Stacked, sold out, set to samba! My UFC 198 Preview. 

From the early prelims, all the way to the main card, UFC 198 features a plethora of prosperous Brazilian fighters, each and every one of them hoping to put on a performance to remember in front of a sold out Curitiba crowd.

Maia and Brown square off ahead of their fight tonight.
Credit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GMvNU-orFio

Surprisingly, we will start off by focusing on the main event of the Fox Sports 1 preliminary fights, when the judicious Brazilian jiu-jitsu veteran Demian Maia takes on a destructive stand-up warrior in Matt Brown. Assuredly the best grappler in the UFC today, Maia's BJJ credentials are endless and this has been reinforced in his last three fights when he put an end to prosperous welterweights Ryan Laflare, Neil Magny and Gunnar Nelson's winning streaks. Possibly the most impressive of them all dating back to UFC 190 in his native country of Brazil when he submitted the high-flying 170-pound contender Magny via rear-naked choke in the second round.

Standing in his way this Saturday will be the man with a heart of stone, "The Immortal" Matt Brown. For the number 8 ranked welterweight contender, the last decade has been a roller-coaster with many twists and turns to say the least. "Clinically dead for over a minute" after overdosing on heroin, (which gained him his nickname, The Immortal) Brown bounced back exponentially to gain a title shot versus Robbie Lawler, in which he lost via unanimous decision, after acquiring a seven fight win streak. Brown's trump card in this bout is his explosive aggression and never-giving up mentality. How Maia will counter the razor-sharp Muay Thai of ‘The Immortal’ will be puzzle that remains to be solved, which proves why this match-up is the perfect beginning of a wild night of fights.

Cyborg weighed in at 139 pounds, 6 pounds under
her usual weight class.

Up and onwards to the main card, the fights continue to fuel the night's fire. And justifiably so, as finally, to all MMA fans satisfaction, Cristiane "Cyborg" Justino makes her UFC debut at long last when she faces tough competitor Leslie Smith at a catch-weight of 140 pounds. Unbeaten for over a decade, Cyborg’s fights have been ephemeral to say the least. 9 first round finishes are an astonishing figure when you realise she only has 15 wins, however many MMA fans have debated about the lack of competition she has received when fighting in the likes of Invicta and Strikeforce. Undoubtedly, Justino's striking and explosiveness is what marginalises her from all other fighters in her weight class. Now, if she can carry this abnormal power over to the most competitive MMA promotion in the world, it will certainly lay out a strong marker that Cyborg is one of (if not the) greatest female MMA fighter of all time.

Once again, like Maia, Cyborg will have her hands full in Curitiba this Saturday night when she debuts against tenacious Gracie fighter Leslie Smith. Even though a coterie of fans are backing Smith to come out victorious in this bout, that will by no means leave her disheartened. This match-up oozes many similarities to McGregor vs Diaz at UFC 196. A stand-up powerhouse, with relentless knockout power, who eradicates anyone in its way, against a fearless, huge-hearted, diverse fighter who has never been knocked out and is comfortable wherever the fight may go.

The main event of the evening is the culminate of a fantastic fight card. Newly crowned heavyweight champion of the world, Fabricio "Vai Cavalo" Werdum defends his gold for the first time against #2 ranked hard-hitter Stipe Miocic. So what is Werdum's key perk in this title fight to kick-start his reign as heavyweight champ, and what does Miocic have to do to in order to prevent that? Well, as the charismatic, energetic MMA analyst Robin Black said, for Miocic the canvas is "Hotlava! Hot lava! Hot lava!" However, the Cleveland born Miocic views on this contradict Black's as he feels he can be triumph regardless of where the fight ends up. Could Miocic prove his doubters wrong? That he will not fall into the same trap as the likes Velasquez and Fedor. Or, will 'Vai Cavalo' make Miocic yet another fallen victim to Werdum's pedant jiu-jitsu? As, Black said "Do not miss this fight!"