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!"

 UFC 194: In Pictures

Conor McGregor embracing his travelling Irish fans before his title fight.

Jose Aldo pacing his way to the octagon to defend his belt.

The devastating, precise left hand from McGregor which handed Aldo his first loss in 10 years.

The notorious is victorious.

The now former champ Aldo is left heartbroken from losing his belt in just 13 seconds.

Luke Rockhold landing some brutal ground and pound, in his title fight with Chris Weidman.

Referee Herb Dean comes to Weidman's rescue, and Rockhold is crowned the new 185-pound champion. 

Rockhold poses with his training partners, including the current 205-pound champion Daniel Cormier.

Yoel "Soldier of God" Romero delivers some shots on the ground to Jacare Souza.

Much to Jacare's disappointment, Soldier of God celebrates a split decision victory.

BJJ veteran Demian Maia embraces a battered Gunnar Nelson after a dominant performance.

Hawaiian native Max Holloway proudly raises his states colours after his win over Jeremy Stephens.

All pictures were sourced from: http://www.mmafighting.com/2015/12/12/10014696/ufc-194-photos#5245547

UFC 194: Luke Rockhold ends Chris Weidman's reign to claim Middleweight gold.

Luke Rockhold was "surprised" referee Herb Dean didn't come to Weidman's rescue at the end of round 3, and so were most people watching.

Rockhold's Rejoice.

Luke Rockhold is on cloud nine. He has proved all his doubters wrong, and has finally showed his huge skillset to the world of fight fans. Not to mention that he scooped up the 185-pound belt in the process. The nasty infection of cellulitis couldn't even disturb him from coming into this overwhelming opportunity. Now let's not be silly here. When the name Chris Weidman comes to mind, you instantly think of his outstanding wrestling ability, gritty determination and strong mind-set. Not wheel kicks. Ultimately the downfall of his own performance, the wheel-kick that Weidman threw in that third round was the cause of an onslaught of ruthless ground and pound that Rockhold was about to inflict on the former champ. Not to say that if that lethargic kick wouldn't have been attempted by Weidman that Rockhold wouldn't have put an end to Weidman's unbeaten streak, but it certainly helped.

Rockhold's vicious strikes which almost finished the fight.

New champs and fights to make.

Rockhold now joins Werdum, Lawler and Cormier as former Strikeforce fighters who currently claim UFC gold. In addition to this, the triumphs of Rockhold and McGregor on Saturday night mean there has now been seven new UFC champions across all weight classes in the year of 2015. Who'd have predicted that? And if you did, I bet it was certainly not in the fashion that it occurred. 

So what next? What fights can we put together from this shockingly surreal co-main event at UFC 194? Well, with Yoel Romero winning an extremely tight split decision over Jacare Souza prior to the co-main event of 194, calls all already beckoning for Rockhold vs. Romero in the first quarter of 2016. However, it may not be that simple, as the most recent man to beat Rockhold, Vitor Belfort, has already called him out on Instagram saying "you're still spinning" from Rockhold's 2013 KO loss to Belfort. For Weidman however, an instant rematch against Rockhold is not the case. Being thoroughly outclassed by Rockhold means Weidman will most likely have to fight the likes of Jacare Souza, or maybe even Tim Kennedy before earning another title shot. Rumours were occuring that Weidman had broken his foot in his bout with Rockhold on Saturday, but the x-rays were negative. So like Rockhold, he could potentially fight again in the first quarter of 2016. The unpredictability of the middleweight division just seems to continue in the UFC.

Rockhold embraces his emphatic win, whilst Weidman is left devastated.

UFC 194 Main Event Preview

Saturday, December 12th, 2015. Arguably the most 'stacked' main card in UFC history, just edging UFC 100, records are set to broken as three outstanding match ups are followed by two tantalizing title fights.

Main Event: Aldo vs. McGregor

Scarface. The Notorious One. A match-up which all UFC fans have been so highly anticipating since McGregor's sudden breakthrough into the sport, this fight is certainly going to bring in some 'numbers' as McGregor would say. The endless press conferences, interviews and tense social media interactions has created a hyper like no other for this fight. Could we finally see a new featherweight champion in the sport? Will the "McGregor train" come crashing down like Rousey's? Who knows. 

McGregor's kicks played a huge part in his victory at UFC 189.

For the unorthodox McGregor, confidence has been his greatest asset going into any of his fights. But everyone knows that, so let's take an in depth look at some of McGregor's effective weapons which could secure him unified gold. Distance and cage control. Conor utilizes footwork outstandingly to pressure his opponents to the cage, just look at his last fight against Mendes. A myriad of unorthodox kicks were used from the outside, so he could not be hit. Like his last fight, McGregor will have a reach advantage on his opponent. Although not as great as his advantage with Chad, he still has a 4" advantage on Jose and this potentially means his kicks from the outside could be just as deadly as they were on July 11th.

Although being smaller and having less reach than McGregor, Aldo still has a bucketful of weapons coming into this bout. One of his most effective being his impeccable muay thai, and lighting quick hands. He leads mostly with jabs and straights from the outside, setting up 1-2s to keep his opponent at a distance, but at the same time setting himself up for combinations. Jose's leaping right hand could be the perfect counter for McGregor's lunging straight left, as the lunge may shift him off balance allowing Aldo to throw the right hand.

This title fight is inevitably one you can't miss. Although he is undefeated in 10 years, it is Aldo who is the underdog coming into this fight. McGregor recently said he predicts a KO inside four minutes, and sees Jose overreacting, over-extending at every move he makes. Are we to doubt him? As he says "he hasn't been wrong yet."