UFC 211 may be year’s best card
Big night has heavyweight rematch, women’s title fight and two rising stars
Following another longer than normal break between events, the UFC comes roaring back this weekend with easily its best card of the year.
UFC 211 goes down Saturday night at American Airlines Center in Dallas and the fight card follows the “Everything is bigger in Texas” blueprint, as 14 fights will hit the Octagon starting at 3 p.m. on Fight Pass.
While that may sound like a test of endurance and dedication that is too daunting to tackle, trust me when I tell you that you’re going to want to be seated and staring at your TV (or monitor or phone or whatever) from the time the televised prelims get underway at 5 p.m. on TSN5.
Here’s what you can look forward to this weekend. Here are Five Reasons to Watch UFC 211: Miocic versus dos Santos 2.
Heavyweight rematch
When Stipe Miocic clashes with Junior dos Santos in the main event of Saturday’s card, he’ll not only be looking to defend the UFC heavyweight title, but also gain a measure of revenge against the last man to beat him.
The champion and challenger went 25 hard minutes in the Arizona desert in December 2014 when both were jockeying for position in the heavyweight pecking order. Dos Santos earned the decision, but Miocic’s stock rose nonetheless and he hasn’t looked back since, winning four straight heading into his rematch with the former champion.
Arguably the two most polished boxers in the division, there is a strong likelihood that someone is going night-night in this one and every second before that happens should be electric.
Joanna Violence
Strawweight champ Joanna Jedrzejczyk returns to action in the co-main event, returning to the arena where she won the crown a little over two years ago in what should be a spirited, tougher than most people assume engagement with surging Brazilian Jessica Andrade.
The Polish standout is a joy to watch and one of the most entertaining fighters on the roster — a rare combination of technical mastery mixed with a serious mean streak and a healthy dose of brashness — and UFC 211 should be the moment where she moves from being a critical darling to a fullblown megastar.
Under the radar gem
The welterweight matchup between Demian Maia and Jorge Masvidal deserves a better fate than being stationed as the swing bout on this weekend’s pay-per-view main card.
It should be the main event of a UFC on FOX or Fight Night event so that (a) it can be a five-round fight and (b) the participants can get the recognition their respective hot streaks merit.
But alas, we get to see this classic “grappler vs. striker” battle play out Saturday and despite meriting more attention than it’s getting, it will still be an outstanding fight.
Maia has done enough to earn a title shot already, posting six straight wins, the most recent of which came in Vancouver last summer against Carlos Condit, while Masvidal is on the rise, surging into contention with three consecutive victories, punctuated by his knockout of Donald Cerrone in January.
Will the grappling ace Maia continue dominating the opposition on the canvas or will “Gamebred” keep things standing and showcase his buttery boxing skills?
Potential passing of the torch
Everyone agrees that Yair Rodriguez is a special talent with a very bright future in the UFC, but is the 24-year-old featherweight ready to be a contender? That question will be answered Saturday when Rodriguez steps in with former lightweight champ and perennial contender Frankie Edgar.
A flashy striker with superstar potential, Rodriguez has yet to face a ranked opponent, but is getting fasttracked after drubbing B.J. Penn in a showcase fight in January. Edgar represents a serious step-up in competition and quality measuring stick for the Mexican upstart, as he’s only lost to Jose Aldo since moving to featherweight after his six-fight, 28-month run at the top of the lightweight division.
This is a no-lose situation for Rodriguez and there is very little for Edgar to gain by turning him back, so both should come out firing from the start and deliver something special Saturday.
Best of the rest
There are a bunch of other really intriguing matchups going down this weekend, but I’ll highlight two more to keep an eye on.
Former lightweight champ Eddie Alvarez returns for the first time since losing the belt to Conor McGregor at UFC 205 in this card’s “Requisite Lightweight Battle” against Dustin Poirier. It closes out the prelims and should be an absolute barnburner.
Jason Knight has built a cult following in just a handful of appearances, combining his wiry frame, well-rounded skill set and penchant for in-fight trash talk to earn the unofficial nickname “Mississippi Diaz.”
He faces scrappy grappler Chas Skelly in a sleeper candidate for Fight of the Night.