Preview: UFC 202

This Saturday night, the UFC brass will be hoping that Conor McGregor will do what he failed to in March of this year: beat Nate Diaz.

Following Diaz’s spectacular submission win over McGregor back at UFC 196 there didn’t appear to be any real reason to book the rematch between these two, however the UFC persisted in the hope that they could renew the momentum behind Conor McGregor before the loss. The fight will once again be fought at 170lbs, something McGregor insisted on, despite it being apparent in the last match up that the size and weight of Diaz played a significant part in him losing. Since their fight, McGregor has sought to rectify some of the mistakes he made, and in doing so has brought in specialist grapplers such as Dillon Danis to help prepare for the rematch. Although when you consider it was Diaz’s boxing that caused McGregor so many problems first time around, I’d like to think he’d also add some rangy boxers to his training entourage. Despite his pre-fight bluster, McGregor will know the odds are against him coming in to this. Diaz is the taller, bigger and more durable fighter and with a win over McGregor already in such clinical fashion. Diaz arguably holds the psychological advantage too, something that can’t be said of McGregor’s past opponents. Tough to look past Diaz again in this fight, unless McGregor and Kavanagh have an ace up their sleeve, though it’s hard to imagine what that could be.

Glover Teixeira takes on Anthony Johnson in a battle of the light-heavyweights, in a co-main event with guaranteed violence aplenty. Both fighters are known for their devastating power, with Teixeira using his boxing skills to KO previous opponents, whereas Johnson isn’t adverse to a head kick KO as well as being able to swing bungalows with the best in the division. Teixeira comes in to this fight on the back of a three-fight win streak over the likes of Rashad Evans, Patrick Cummins and Ovince St Preux and could consider himself back in title contention should he somehow get past Johnson in impressive fashion. Johnson comes into this fight having put away both Jimi Manuwa and Ryan Bader with relative ease, and he’ll be hoping that taking out Teixeira will put him back at the head of the queue at 205lbs. Johnson is quite possibly the hardest hitting fighter in the UFC and it’s tough to see how Glover Teixeira makes it to the third round of this fight, especially if he attempts to engage in a slug fest with Johnson.

Donald Cerrone will look to continue his rise through the 170lbs ranks when he takes on top fifteen welterweight, Rick Story. After dispatching of Patrick Cote and Alex Oliviera in his previous two outings, Cerrone has a tougher task in front of him in a rejuvenated Story. Story comes into this fight on a hot streak, taking out Tarec Saffiedine and Gunnar Nelson in his past two fights, not something to be sniffed at. Story will be hoping he can nullify the technically sound striking of Cerrone with a game plan of clinch work and heavy wrestling for all three rounds, otherwise, any bit of space left in the stand up or on the ground will see him pay a heavy price at the hands of Cerrone.

Veteran welterweight Hyun Gyu Lim gets to welcome Mike Perry to the UFC when these two meet on Saturday night. Lim is coming in to this fight on the back of a loss to Neil Magny, and will be hoping to catch the debuting Perry cold on his first time in the Octagon. Perry is no slouch though, and has gone undefeated so far in his career, winning every fight via KO or TKO – pretty impressive. Should he score a win over Lim it’ll be quite a way to start his UFC career, but look for Lim to use his experience and give Perry his first loss, probably inside the three rounds.

The curtain-jerker on the main card is yet another welterweight fight, this time between Tim Means and Sabah Homasi. Means comes into this one having gone 6-1 in his last seven, a submission loss to Matt Brown his only loss in that run. Homasi holds the same record of 6-1 in his last seven fights in a similar recent run of form. Both fighters posses KO power, so it’s easy to see why this fight was made. Look for both men to come out swinging and, ultimately, whoever lands first is probably going to walk away the winner.

Fights to watch on the undercard; Takeya Mizugaki vs. Cody Garbrandt, Neil Magny vs. Lorenz Larkin, Raquel Pennington vs. Elizabeth Phillips