The heavyweight belt is on the line for the first time in 2017, as champion Stipe Miocic takes on challenger Junior dos Santos in the UFC 211 main event.
A rematch of their epic, 2014 five-round bout, Miocic and dos Santos will square off at the American Airlines Center in Dallas on May 13 (10 P.M. EST, Pay Per View). The winner walks away with the distinction as the baddest man on the planet.
Undefeated since falling to dos Santos in their previous affair, Miocic (16-2 MMA, 10-2 UFC) has won four-straight contests via KO/TKO, implementing a combination of boxing, wrestling, pressure, and athleticism to walk his opponents down. Miocic, who recorded three first-round knockouts in 2016, has shown consistent and steady improvement since first entering the Octagon in 2011. At UFC 211, he will attempt to tie the UFC record for most title defenses by a heavyweight.
A former heavyweight champion, Junior dos Santos (18-4 MMA, 12-3 UFC) has long since been considered one of the finest boxers in the UFC. Currently ranked fourth in the heavyweight division, dos Santos has been on a slow-and-steady climb back into title contention, fighting just once a year since completing his trilogy with Cain Velasquez in 2013. Dos Santos, who now trains at American Top Team, has all the physical tools to finish Miocic. He also possesses great speed for a heavyweight.
Much like their first bout, both Miocic and dos Santos will look to box while pressuring the fight to the cage wall, where they can look for takedowns. Unlike the first bout, Miocic now has a better understanding of dos Santos’ timing, footwork, and tendencies.
Expect another heavyweight classic, but after five rounds, Stipe Miocic defends the title via unanimous decision, avenging his 2014 loss to dos Santos.
Co-main Event: Joanna Jedrzejczyk vs. Jessica Andrade
From the UFC’s heaviest weight class, to its lightest, strawweight champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk will attempt to defend her title for the fifth time, taking on former training partner Jessica Andrade.
A world champion kickboxer, Jedrzejczyk (13-0 MMA, 7-0 UFC) was last seen in action at UFC 205, where she recorded a unanimous decision over then-challenger Karolina Kowalkiewicz. Jedrzejczyk implements tremendous hand speed to batter opponents, while using kicks and takedown defense to keep her distance. She is also a master of strategy, as seen in her title defense over Claudia Gadelha in 2016.
Allowing Gadelha to win the first two rounds, Jedrzejczyk turned up the pace in the championship frames, while the challenger fatigued. Expect a similar strategy against Andrade (16-5 MMA, 7-3 UFC), who, despite winning three straight bouts at strawweight, is still a former bantamweight with tremendous muscle mass.
Andrade is still a game and dangerous opponent, and Jedrzejczyk will have to keep her distance early on and avoid the challenger’s knockout power.
Demian Maia vs. Jorge Masvidal
One of the most intriguing welterweight matchups in the UFC, this battle between top-five fighters is likely to produce the division’s next title challenger.
A winner of six-straight bouts, Demain Maia (24-6 MMA, 18-6 UFC) is widely considered the finest Brazilian jiu jitsu practitioner in the UFC. His smothering grappling is both suffocating and sophisticated, and Maia has also demonstrated an uncanny ability to avoid damage during his record-setting UFC career.
Masvidal (32-11 MMA, 9-4 UFC), a former lightweight, has looked impressive since moving up to 170 pounds, winning three straight bouts, including the last two by TKO. Having never been finished inside the Octagon, Masvidal is a former street fighter with crisp and sharp boxing skills. However, it is his undervalued wrestling that will likely be the difference.
Expect Masvidal to come out and pressure on the feet. He’ll look to keep the fight in boxing range, while Maia will swarm for the takedown. Even if Maia is able to bring the bout to the mat early on, Masvidal will weather an early rush and patiently chip away at Maia before securing the third-round TKO.
Frankie Edgar vs. Yair Rodriguez
An intriguing matchup of featherweights, former champion Frankie Edgar takes on young sensation Yair Rodriguez in a battle of experience vs. youth.
Edgar (21-5-1 MMA, 15-5-1 UFC), who held the UFC lightweight strap from 2010-2012, is one of the UFC’s most veteran athletes, having fought on some of the biggest fight cards in history, while Rodriguez (10-1 MMA, 6-0 UFC) has climbed to seventh in the ranks on account of his wild kicking attacks and technical acumen.
Seamlessly combining wrestling, jiu jitsu, and boxing, Edgar brings a toughness and savvy to the Octagon. And while he doesn’t attempt to throw flashy strikes, his grit and will are unparallelled.
Rodriguez is still considered a work in progress by many; he has already shown flashes of brilliance during his brief tenure in the UFC, but Edgar is a huge step up in competition for the Mexican star.
Look for Frankie Edgar to take this bout via unanimous decision.
Eddie Alvarez vs. Dustin Poirier
Holding the dubious distinction as a pair of victims of Conor McGregor’s vicious left hand, lightweights Eddie Alvarez and Dustin Poirier are both looking to inch closer to a crack at the lightweight belt.
Last seen at UFC 205, Alvarez (28-5 MMA, 3-2 UFC), the UFC’s third-ranked lightweight, suffered perhaps the most high-profile loss in UFC history when he was dominated by McGregor. Still, Alvarez is a tremendous talent, with phenomenal wrestling and enough tools in his striking arsenal to finish fights on the feet.
Poirier (21-5 MMA, 13-4 UFC), who most recently competed at UFC 208, scoring a decision over Jim Miller, is an action fighter who likes to trade punches. But keep an eye on his underrated submission game.
Returning from such big loss, Alvarez will have a chip on his shoulder at UFC 211, and he will return to form, albeit only after taking some damage from Poirier’s boxing. And just as Alvarez tends to take damage early on, Poirier will also leave himself open to strikes. Alvarez will connect, repeatedly, and revert to the takedown game.
Look for Eddie Alvarez to take the fight via decision.