Five reasons to watch UFC 231 this Saturday

M. Holloway (left) and B. Ortega (right) face each other in the main fight. Photo: Reproduction/Instagram @briantcity

The December marathon of events continues this Saturday. Ultimate arrives in Toronto (CAN) for the fifth time and the Scotiabank Arena will be the home of world MMA during UFC 231 this Saturday (08). Tonight's show will put the men's featherweight and women's flyweight belts up for grabs.

In the main fight, the champion Max Holloway will finally make his second title defense against Brian ortega. The confrontation between fighters in the under-66kg division was scheduled to take place at UFC 226 in June this year, but the champion had symptoms of concussion and was removed from the duel.

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In the co-main event, Valentina Shevchenko will measure forces with Joanna Jedrzejczyk for the vacant women's flyweight belt. Ultimate is reviving a Muay Thai rivalry. The fighters have already faced each other three times in the Thai martial art and the Kyrgyzstani based in Peru came out on top every time.

Furthermore, the Brazilian team is reinforced with six fighters at the event in Toronto: Carlos Diego Ferreira opens the preliminary card against kyle nelson, in sequence Dhiego Lima seeks victory over Chad Laprise, Gilbert Durinho will face Olivier Aubin-Mercier and close the preliminary card Claudia Gadelha faces Nina ansaroff. On the main card, Thiago Marreta faces Jimi Manuwa and Alex Cowboy faces Gunnar Nelson.

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UFC 231 starts on Saturday at 21pm (Brasília time) with the preliminary event. The main fights begin at 1am.

To get you in the mood for UFC 231, we've prepared five reasons for you to watch the event.

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The return of the champion

M. Holloway returns to fight after a year. Photo: Reproduction/Instagram @blessedmma

Max Holloway hasn't fought since December 2017, when he knocked out José Aldo for the second time. And he even tried. 'The Blessed', as he is known, tried to defend his featherweight belt on three occasions. In March, a leg injury took him out of the duel against Frankie Edgar. In April, he was hastily selected to play in the top division, against Khabib Nurmagomedov. However, he had problems with the weight cut the week of the fight and was removed from the fight. In July, the champion would face Brian ortega, but felt symptoms of concussion and was banned from the confrontation again.

Holloway was scheduled to face Brian ortega this Saturday in Canada. 'T-City' will have a tough time ahead. Max beat fighters like Cub swanson, Charles Oliveira, Jeremy Stephens, Ricardo Lamas and Anthony Pettis. In addition to winning the featherweight belt by knocking out José Aldo at UFC 212 in June 2017. In a rematch at UFC 218, the Hawaiian beat the Brazilian in the same way and retained the belt.

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At 27, Holloway remains undefeated since August 2013, when he was beaten by Conor McGregor. The Hawaiian has 19 triumphs and three setbacks in his career.

Ultimate's young revelation

B. Ortega had his last fight in March of this year. Photo: Reproduction/Instagram @briantcity

Brian ortega will enter the octagon even more prepared to face Max Holloway and try to win the featherweight belt. This is because the duel was scheduled to take place at UFC 226 in June. A new opponent was offered to the young fighter who preferred to wait for his rival.

Since 2014 in Ultimate, Ortega has been a rising star in the franchise with six wins in seven fights. In his last engagement, Brian knocked out Frankie Edgar in the first round of UFC 222 in March this year.

'T-City' in an eight-year career in professional MMA has 15 fights, 14 triumphs and one unsuccessful fight. On seven occasions, he won by submission.

In search of the first UFC belt

V. Shevchenko beat her rival three times in Muay Thai. Photo: Reproduction/Instagram @bulletvalentina

At 30, Valentina Shevchenko She is a champion in kickboxing and Muay Thai, a former challenger for the bantamweight belt and is now seeking the vacant flyweight belt. At UFC 228, on September 08th, the Kyrgyzstani would face Nicco Montaño for the division title. However, the belt holder had problems with the weight cut, was hospitalized and had the fight cancelled. Thus, the organization chose to withdraw its title.

So, Valentina waited for Ultimate to find a new opponent to challenge for the title. To do this, the organization hired its long-time rival Joanna Jedrzejczyk. The strawweight moved up a category to be able to face her opponent and achieve her first victory in four fights. However, she will have a tough opponent ahead of her.

'Bullet' a record of 18 clashes with 15 triumphs and three setbacks. On seven occasions, the Kyrgyzstani won by submission. Valentina is coming off a victory over Priscila Cachoeira with a rear naked choke in the second round. Since then, Shevchenko has been waiting to fight for the flyweight belt.

A triumph to make MMA history

J. Jedrzejczyk moved up a category to try to win the belt. Photo: Reproduction/Instagram @joannajedrzejczyk

Joanna Jedrzejczyk You can make history in Ultimate if you beat your rival Valentina Shevchenko in the co-main event of UFC 231. In addition to breaking a hegemony of three defeats in muay thai, the Pole should be the first fighter in the organization to win two belts in different weight categories.

Jedrzejczyk won the strawweight belt after winning Carla esparza at UFC 185 in March 2015. She held the division title for two years and made five successful defenses. However, the Polish woman was defeated by Rose namajunas in November 2017 at UFC 217. She had the chance to regain the belt in April of this year at UFC Brooklyn, but was defeated by 'Thug' again.

In her last appointment, Joanna won Tecia torres at UFC Calgary in July this year. Before that, she had two defeats to the division champion, Rose namajunas. The Polish woman has a record of 17 fights, with 15 victories and two setbacks in her career.

Brazilian army in Toronto

A. Cowboy ends Brazil's participation. Photo: Disclosure / Twitter @ufc_Brasil

Brazil comes with a reinforced team for the event in Canada. There will be six Brazilian athletes in 13 matches. On the main card, there will be Alex Cowboy e Thiago Marreta. In the preliminary round, they complete the team Claudia gadelha, Gilbert Durinho, Dhiego Lima e Carlos Diego Ferreira.

Diego Ferreira will begin Brazil's participation in the octagon in Toronto. The lightweight will try to maintain his good streak and win his third consecutive victory in Ultimate. Your opponent has been switched twice, John makdessi e Jesse Ronson. With three days to go until the event, the franchise called kyle nelson to face Manauara. The fighter has a record of 15 fights, with 13 triumphs and two setbacks.

Dhiego Lima his stay in Ultimate is threatened, as he has had three consecutive defeats. The Brazilian will face Chad Laprise at welterweight. In his second stint with the organization, the fighter already experienced a similar situation in 2015, when he was released by the franchise. The Goiás native has 19 fights in his career, including 12 triumphs and seven setbacks.

Gilbert Durinho was scheduled to face Olivier Aubin-Mercier in the UFC Orlando, in February this year. However, the Florida Athletic Commission vetoed the Brazilian's participation, as weight loss was not safe. The lightweights will face each other in search of a place in the TOP 15 of the category. Durinho is coming off a defeat to Dan Hooker at UFC 226 in July this year. The Rio native has 16 fights, with 13 triumphs and three setbacks in his career.

Ending Brazil's participation and the preliminary card, Claudinha gadelha measure forces with Nina ansaroff by straw weights. Potiguar comes from a narrow victory against Carla esparza in June this year. At 30 years old, the Brazilian occupies third place in the division's ranking. The fighter has 19 fights, with 16 triumphs and three setbacks in her career.

Opening the main card, Thiago Marreta faces Jimi Manuwa in the light heavyweight division. The match was scheduled to take place in São Paulo, but due to an injury the Englishman was replaced by Erik Anders. The Brazilian beat the North American by knockout in the third round. The Rio native has six wins in his last seven fights in the organization.

Completing Brazilian operations in Canada, Alex Cowboy faces Gunnar Nelson at welterweight. Oliveira has two consecutive victories over Carlos Condit and Carlo Pedersoli. He is currently 13th in the category ranking. The fighter has 15 fights in his career, 19 victories, five setbacks and one draw.