10 must-see fights during UFC 200 and International Fight Week
International Fight Week is the biggest time of the year for all fans of combat sports, and the UFC is taking the party to the next level this year, hosting three straight events all headlined by a championship fights.
On Thursday, the lightweight title is up for grabs when Rafael dos Anjos battles Eddie Alvarez in the main event of a UFC Fight Night on UFC FIGHT PASS, while Joanna Jedrzejczyk puts her title on the line on Friday in the marquee spot of The Ultimate Fighter Finale.
And finally, on Friday, one of the greatest rivalries in mixed martial arts history takes center stage at UFC 200: Jones vs. Cormier 2.
That's a lot of fights to watch -- 36 total over a three-day span -- even for the biggest fight fan, so we'll make it a bit easier on you by running down the 10 must-see fights during International Fight Week.
Rafael dos Anjos vs. Eddie Alvarez
Rafael dos Anjos is quietly becoming one of the UFC's most dominant champions, and if he can secure a win against Eddie Alvarez under the big lights of International Fight Week, he'll cement his status as one of the absolute best the promotion has to offer.
Alvarez has won back-to-back split decisions over Anthony Pettis and Gilbert Melendez to earn his shot at the title. Alvarez, who grounded Pettis six times, has the ability to take the fight to the ground whenever he wants, but his willingness to stand and trade with his opponent will make for an exciting fight come Thursday night.
Roy Nelson vs. Derrick Lewis
Derrick Lewis and Roy Nelson have been asking for this fight for almost a year now and we're less than a week away from this hard-hitting, fan friendly matchup.
Tenth-ranked Nelson has long been known as one of the promotion's most powerful strikers, as seen by his six UFC knockouts, five of which have come in the first round. Enter 12th-ranked heavyweight Lewis, who in just eight UFC fights has already matched Nelson with six KOs. The New Orleans native has only absorbed more than 10 significant strikes just once in his UFC career, but just one punch from Nelson has ended the night of some of the best fighters.
Joanna Jedrzejczyk vs. Claudia Gadelha
The rivalry between Joanna Jedrzejczyk and Claudia Gadelha has quickly turned into one of the more contentious feuds in all of mixed martial arts.
They easily matched Cormier and Jones' ferocity at the International Fight Week launch event back in April and their exchanges during the latest season of The Ultimate Fighter made Conor McGregor and Nate Diaz look like best friends.
Gadelha has been the only fighter to outstrike Jedrzejczyk inside the Octagon and took her down seven times during their 2014 fight. But "JJ" did score a knockdown and 38 of her 47 total strikes landed were significant strikes as she walked away with the split decision.
This bout is a contender for Fight of the Weekend.
Ross Pearson vs. Will Brooks
Former Bellator world champion Will Brooks makes his UFC debut against British slugger Ross Pearson in the co-main event of The Ultimate Fighter Finale. Expectations are high for the lightweight, who trains out of American Top Team in Florida, as he brings an 18-1 professional record, 10 by way of knockout or submission.
Pearson, who is coming off a split decision over rising Canadian prospect Chad Laprise, is a seven-year UFC veteran who will give Brooks a stiff test in his first fight under the bright UFC lights.
Jake Matthews vs. Kevin Lee
Two of the lightweight division's best prospects square off when Jake "The Celtic Kid" Matthews takes on Kevin "The Motown Phenom" Lee.
Matthews, 21, suffered his first career setback against James Vick in 2015, but outside of that, he has finished his other four UFC opponents. Lee, 23, has won five of his last six and is an exceptional athlete with a solid boxing base.
This is a good look at the future of the UFC 155-pound division.
Jon Jones vs. Daniel Cormier 2
Very few rivalries in mixed martial arts can match the genuine distain Jon Jones and Daniel Cormier share for each other.
Two of the very best light heavyweights in the world, Jones and Cormier fight to unify the UFC 205-pound title in the main event at UFC 200. But there is much more at stake -- legacy and bragging rights.
Cormier knows that at 37, he has more fights behind him that he has in front of him. A win over Jones would not only even the score 1-1, but validate his current reign as light heavyweight champion. Jones was at his very best before run ins with the law held him to just one fight between April 2014 and April 2016.
He did, however, beat Cormier during that span and has made it clear that he's ready to move past this part of his career. A win Saturday puts all the DC-Jones talk to rest for good.
Jose Aldo vs. Frankie Edgar 2
There are very few fighters on the UFC roster more talented than Frankie Edgar and Jose Aldo, and they just so happen to be fighting each other for the interim featherweight title Saturday at UFC 200.
Aldo reigned as the world's best featherweight for seven years, beating the likes of Chad Mendes (x2), Ricardo Lamas, Kenny Florian, Urijah Faber and Mike Brown along the way. Not to mention a 2013 win over Edgar.
Edgar is a former lightweight champion who owns multiple decisive victories over former champions BJ Penn and Gray Maynard. Since moving to featherweight in 2013, Edgar has lost just once -- to Aldo -- and after five straight wins, deserves this shot at UFC gold.
Miesha Tate vs. Amanda Nunes
Miesha Tate makes her very first UFC title defense against a very worthy opponent in Brazilian women's bantamweight Amanda Nunes.
In her last fight, a stunning fifth round submission of Holly Holm, Tate showed the resilience that helped her capture and defend titles in two previous promotions. Tate has shown markedly improved striking in her last three fights and touts some of the best wrestling in the promotion.
She'll have her hands full with Nunes, though. Nunes has won five of her last six, with four of those wins coming by first-round submission or knockout. She put on a strong all-around performance against Valentina Shevchenko at UFC 196 -- the same event where Tate beat Holm -- to earn her shot.
The UFC women's bantamweight division has never been more exciting.
Cat Zingano vs. Julianna Pena
A potential women's bantamweight title shot is on the line when brawlers Cat Zingano and Julianna Pena go toe-to-toe in the UFC 200 FS1 prelims featured bout.
Cat Zingano infamously lost to Ronda Rousey in just 16 seconds the last time she took the Octagon, in February of 2015. But before then, she posted back-to-back third-round finishes of Miesha Tate and Amanda Nunes.
Pena, winner of season 18 of The Ultimate Fighter, has looked fantastic since returning from a devastating knee injury in 2015. She landed an incredible 37 significant strikes in just 4 minutes to finish Milana Dudieva, then went three tough rounds with Jessica Eye to earn a unanimous decision at UFC 192.
The winner of this fight will have a good case for a shot at the winner of the UFC 200 scrap between Tate and Nunes.
Brock Lesnar vs. Mark Hunt
It's only fitting that UFC 200 marks the return of the fighter who helped UFC 100 sell over 1.5 million Pay-Per-Views -- Brock Lesnar.
The WWE superstar jumps back into the Octagon after a near five-year absence to take on knockout artist Mark Hunt. Lesnar won the UFC title and defended it twice before a bout with diverticulitis -- as well as back-to-back losses -- forced him to step away from the sport with questions still lingering on what he could have accomplished.
Lesnar isn't getting a softball in his return, either. He'll be standing across the Octagon from arguably the hardest-hitting fighter in the heavyweight division in Mark Hunt. Hunt is the only man in the UFC to KO Roy Nelson and has only seen the judges twice in his UFC career.
UFC 200 was already a great event but the addition of Lesnar vs. Hunt has taken the weekend over the top.
