UFC 206 hasn’t been short of controversy in the lead up.
When Daniel Cormier was forced to withdraw from his light-heavyweight main event title defence against Anthony Johnson, the UFC had to do a reshuffle of the deck.
The new main event is now Max Holloway against Anthony Pettis for the interim featherweight title, something which has been regularly referred to as a ‘fake belt’.
That is due to the messy situation that helped them arrive at the decision to make the main event a title fight; stripping Conor McGregor, promoting Jose Aldo to undisputed champion and then booking an interim title fight when the champion is healthy.
Nevertheless, there are some great match-ups and exciting fighters at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto this Saturday.
We look at the 5 competitors you should be most looking forward to.
Donald Cerrone
This is a no-brainer.
Cerrone has looked exceptional since stepping up to welterweight in February of this year, recording stoppage victories over Alex Oliveria, Patrick Cote and Rick Story.
That spell of form has seen the American move up to number five in the 170 pounds rankings.
The 33-year-old’s fighting style has fans of the edge of their seats, and this Saturday will be no different.
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His opponent, Matt Brown, is sure to accommodate the stand-up war that fans are hoping it will be. Add the tension at the press event yesterday and Brown saying that Cerrone is a ‘bully’ and not an ‘honourable, respectful martial artist’ and you have all the ingredients for a great fight.
The co-main event is sure to be a contender for fight-of-the-night.
Doo Ho Choi
People around the world are excited about Korean prospect Choi, and rightfully so.
‘The Korean Superboy’ has started his UFC career with three first round knockout finishes over Juan Puig, Sam Sicilia and Thiago Tavares, improving his professional record to 15-1.
In Choi’s last 12 fights, he has won via knockout 11 times, including eight in the first round, so he is must watch entertainment.
The 25-year-old is sitting at number 11 in the featherweight rankings, and faces a step up in opponent when he takes on Cub Swanson on Saturday.
Swanson is ranked the fourth best featherweight in the world, and has competed against the likes of Frankie Edgar, Max Holloway and Jeremy Stephens.
The American will be hoping to make it a perfect year after recording wins over Hacran Dias and Tatsuya Kawajiri in April and August respectively.
Jordan Mein
The 27-year old hasn’t been seen since January 2015, when he was defeated by Thiago Alves at UFC 183.
‘Young Gun’ had retired after that fight, but never stopped training, and after some mental issues, is ready to step back into competition.
Mein has been in the octagon with some of the toughest welterweights in the world, losing a split decision to current UFC champion Tyron Woodley, and being knocked out by Matt Brown in his second UFC fight in 2013.
The match-up that the Canadian steps back into is an intriguing one against Emil Meek.
The 28-year-old, axe-wielding Norwegian is coming off the biggest win of his life after a first round knockout of Rousimar Palhares, and makes his UFC debut with a lot of expectation.
It will be interesting to see how Mein looks after his absence against a fighter that is full of confidence.
Nikita Krylov
The Ukrainian is young blood in a division that is crying out for it.
The 24-year-old is on a tear of late, winning five in a row since he moved down to the light-heavyweight division against the likes of Ed Herman, Francimar Barroso and Stanislav Nedkov.
His only loss came to Ovince Saint Preux, who competed for the interim title against Jon Jones back in April in the main event of UFC 197.
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Krylov has never been involved in a decision. With a record of 21-4, ‘The Miner’ has won 13 via submission and eight by knockout. His losses have also come via finishes (3 submissions and 1 knockout).
The man he is facing, Russian Misha Cirkunov, doesn’t hang around either, winning all three of his UFC fights by stoppage, most recently submitting Ion Cutelaba in June.
With 37 of their 39 combined fights ending before the final bell, someone is sure to get finished here.
Lando Vannata
It was a baptism of fire for Vannata when he made his debut for the UFC in July.
Following an injury to Michael Chiesa, Vannata was put into the co-main event on late notice to fight number one lightweight contender, Tony Ferguson.
Despite some success in the first round with his unorthodox style, the American was consigned to a debut loss by Ferguson, with ‘El Cucuy’ winning via submission.
Now that ‘Groovy’ has had time for a full training camp to prepare, it will be exciting to see what he can produce against John Makdessi, who has fought 12 times in the UFC already.
The Canadian has black belts in karate and tae-kwon-do, so be prepared for some crazy exchanges when these two meet in the centre of the cage.
Makdessi vs Vannata is the featured bout on UFC Fight Pass.
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