Watch UFC 211 this Saturday

UFC 211 will have two title fights involving Brazilians (Photo: Disclosure/UFC)

After a 15-day hiatus, Ultimate returns to work with UFC 211, which takes place this Saturday, in Dallas (USA), and will feature two title fights, both involving Brazilians. In the main attraction of the show, the Brazilian Junior Gypsy tries to regain the heavyweight belt. To do this, you will have to beat the champion Stipe Miocic. In the second most important attraction of the night, strawweight champion Joanna Jędrzejczyk puts her title on the line against the Paraná native Jessica Stacker.

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The card also includes the participation of the Brazilian Demian Maia, which faces Jorge masvidal eyeing a challenger in the welterweight division. Former lightweight champions Frankie Edgar and Eddie Alvarez are also in the lineup: they face Yair Rodriguez e Dustin poirierrespectively.

To get you in the mood for UFC 211, the SUPER FIGHTS prepared five reasons for you to attend the event.

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1 – Rematch for the heavyweight belt

Cigano (left) defeated Miocic (right) in December 2014 ((Photo: Facebook/Personal Archive)

Cigano (left) defeated Miocic (right) in December 2014 (Photo: Facebook/JuniorCiganoSantos)

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Two and a half years after their first meeting, junior gypsy e Stipe Miocic they face each other again in the Octagon. On that occasion, in December 2014, the Brazilian came out on top after 25 minutes of a well-fought and bloody battle. This time, however, the scenario changed and the roles were reversed.

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Since then, Cigano has only performed twice more and alternated between good and bad moments, having been knocked out by alistair overeem and beaten Ben Rothwell. Miocic, on the other hand, scored four consecutive knockouts, with the right to win the belt against Fabricio Werdum and title defense against alistair overeem.

Expectations for the rematch are even greater than for the first duel, with the difference being that the Croatian/American is the favorite this time. In striking, Cigano's sharp boxing can make the difference, while Miocic has the option of taking the fight to the ground and working on the ground and pound. In any case, there is a good chance that one of the two will fall before the final bell, and we can only wait to see if the belt remains in the United States or returns to Brazil.

2 – The chance of an unprecedented belt for Brazil

Jessica (right) wants to dethrone champion Joanna (left) (Photo: Facebook/UFC)

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Brazil will, once again, have the chance to be at the top of the UFC women's strawweight category. After Claudinha gadelha unable to overcome champion Joanna Jędrzejczyk, the opportunity falls on the shoulders of Jessica Andrade, the 'Bate-Estaca'.

A former member of the women's bantamweight division, the Paraná native has had an impeccable campaign since moving down a category, overcoming the three opponents who crossed her path. At just 25 years old, 'Bate-Estaca' is confident of achieving the most important victory of her career and changing her status in the sport, but she knows that the task is one of the most thankless.

With 13 victories in 13 professional fights in MMA, Joanna is currently the second most dominant champion in Ultimate, with four defenses – behind only Demetrios Johnson, with 10. In the organization, she has already overcome six opponents, five in an undisputed manner. Her aggressive Muay Thai and good volume of strikes made her respected as the best in the world at 52kg.

In other words, we can say that we will have volume x power in the second most important attraction of the show. Will Joanna's reign continue or will another Brazilian woman dominate the world? Let’s wait…

3 – The saga of Demian Maia

Demian wants to fight for the welterweight belt (Photo: Facebook/Personal Archive)

Demian wants to fight for the welterweight belt (Photo: Facebook/DemianMaia)

In many cases, six consecutive victories are more than enough arguments to earn a shot at the UFC belt. But this is not the case Demian Maia, who was not aware of the last six men who shared the octagon with him. At 39 years old, this could be the São Paulo native's last stage before a possible title shot.

Undefeated since 2014, Demian, number 3 in the welterweight rankings, produced cinema-worthy performances against Neil Magny, Gunnar Nelson, Matt Brown and especially Carlos Condit, who he finished in just 112 seconds. In all of them, he made the fights look like a jiu-jitsu monologue, such was his superiority over his rivals.

The current opponent is Jorge masvidal, which also comes from impressive performances, such as the recent knockouts over Jake ellenberger e Donald Cerrone. In order not to be included in the Brazilian's list of victims, he will have to do everything possible to prevent the fight from going to the ground. The contrast in styles is interesting, and whoever is successful must reach the desired position of challenger.

4 – Clash of generations

Edgar (left) and Rodriguez (right) face each other this Saturday (Photo: Facebook/Personal Archive)

Edgar (left) and Rodriguez (right) face each other this Saturday (Photo: Facebook/FrankieEdgar)

In the second most important fight of the main portion, two fighters from different generations will compete with their eyes on the top of the featherweight division. Frankie Edgar, with 35 springs completed, will try to impose his experience against the youth of Yair Rodrigues, 11 years younger.

Former UFC lightweight champion, Edgar wants to retrace his path to the top. After losing to José Aldo at UFC 200 in July 2016, he recovered by beating Jeremy Stephens in edition 205, in New York. With 15 wins in 21 fights in the company and having performed at a high level for a decade, 'The Answer' has already given us more than enough reasons to believe in a comeback.

Rodriguez, in turn, can boast of winning TUF Latin America 1, in 2014. After winning the reality show, the Mexican achieved five positive results, the last of which was the most important of his brief career: an overwhelming knockout for the legend B.J. Penn. In 7th place in the featherweight division, 'Pantera' knows that a new victory over another former champion puts him very close to a chance at the title.

5 – The return of Eddie Alvarez

Alvarez returns after losing the lightweight belt (Photo: Facebook/Personal Archive)

Alvarez returns after losing the lightweight belt (Photo: Facebook/EddieAlvarez)

Being knocked out and losing your number 1 position must be difficult enough, imagine when this happens in an overwhelming way and in front of a declared opponent? Well, this is the situation of Eddie Alvarez, who was run over by Conor McGregor at UFC 205, in November 2016, and lost the lightweight belt. After the fateful episode, the former champion 'disappeared' even from social media.

After six months, Alvarez returns to the octagon to prove that he still has what it takes to be among the best in the division. After all, how can you doubt someone who defeated names like Gilbert Melendez, Anthony Pettis e Rafael dos Anjos? The big issue is the psychology of the North American, who confessed to having been severely shaken after the recent setback.

On the other side will be the always dangerous Dustin poirier, number nine in the ranking up to 70kg. With five wins in the last six performances, the 'Diamante' wants to put an end to the karma that torments him whenever he faces a better ranked opponent. If he has his arm raised, Poirier will not only banish the ghost of the 'semifinal', he will also place himself in the top 5 of the lightweight division.