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The culmination of a very heated rivalry between UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Jon Jones and Chael Sonnen finally ends this weekend. While the title fight will be the focus of the entire UFC 159 event, there are plenty of other great battles worth checking out. Especially on the FX portion of the preliminary card, which features an undefeated female competitor and some Strikeforce veterans duking it out.
Kicking off the action is a lightweight division bout as Rustam “Tiger†Khabilov (15-1-0) competes against Yancy “Frisson†Medeiros (9-0-0). Khabilov made a successful promotional debut at the UFC Ultimate Fighter 16 Finale, slamming Vinc Pichel into unconsciousness. Medeiros will be making his UFC debut in this fight, but he did go undefeated during a two fight run in Strikeforce. This is a great opportunity for these two fighters to make an impact on national television, but it will be Khabilov ending his foe’s undefeated streak.
A women’s bantamweight division fight is up next as “The German Tank†Sheila Gaff (10-4-1) battles Sara McMann (6-0-0). Gaff will enter the fight riding a three fight winning streak, most notably defeating Aisling Daly at Cage Warriors 41. McMann is currently undefeated in her MMA career, having defeated top veterans like Tonya Evinger, Hitomi Akano and Shayna Baszler. The winner of this fight could be right behind Cat Zingano as far as future title shots go, but it will be McMann remaining undefeated in the end.
Up next is a light heavyweight division fight as Ovince St. Preux (12-5-0) stands across the octagon from Gian Villante (10-3-0). St. Preux will be making his UFC debut in this fight, but he did win five of six during his time in Strikeforce. Villante will also be making his UFC debut in this fight and he does so on the strength of a three fight winning streak. The Strikeforce imports have been impressive thus far in the UFC and these two will be no different, but it will be St. Preux getting his first UFC win.
Headlining this portion of the card is a bantamweight division fight as “Brutal†Johnny Bedford (19-9-1) faces Bryan “Kid Lightning†Caraway (17-6-0). Bedford is currently undefeated in UFC competition, last defeating Marcos Vinicius at the UFC Ultimate Fighter 16 Finale. Caraway has won two of three under the UFC banner, most notably defeating Mitch Gagnon at UFC 149. Caraway enters this fight as a very late replacement and that is going to hurt him in this bout as Bedford gets his third UFC victory.
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