Anthony Johnson (21-5) vs. Glover Teixeira (25-4)
With Jon Jones out of the picture once again — for the time being at least — UFC light-heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier is in need of a challenger and it’s probably going to come from this weekend’s co-main event.
Both ‘Rumble’ Johnson and Teixeira are aiming to secure their second shot at the 205lbs title. Johnson has knocked out Jimi Manuwa and Ryan Bader since his loss to Cormier in May of last year. Teixeira, following back-to-back defeats in 2014 at the hands of Jones and Phil Davis, is currently on an impressive run thanks to stoppages of Ovince Saint-Preux, Rashad Evans and Patrick Cummins.
Whenever Conor McGregor headlines a pay-per-view card, the penultimate bout of the night has always delivered so far — Robbie Lawler versus Rory MacDonald, Luke Rockhold versus Chris Weidman, Miesha Tate versus Holly Holm. The meeting of Johnson and Teixeira has all the ingredients to continue that trend.
Donald Cerrone (30-7-1) vs. Rick Story (19-8)
Preceding the meeting of Johnson and Teixeira will be a welterweight bout between Donald ‘Cowboy’ Cerrone and Rick Story — ranked 14th and 9th in the division respectively.
Aiming to continue his progress up the ladder, Story is on a run of three straight wins for the first time since 2011, one of which was a unanimous-decision defeat of SBG Ireland’s Gunnar Nelson.
Cerrone turned to the 170lbs division after failing in his bid to take the lightweight title from Rafael Dos Anjos last December. He looked impressive in disposing of Alex Oliveira and Patrick Cote, but this will be Cowboy’s toughest test yet in his new weight class, as he continues to stay admirably active.
This will be his 13th outing in the last three years. To put that in perspective, it will be Story’s sixth. Neither of these guys are known for dull fights so this has the potential to be a cracker.
Cody Garbrandt (9-0) vs. Takeya Mizugaki (21-9-2)
Cody Garbrandt believes he’s capable of dethroning UFC bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz. If that’s to be the case, he’ll be expected to see off the challenge of Japanese veteran Takeya Mizugaki.
Garbrandt hopes to secure a title shot with a win here, although the likes of his former team-mate TJ Dillashaw, John Lineker and Bryan Caraway — who was originally being lined up as Garbrandt’s opponent for this weekend but was unavailable due to injury — will have other ideas.
Plenty of hype has surrounded Garbrandt since his stunning first-round KO of Thomas Almeida (who was 21-0 at the time) in May. However, he may not have it all his own way against Mizugaki.
Although the former WEC title challenger lasted just 61 seconds with Cruz in September 2014, before being submitted by Aljamain Sterling seven months later, he does have the ability to pose problems for his 25-year-old American opponent.
Neil Magny (18-4) vs. Lorenz Larkin (17-5-1)
Despite being the highest-ranked welterweight on this weekend’s card, Neil Magny finds himself on the early prelims as the UFC continues its efforts to flog subscriptions to Fight Pass, its online broadcast platform. Magny was initially due to take on 10th-ranked Dong Hyun Kim, who was forced out due to an injury.
Entering the bout at short notice following a good win over Jorge Masvidal in his most recent outing, Larkin is capable of making it a tricky night for Magny, but the latter will expect to make it four wins on the trot, particularly given the confidence boost he must have received from his TKO of Hector Lombard in March.
Marvin Vettori (10-2) vs. Alberto Uda (9-1)
This is one from left-field because a bout between a UFC debutant and a guy who’s 0-1 with the organisation could hardly be described as unmissable on first inspection, but considering that Vettori is one of the brightest prospects on the European scene, his octagon bow is certainly worth a look for fans in this part of the world. Vettori’s welterweight meeting with Brazil’s Alberto Uda is the first of 12 fights of the night.
A 22-year-old Italian, Vettori needed just over a minute to submit four-time UFC veteran and Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt Igor Araujo in May. Prior to that, he knocked out Cage Warriors veteran Jack Mason and Bellator’s Daniele Scatizzi, who’s now training at SBG Ireland.
Vettori has been preparing for this fight at Kings MMA in California, the home of former UFC champions Rafael Dos Anjos and Fabricio Werdum. Vettori is a dynamic striker and grappler, but it remains to be seen whether he’ll make a seamless step-up to the highest level. Nevertheless, he’s undoubtedly one of the most exciting youngsters to emerge from circuit in Europe in recent years.
Uda, his opponent, will be desperate to retain his UFC status having suffered a second-round KO loss to Jake Collier in his debut back in May.
