Fight fans get 3 straight days of fights leading up to the grand finale with Aldo and McGregor on Saturday night. Let's check out the action packed lead in to Saturday.
Thursday Dec 10, 6:45 ET / UFC Fight Pass
A night all about going from 6 to midnight.
Resident sweetheart Paige "12 Gauge" VanZant (6-1, 3-0 UFC) looks to keep her momentum going as she steps in to fight "Thug" Rose Namajunas (3-2, 1-1 UFC). Likely PVZ's toughest fight to date, let's see if Dana's little experiment doesn't crash and burn like Rousey did.
Another GAF darling in Sage Northcutt (6-0, 1-0 UFC) will put on a sophomore effort against Cody "The Pfist" Pfister (12-4-1, 1-1 UFC) after his dominating debut against 7-11 employee Francisco Trevino.
Michael Chiesa (12-2, 5-2 UFC) also makes his return to take on the always durable Jim Miller (25-6-1, 15-4-1 UFC). My vote for FOTN.
Future superstar Aljamain Sterling (11-0, 3-0 UFC) is also buried on the prelims but should put on a good show if you happen to catch him.
Friday Dec 11, 10PM ET / Fox Sports 1
In a matchup of the vertically challenged, the always game Frankie Edgar (19-4-1, 13-4-1 UFC) takes on the three time title challenger, Chad "Mini" Mendes (17-3, 8-3 UFC). For an awesome fight that will probably decide the #1 contender to the winner of Aldo/McGregor, it just doesn't seem to have much buzz.
Edson Barboza (16-3, 9-3 UFC) makes a swift return to the Octagon to face surging 155 pounder Tony 'El Cucuy' Ferguson (19-3, 9-1 UFC). In a fight that will certainly produce fireworks, a win by Ferguson would definitely put him near the title conversation.
Saturday Dec 12,
6:30PM ET / Fight Pass - Early Prelims
8:00PM ET / Fox Sports 1 - Prelims
10:00PM ET / PPV - Main Card
The UFC's annual December tentpole event returns to the MGM to host one of their, if not their biggest fight in UFC history™. Superstardom purely generated with his mouth and fists, Conor "The Notorious" McGregor (19-2, 6-0 UFC) looks to take what is his by dethroning the 145 pound kingpin and P4P stalwart, Jose "Scarface" Aldo (25-1, 7-0 UFC). Conor will have a tough night ahead looking to end the run of a guy who hasn't seen defeat in nearly a decade. A fight pretty much guaranteed not to go to the judges, it has all the tools to end the year with a bang. A win by McGregor will surely send the UFC into the stratosphere while a loss will leave them in an olympic sized pool of tears. Either way, all the talking ends this weekend. Be sure to tune in to what will be an epic weigh-ins.
Shit that's not even all of it. In what is one of the most stacked cards in UFC history™, we get another elite championship fight as the co-main event despite the higher weight classes headlining historically. In a battle for middleweight supremacy, champion Chris "That's my boy" Weidman (13-0, 9-0 UFC) returns to defend his strap against ex-Strikeforce middleweight champion and top contender Luke Rockhold (14-2, 4-1 UFC). Two middleweight aces in the prime of their careers, this fight will be an excellent display of technical skill and pure desire to win.
Waiting in the waters for a shot at 185 gold are two beasts in Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza (22-3 1NC, 5-0 UFC) and Yoel "No Gay Jesus" Romero (10-1, 6-0 UFC). Jacare a BJJ ace, has been finishing everyone in his path while Romero has been doing the same over the likes of Machida and Tim Kennedy. While everyone hates on Romero, he's been pulling off a steady string of victories and is still undefeated in the UFC. He looks to keep that intact as he looks to pull off a stunner by beating Jacare.
We also get to see Demian Maia (21-6, 15-6 UFC) look to keep his 3 fight win streak going against McGregor's teammate Gunnar "Gunni" Nelson (14-1-1, 5-1 UFC).
Max "Blessed" Holloway (14-3, 10-3 UFC) also looks to put his name in the 145 lbs title picture with a win over always gritty Jeremy 'Lil' Heathen" Stephens (24-11, 12-9 UFC).
Fuck, even Uriah Faber is on the prelims.
Conor TKO RD 2
