Two years and 12 combined victims later, it's time for the rematch.
This Saturday evening (Dec. 19, 2015) inside Amway Center in Orlando, Fla., newly-crowned Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos will defend his 155-pound title for the first time against Donald Cerrone, whom he defeated via unanimous decision in 2013.
In addition, UFC on FOX 17 will feature Heavyweight contenders Junior dos Santos against Alistair Overeem in a hotly-anticipated grudge match years in the making, while Nate Diaz returns to the cage against Michael Johnson.
As with all FOX shows, the four-match main card will air on FOX and the remainder of the line up -- nine in this case -- on Fight Pass and FOX Sports 1. Here's a look at the three scheduled for the former:
170 lbs.: Leon Edwards vs. Kamaru Usman
Leon Edwards (10-2) got something of a raw deal in his Octagon debut, coming out on the wrong end of a questionable decision against Claudio Henrique da Silva. He’s since established himself as one to watch with an eight-second finish of Seth Baczynski and three-round domination of Pawel Pawlak.
He will give up two inches of height to the 6’0" Kamaru Usman (6-1).
Usman opened The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 21 strong for the Blackzilians with a win over Michael Graves in the first episode, then went on to beat Steve Carl in the ninth installment. Elected to represent the team at the Finale event, he dominated Hayder Hassan before ultimately submitting him in the second round.
He has never gone the distance, owning five wins via (technical) knockout.
Against most Welterweight competition below, say, the Top 20, breaking down a Usman fight is generally a fairly simple process. If the opponent can’t stop his takedowns, they’re going to lose.
Oversimplification, perhaps, but it’ll hold true here.
Usman is monstrously strong and, though Edwards may be the better technical striker, the Englishman isn’t going to have any luck staying on his feet. Expect Usman to steadily break down Edwards with clinchwork and ground-and-pound before eventually pounding him into submission late.
Prediction: Usman by third-round technical knockout
170 lbs.: Hayder Hassan vs. Vicente Luque
Hayder Hassan (6-2) became the first member of American Top Team to earn a win on TUF 21, thrashing Andrews Nakahara, then proceeding to pick up two more clutch wins to give them the win on points. His luck ran out at the Finale, where he succumbed to the wrestling prowess of the aforementioned Usman for a second-round submission loss.
He has knocked out five opponents as a professional.
Vicente Luque (7-5-1) managed to submit Nathan Coy midway through the show, but fell short in the final bout against Hassan by split decision. He got a shot in UFC regardless, losing to Michael Graves via decision in his Octagon debut.
He has knocked out and submitted three opponents each.
The way I see it, Luque’s first crack at Hassan was a best-case scenario. "Hulk" had fought a grueling fight with Felipe Portela not long before and his style is anything but economical. Despite this, Luque came up short, and I don’t expect he’ll do much better against Hassan when the latter has a full camp.
Luque’s never been stopped with strikes, so I expect this one to go the distance. Hassan lands the more telling strikes for a close -- but clear -- decision victory.
Prediction: Hassan via unanimous decision
265 lbs.: Luiz Henrique vs. Francis Ngannou
Luiz Henrique (8-1) enters UFC unbeaten in his last seven fight, dating back to a loss to fellow UFC competitor Sultan Aliev. He’s scored four finishes in that span, split evenly between knockouts and submissions.
This will be the first fight for "KLB" at Heavyweight in more than three years.
Francis Ngannou (5-1), training alongside the likes of Karl Amoussou, Mickael Lebout and Damien Lapilus, tasted defeat for the first time in his second pro fight opposite countryman Zoumana Cisse.
He has since scored four stoppages, two each by knockout and submission.
The odd thing about this fight is that Henrique has competed at 205 pounds for several fights and didn’t look drawn-out. Ngannou is a massive, well-built Heavyweight listed at 250 pounds, meaning that he’ll likely have upward of 30 pounds on his foe.
And it’s not like Henrique is going to have much of a technique advantage ... if at all. He leaves his head straight up when he throws punches, which in turn aren’t terribly crisp. Though Ngannou is raw as well, his edge in physicality should carry the day. He stops the Brazilian with strikes in the early going.
Prediction: Ngannou via first-round technical knockout
Six more UFC on FOX 17 undercard bouts to preview and predict tomorrow, which are capped off by a very interesting Featherweight showdown.
See you then, Maniacs!
Remember that MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC on FOX 17 fight card on fight night, starting with the Fight Pass "Prelims" matches online, which are scheduled to begin at 3:30 p.m. ET, and then the remaining undercard balance on FOX Sports 1 at 5 p.m. ET, before the FOX main card start time at 8 p.m. ET.