UFC Fight Night: Phoenix - Ngannou vs Velasquez preview

Francis Ngannou vs Cain Velasquez

Former two-time heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez returns to the octagon for the first time in almost two and a half years to face knockout artist Francis Ngannou.

The Mexican-American's last fight was at UFC 200 where he finished Travis Browne in the first round, but he has not featured since due to injuries.

Ngannou, meanwhile, has been considerably more active and took four high-profile fights in 12 months between December 2017 and November 2018.

Despite a tough start to 2018, the Cameroonian finished strongly with a 45 second knockout of Curtis Blaydes in Beijing last November.

It is likely that this matchup is one of those where there is likely to be one of two outcomes - either Ngannou will connect in the first two rounds and get the finish, or Velasquez will grind him down over the first few rounds and possibly finish later.

Ngannou looked a shadow of himself against Derrick Lewis but looked typically dangerous last time out against Blaydes, while Velasquez is coming off a considerable layoff.

It is a fascinating matchup, and we will likely see for sure whether Velasquez has what it takes to make another title run at the age of 36.

James Vick vs Paul Felder

Elsewhere, in the co-main event James Vick and Paul Felder finally face off in a mouthwatering lightweight clash.

The two were previously set to face off in July but Vick was bumped up to an August main event against Justin Gaethje.

'The Texicutioner' was on the wrong end of a first round knockout in that fight, while Felder lost a split decision in his last fight in a welterweight bout with Mike Perry last July.

Felder, who has been in and around the rankings in the last year, will look to cement a ranking with a win over #10 Vick.

Kron Gracie vs Alex Caceres

Brazilian jiu jitsu ace Kron Gracie will make his octagon debut against the always entertaining Alex 'Bruce Leeroy' Caceres.

Son of BJJ legend Rickson Gracie, Kron will return to action for the first time since 2016 as he looks to improve on his 4-0 record and make a splash in the featherweight division.

With Nate Diaz in his corner, it will be intriging to see how Gracie's overall game has improved in the two years since his last outing and Caceres will definitely be both a test and a fun first fight.

Vicente Luque vs Bryan Barberena 

The 'Silent Assassin' nickname is seemingly a very apt one for welterweight Vicente Luque, who has won seven of his last eight fights, only dropping a unanimous decision to current #9 Leon Edwards in that time.

What is even more impressive in that streak is that he has finished all seven of those wins, with three submissions and four knockouts.

His 14-6-1 is fairly misleading given his recent form, in a similar sense to fellow Brazilian and current #1 bantamweight Marlon Moraes.

He faces another test in Bryan Barbarena, who is fresh off a TKO win over Jake Ellenberger back in August.

Another impressive performance for Luque will surely make it near impossible for him to be ignored for a ranked matchup for much longer.

Jimmie Rivera vs Aljamain Sterling

The ESPN prelims headliner sees two top bantamweights face off with #5 Jimmie Rivera taking on #7 Aljamain Sterling.

Both came up on the New Jersey regional scene and this bout is seen as one that has been in the making for a number of years.

Both also suffered knockout losses at the hands of Moraes in the last 14 months, but both have since returned to winning ways.

Sterling returned with a decision win over Welshman Brett Johns before pulling off an incredible kneebar submission over Cody Stamann last time out at UFC 228 last September.

Rivera got back into the win column in his last fight with a unanimous decision victory over John Dodson at the same event.

Other highlights

Scott Holtzman looked very impressive at UFC 229 last October as he finished the promising Alan Patrick in the third round.

He faces UFC stalwart Nik Lentz in a lightweight bout, with Lentz fresh off a second round finish of former title challenger Gray Maynard, again at the same event.

The mysterious Russian-Moldovan Alexandra Albu returns to face Emily Whitmire in the first fight of the night at strawweight.

Albu was signed by the UFC towards the end of 2013, but has fought just twice since, most recently in a decision win over Kailan Curran at UFC 214 in July 2017.

She is also listed at both 3-0 and 7-0, but if her bout with Curran was anything to go by then it should be an entertaining bout.

Following on from Albu-Whitmire is the continued fall from grace that is former bantamweight champion and top pound-for-pound fighter Renan Barao.

Barao missed weight for the second consecutive time when he weighed in two pounds heavy for tonight's fight with Luke Sanders.

The Brazilian has lost his last three and has gone from 32-1(1) to 34-7(1) after losing to TJ Dillashaw.

Sanders himself is 1-3 in his last four and is coming off a submission loss to Barao's compatriot Rani Yahya last August.

UFC Fight Night: Fortaleza - Assuncao vs Moraes main card preview

Civil war

The main and co-main event at UFC Fortaleza features two high-stakes Brazil vs Brazil match-ups in the bantamweight and featherweight divisions.

A rematch headlines the event, with #3 ranked Raphael Assuncao taking on #4 Marlon Moraes.

The pair met back in June 2017 in Rio de Janeiro, with Assuncao narrowly edging out a split decision victory.

The 36-year-old has since claimed impressive victories over Matthew Lopez and Rob Font, while Moraes had a split decision go his way against John Dodson before claiming a pair of highlight reel knockouts in his last two outings, against Aljamain Sterling and Jimmie Rivera.

The fight is likely an unofficial number one contender match-up, with the winner having the best case for a title shot.

Things were complicated, however, when the champion TJ Dillashaw dropped down to flyweight to fight Henry Cejudo.

The subsequent victory for Cejudo and the controversy surrounding it means Dillashaw's focus is likely to be firmly on a rematch, potentially leaving tonight's winner in limbo.

In the co-main, former featherweight champion Jose Aldo returns to face rising contender Renato Moicano in another bout with title implications, albeit likely one-sided.

With two TKO losses to the champion Max Holloway, the path to the title has been blocked for Aldo, regardless of what he does in the near future.

Moicano, meanwhile, is ranked #4 and a win over Aldo could well be the golden ticket to a title shot against Holloway.

13-1-1 Moicano has faced strong competition in his last four, picking up a decision win over the dangerous Jeremy Stephens before succumbing to his first professional loss after going toe to toe with recent title challenger Brian Ortega.

The 29-year-old returned to the win column last April after putting on a clinic in a decision win over Calvin Kattar, before finishing long-time contender Cub Swanson in the first round last time out.

Aldo also got back to winning ways last July when he finished Stephens with a body shot in the first round following consecutive defeats to Holloway.

The 32-year-old has come out and said that he is seeking to fight twice more after Fortaleza before retiring.

Main card highlights

The main card for UFC Fortaleza is a talent-stacked showcase featuring UFC veterans and talented up-and-comers.

The first two fights of the main card feature two fighters that I personally am very excited to see following their respective debuts last year.

First up is Brazilian strawweight Livinha Souza, who faces unbeaten newcomer and compatriot Sarah Frota.

Souza's UFC debut back in September was one of my favourites of the year as she finished Alex Chambers in the first round.

Everything from the intense walkout, the fiery pace she set to start things off, the guillotine finish and the Cristiano Ronaldoesque celebration made me an instant fan.

The former Invicta strawweight champion takes on 31-year-old Frota, who missed weight for the bout by seven pounds.

Next up is 6'6" Brazilian light heavyweight Johnny Walker, who takes on American Justin Ledet.

Walker burst onto the light heavyweight scene with a devastating first round finish of Khalil Rountree in Argentina.

Based in a karate-style stance, Walker has shown explosive striking ability and bullied Rountree in the clinch to claim a win in his UFC debut.

As well as being a huge, intimidating presence, Walker has also shown some entertaining eccentricity, be it in his post-fight interview or the weigh-ins/staredowns.

Ledet was briefly ranked at heavyweight before dropping down to 205lbs to face prospect Aleksandr Rakic in Hamburg last July.

Previously unbeaten, Ledet was on the wrong side of dominant unanimous decision win for Austrian Rakic and will look to return to winning ways against another interesting 205lbs prospect.

Two prolific Brazilian submission artists follow up, with Charles Oliveira first of all taking on Swedish striker David Teymur.

Oliveira recently broke the UFC record for most submissions, and added to that feat with a first round finish of Jim Miller last time out to take his tally to 12.

29-year-old Teymur is a perfect 5-0 in the UFC so far, with recent decision wins over tough opposition in Nik Lentz and Drakkar Klose.

Following Oliveira, sometimes known as the 'human backpack', former two-time title challenger and #8 ranked Demian Maia returns against Lyman Good.

Maia has lost his last three, with those losses coming in decisions against current champion Tyron Woodley in a title fight, current #1 Colby Covington and last time out he faced current #2 and the next title challenger, Kamaru Usman.

All three are very strong wrestlers and were all able to stifle Maia's takedown attempts and outstrike him on the feet.

An easier style match-up on paper is next up with the currently unranked Good, primarily a striker.

This is only Good's fourth UFC appearance since making his debut back in July 2015, but he is powerful and explosive on the feet and is a former Bellator champion, coming off a savage first round finish of Ben Saunders.