UFC on Fox: Johnson v Reis - 3 fights you don't want to miss

Hot on the heels of last weekend’s entertaining yet controversial UFC 210 comes UFC on Fox: Johnson vs. Reis on Saturday night, with another stellar line-up of hotly-anticipated fights.

At the top of the card is the flyweight title bout between long-reigning champion and pound-for-pound king Demetrious Johnson and Brazilian contender Wilson Reis. The matchup was originally slated to take place at UFC 201 in July last year, but an undisclosed injury to Johnson forced a postponement.

“Mighty Mouse” is the only champion the 125lbs division has ever known, having won the weightclass’ inaugural title bout back in September 2012, and he has since defended the belt nine times as part of an 11-fight winning streak.

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Reis, a 32-year-old former Bellator veteran, has won three on the bounce, one by stoppage, and six out of eight since his 2013 Octagon debut, but he will be a heavy underdog against Johnson, who continues to stake a claim for all-time greatness.

Aside from the headline fight, there are plenty of intriguing matchups further down the card which are sure to produce fireworks; here are the three fights you don’t want to miss.

Rose Namajunas vs. Michelle Waterson – Strawweight

With two wins in two UFC fights, former Invicta atomweight champion Michelle “The Karate Hottie” Waterson has been earmarked as a potential star of the lower female weightclasses in the world’s premier MMA organisation.

Indeed, her most recent win, a first-round submission victory over Paige VanZant in December, demonstrated that the 31-year-old Jackson-Winklejohn fighter has the skills to become a contender in the UFC.

But Waterson faces the toughest test of her career to date in the shape of former Ultimate Fighter standout Rose Namajunas.

The 24-year-old Colorado-born fighter is a dangerous striker with an unorthodox yet effective submission game, and will be intent on bouncing back from a decision loss to Karolina Kowalkiewicz in July last year.

Ronaldo Souza vs. Robert Whittaker – Middleweight

With champion Michael Bisping set to take on Georges St-Pierre in an as-yet unscheduled bout later this year, the logjam of contenders in the middleweight division will only ease by would-be title challengers facing off against one another.

Saturday night’s meeting between Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza and Robert Whittaker is one such matchup.

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Few fighters in the UFC can stake a stronger claim for a title shot than Brazilian submission ace “Jacare”. The 37-year-old former Strikeforce champion has been on a tear since his 2013 Octagon bow, with seven wins, six of which via stoppage, from eight contests; his only defeat to date was a controversial decision against Yoel Romero.

Australian striker Robert Whittaker is one of the rising stars of the 185lbs weight class. The 26-year-old former welterweight Ultimate Fighter winner has won six in a row stretching back to June 2016, including impressive TKO victories over Derek Brunson, Brad Tavares and Clint Hester.

Alexander Volkov vs. Roy Nelson – Heavyweights

A heavyweight bout between 6’7” powerhouse Alexander Volkov and heavy-hitting 40-year-old Roy Nelson sits at the top of the preliminary card.

In a contest between one of the 265lbs divison’s old guard and a 28-year-old making only his second UFC appearance, Nelson will be hoping to show that he still has plenty left in the tank, while former Bellator champion Volkov hopes to underline his credentials as a future title contender.

With 33 career knockouts between them, this one is unlikely to go the distance.