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.
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