing bouts on the card.
5. Sergio Pettis vs. Ryan Benoit
This is the return of the younger Pettis to the flyweight division. After spending the first stretch of his UFC career at bantamweight taking on bigger fighters, and finding relative success, Pettis makes the move back down to flyweight where he has spent most of his career. This has the potential to be a showcase fight and a way to settle back into the flyweight division. Look out for Sergio Pettis in 2015 as he attempts to make a title run, hoping to follow in his brother’s championship footsteps.
4. Alistair Overeem vs. Roy Nelson
Not only is this fight intriguing in that both fighters need a win, it also will be interesting to see how the fight will play out. Overeem, the former K-1 Grand Prix champion, has been susceptible to big shots in his UFC career with some even calling him “chinny”. Nelson is known for his big overhand right and although he is a BJJ black-belt, he tends to want to keep the fight standing. Overeem will need to decide if he wants to attempt to strike with Nelson and risk getting hurt in an exchange or try to take the fight into the clinch and onto the floor where he can evoke his vicious ground and pound. The latter option seems the safest, especially if he wants to avoid testing out those “chinny” theories.
3. Anthony Pettis vs. Rafael Dos Anjos
The lightweight title is on the line in the main event on Saturday night. Pettis has been on an impressive run, dispatching all of those in his wake. Now that he appears to be finally healthy, he looks to make the jump to MMA superstar. Excluding a loss to Khabib Nurmagomedov, Dos Anjos is on quite a run himself, winning 8 of 9 and 3 in a row. An improved striker, Dos Anjos out-struck Cowboy Cerrone in a decision victory and was the first man to finish Ben Henderson with strikes. While Dos Anjos is a durable veteran of the game who has improved everywhere during his time with the UFC, I’m not sure he has a clear path to victory here. Pettis may win in devastating fashion here, allowing his star to burn a little brighter.
2. Henry Cejudo vs. Chris Cariaso
The UFC has another potential star on their hands in Henry Cejudo; A bilingual, former Olympian with charisma who is looking to make a title run in the flyweight division. After a brilliant performance against Dustin Kimura, Zuffa brass is throwing Cejudo right into the fire with a matchup against former title challenger Chris Cariaso. It will be interesting to see if Cejudo continues to show off his improved striking or if he returns to his wrestling roots and a follows a similar game-plan as Demetrious Johnson against Cariaso. Then again, can Cejudo even make the weight?
1. Johny Hendricks vs. Matt Brown
Save for his last performance against Robbie Lawler, Johny Hendricks is rarely in a fight that is not entertaining. Matt Brown has never been in a boring fight and his presence alone ups the violence quotient. Combine those two fighters, in what should amount to be a number one contender’s bout, and you are sure to have fireworks.