Main card
Lightweight main event - #6 Edson Barboza vs #8 Justin Gaethje
Explosive entertainment is on the menu in the main event of the UFC's return to Philadelphia, as dynamic Brazilian striker Edson Barboza faces off with serial bonus collector Justin Gaethje.
The matchup is one of the most-anticipated so far this year, with the ferocious kicking game of Barboza going head on with Gaethje's ferocious leg kicks and heavy pressure game.
Pressure is something that has shown to be one of Barboza's weaknesses in his UFC career so far, with fighters able to drown him and thus essentially nullify his explosive kicks.
In his last fight, Barboza faced New Zealand's Dan Hooker, who seemed content to try and go toe-to-toe on the feet with the Brazilian.
Barboza was in turn able to perfectly showcase his frightening striking skills and Hooker eventually perished in the third round after absorbing tremendous amounts of toe-curling punishment.
Previously, the 33-year-old had faced Kevin Lee in a main event last April and current champion Khabib Nurmagomedov in the penultimate UFC bout of 2017.
Both went the same way, aside from a brief moment in the 3rd round of the Lee fight where Barboza had seemingly got the American on his last legs, with the Brazilian unable to stop the takedown and subsequent top pressure.
Gaethje will bring a different type of pressure, although it remains to be seen whether he will try to take the fight to the ground.
Gaethje himself is coming off the back of a similar loss-loss-win streak, suffering his first professional loss against Eddie Alvarez before being stopped at the start of the 4th round next time out against Dustin Poirier.
He bounced back with a first round KO inside two minutes against James Vick last August.
Again, like Barboza's two recent losses, Gaethje's defeats followed a pattern before the referee called the fights in the 3rd and 4th rounds respectively.
Both Alvarez and Poirier were close to breaking point through Gaethje's leg kicks, pressure and heart, with both saying they were essentially on the brink before being able to finish.
As with every Gaethje fight, this is unlikely to be a dull affair and to add such a ridiculously explosive striker in Barboza into the mix means there likely will be fireworks.
Co-main event - #11 David Branch vs Jack Hermansson
The co-main event sees the experienced 38-year-old #11 ranked middleweight David Branch face Sweden's Jack Hermansson.
It is the second consecutive event where Branch will face an unranked fighter, coming up second best last time out against Jared Cannonier.
Branch was scheduled to face current #3 Jacare Souza at Madison Square Garden last November but with Souza instead facing Chris Weidman after Luke Rockhold pulled out through injury.
The 38-year-old was dealt a tough blow with a chance to get straight back in the top 5 mix after knocking out Thiago Santos in July, only to find himself on the wrong side of a TKO at the hands of unranked Cannonier.
Hermansson, meanwhile, comes in off the back of two impressive finishes, a TKO comeback against veteran Thiago Leites and most recently a submission win via guillotine against Gerald Meerschaert in December.
#10 Josh Emmett vs Michael Johnson
#10 ranked Josh Emmett is finally ready to make his way back into the Octagon after a brutal loss at the hands of #7 Jeremy Stephens last February.
The heavy-handed 34-year-old faces UFC veteran Michael Johnson, who is currently 2-1 since moving down to featherweight.
Johnson dropped his debut at 145lbs after being submitted by Darren Elkins but battled back to score successive decision wins over Andre Fili and Artem Lobov.
This is an intriguing high-level encounter, with Johnson facing his second ranked opponent since dropping to 145lbs, and Emmett coming back to face such an experienced campaigner after such a rough layoff.
#6 Karolina Kowalkiewicz vs #9 Michelle Waterson
The high-level matchups continue down the card, as top ten strawweights face off in what could likely be a must-win as far as their respevtive title hopes are concerned.
#6 Karolina Kowalkiewicz returns for the first time since being viciously knocked out last September by current #1 and next title challenger, Jessica Andrade.
She faces #9 Michelle Waterson, who is coming off the back of two decision wins in 2018 over #12 Felice Herrig and #14 Courtney Casey.
This could conceivably be the last chance for both fighters to make a run towards the title, with the list of top contenders only growing.
Kennedy Nzechukwu vs Paul Craig
Nigerian Kennedy Nzechukwu makes his UFC debut after his two-fight stint on Dana White's Tuesday Night Contender Series and faces Scotland's Paul Craig.
Nzechukwu is an imposing figure at 205lbs, listed at 6'5" with an 83" reach and Craig will need to look to drag the 26-year-old into deeper waters and test the will and cardio of the 6-0 striker.
Craig himself has struggled in recent times, having been finished in three of his last four fights with his sole victory in that span being a miracle comeback submission with one second left to go in a fight he was set to lose.
His last fight was was at the start of December where he lost via kimura to another Contender Series alum in Jim Crute.
Sodiq Yusuff vs Sheymon Moraes
Kicking off the main card is another Nigerian Contender Series alum, with Sodiq Yusuff locking horns with Brazilian Sheymon Moraes in the featherweight division.
This is personally one of the fights I am looking forward to the most, with Yusuff showcasing tremendous power and combinations in his Contender Series bout and UFC debut and Moraes having a strong, technical Muay Thai game.
Moraes' sole losses in his 11-2 MMA career so far have been to two of the UFC's current most exciting contenders in #1 bantamweight Marlon Moraes and #6 featherweight Zabit Magomedsharipov.
The loss to Zabit was in Moraes' UFC debut but he has since bounced back with consectiuve decision wins, with his last win coming in a bloody encounter against Julio Arce.
Prelims
Marina Rodriguez vs Jessica Aguilar + Ross Pearson vs Desmond Green
Veterans Jessica Aguilar and Ross Pearson return to face tough tasks in Marina Rodriguez and Desmond Green respectively.
Before those two bouts, two terrific-looking fights will take place in the featherweight and middleweight divisions.
Kevin Holland vs Gerald Meerschaert
To kick off the ESPN prelims, one of my personal favourite current fighters Kevin Holland takes on experienced finisher Meerschaert.
Holland featured on the Contender Series as he coasted to a decision win, before making his UFC debut on short notice against the intimidating Santos and became the first to take Santos to a decision since Elias Theodorou back in December 2015.
It was a thoroughly entertaining debut on the main card of a PPV, and he returned in Beijing to face heavy-hitting Welshman John Phillips.
Another entertaining display followed, with Holland picking up his first UFC win with a rear naked choke finish late in the 3rd round.
Entertainment is surely set to be served up once more when 'Trail Blazer' steps in against Meerschaert, with the latter finishing 26 of his 28 wins, with just three of his 38 total fights going the distance.
Enrique Barzola vs Kevin Aguilar
Following that is a featherweight bout between the streaking Peruvian Enrique Barzola and 16-1 former LFA champion Kevin Aguilar.
Barzola has won his last four bouts, all by decision, and is 5-1 overall in the UFC with his only defeat coming via split decision against Kyle Bochniak two and a half years ago.
This bout is one between two fighters who could well be looking towards a ranked opponent soon, especially should either one put in a particularly impressive performance.
Aguilar was impressive in his UFC debut, getting past the tough challenge of Rick Glenn via unanimous decision at the Ultimate Fighter 28 finale back in November.
With Barzola's penchant for decisions so far in his UFC career and Aguilar's last two outings in the Contender Series and UFC debut, this could have the makings of a fight of the night rival to the main event.
Early prelims
Ray Borg vs Casey Kenney + Sabina Mazo vs Maryna Moroz
Ray Borg and debutant Casey Kenney round off the early prelims after promising Colombian flyweight makes her UFC debut against Ukrainian Maryna Moroz.
Borg was the only fighter to miss weight for the event after moving up from flyweight, while Kenney debuts just eight days after winning the LFA bantamweight belt in under two minutes.
Kenney also won the LFA flyweight belt back in November, while Borg's last outing was at UFC 216 where he fought Demetrious Johnson for the flyweight title and in turn fell victim to Johnson's famous flying armbar.
Alex Perez vs Mark De La Rosa
Finally, the curtain will be raised with a bantamweight clash between Alex Perez and Mark De La Rosa.
Perez was riding an eight fight winning streak heading into a fight with #2 flyweight Joe Benavidez last November but came up short after being finished in the first round.
His explosive display against Jose Shorty Torres in his previous bout showed what he is capable of, with the 27-year-old 3-1 in the UFC and 21-5 overall.
De La Rosa, meanwhile, sports an 11-1 MMA record and has won his last two UFC outings.
His most recent performance came back in November where he beat Joby Sanchez via split decision and so this should be a fast-paced way to kick off the night in Philly.
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