UFC 202 emanates from the T-Mobile arena in Las Vegas Saturday and despite no titles being on the line, it’s a fantastic card top to bottom. With names like Conor McGregor, Nate Diaz, Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone and Anthony “Rumble” Johnson taking up much of the spotlight it’s easy to forget just how many great fights are on this card.
Here are five under the radar matchups to keep an eye on at UFC 202.
Randa Markos vs. Courtney Casey
The Canadian looks for her first two-fight win streak in the UFC as she takes on the always entertaining Casey. Markos (6-3) is coming off a unanimous decision victory over Jocelyn Jones-Lybarger in June and is currently 2-2 in the Octagon. Casey (5-3) earned an impressive first-round TKO over Cristina Stanciu at UFC Fight Night 91 last month to snap her two-fight losing streak. Expect fireworks in this matchup as both fighters prefer to keep the fight on the feet and neither has been knocked out in their respective careers. A win for either woman would situate them nicely in the wide open strawweight division.
Cody Garbrandt vs. Takeya Mizugaki
Garbrandt looks to keep his unblemished record intact when he takes on the Japanese veteran. Garbrandt (9-0) separated himself from the rest of the bantamweight contenders in his last fight by knocking out Brazilian Thomas Almeida in the first round at UFC Fight Night 88. Another impressive win by the Team Alpha Male product could propel him to a title shot against champion Dominick Cruz. Mizugaki (21-9-2) is 1-2 in his last three fights after amassing an impressive five-fight win streak in the UFC. After losing back-to-back matchups against Cruz and Aljamain Sterling, the 32-year-old rebounded with a unanimous decision victory over George Roop at UFC Fight Night 75. Mizugaki has played the role of spoiler before in upset victories over Bryan Caraway and Erik Perez, but has a tough task ahead of him.
Neil Magny vs. Lorenz Larkin
One of the most underrated welterweights in the division, Magny returns to action as he takes on former Strikeforce standout Larkin. Magny (18-4) is perhaps coming off the most impressive win of his career as he knocked out Hector Lombard at UFC Fight Night 85. The Elevation Fight Team product has now won 10 of his last 11 fights. Larkin (17-5) has gone 3-1 since dropping down to welterweight last year including a split decision victory over Jorge Masvidal in his last fight. A win for either fighter could inch them closer to the top tier of welterweight contenders.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_vfrSeZCgp4
Tim Means vs. Sabah Homasi
The always entertaining Means returns to the cage after a PED suspension as he takes on UFC newcomer Homasi. Means (25-7-1) has gone an impressive 7-2 since moving back up to welterweight in 2013 and has finished five of his last nine opponents. Homasi (11-5) is perhaps best known for competing on The Ultimate Fighter 21 where he was eliminated from the show by Carrington Banks. Since the show the American Top Team product has gone 3-1 and competed two weeks ago at Titan FC 40 earning a second-round knockout victory over Jorge Patino. With a combined 31 stoppage victories in 49 career fights, don’t expect these two to go the distance.
Raquel Pennington vs. Elizabeth Phillips
Last and certainly not least, an intriguing bantamweight matchup pits TUF 18’s Pennington against Sikjitsu product Phillips. Pennington (7-5) has quietly amassed an impressive 4-2 UFC record and is coming off an impressive split decision victory over former title challenger Bethe Correia at UFC on FOX 19. Phillips (5-3) finally earned her first UFC victory by taking out Penninton’s old TUF 18 pal Jessamyn Duke at UFC on FOX 16. The 29-year-old has amassed a 1-2 record in the Octagon.
Here’s a look at the full UFC 202 lineup which takes place Saturday at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
MAIN CARD
— Nate Diaz (19-10) vs. Conor McGregor (19-3)
— Anthony Johnson (21-5) vs. Glover Teixeira (25-4)
— Donald Cerrone (30-7) vs. Rick Story (19-8)
— Hyun Gyu Lim (13-5-1) vs. Mike Perry (6-0)
— Tim Means (25-7-1) vs. Sabah Homasi (11-5)
PRELIMINARY CARD
— Cody Garbrandt (8-0) vs. Takeya Mizugaki (21-9-2)
— Raquel Pennington (7-5) vs. Elizabeth Phillips (5-3)
— Artem Lobov (11-12-1) vs. Chris Avila (5-2)
— Randa Markos (6-3) vs. Cortney Casey (5-3)
— Lorenz Larkin (17-5) vs. Neil Magny (18-4)
— Colby Covington (9-1) vs. Max Griffin (12-2)
— Ning Guangyou (5-3-1) vs. Marlon Vera (7-3-1)
— Alberto Uda (9-1) vs. Marvin Vettori (10-2)
