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Another big weekend of MMA action will conclude on Saturday Night with UFC 165, which is airing on pay-per-view. The card will be headlined by a pair of title bouts as Jon Jones is defending the light heavyweight title and Renan Barao is defending the interim bantamweight title. Also, there is an interesting fight in the heavyweight division and a pair of top rated lightweights are in action.
Kicking off the action is a lightweight division encounter as Pat “Bam Bam†Healy (29-16-0-1NC) competes against Khabib “The Eagle†Nurmagomedov (20-0-0). Healy has an auspicious UFC debut at UFC 159 when he defeated Jim Miller, but the fight was changed to a no contest after he failed a drug test. Nurmagomedov is coming off of a historical victory over Abel Trujillo at UFC 160, where he broke the single fight takedown record. The winner of this bout could be very close to a title shot and it will be Nurmagomedov getting closer to a title opportunity.
Middleweights are competing next as Francis “Limitless†Carmont (21-7-0) does battle with Costantinos Philippou (12-2-0-1NC). Carmont is currently undefeated in UFC competition, last defeating Lorenz Larkin at UFC On Fox VII. Philippou will enter the fight riding a five fight winning streak, most notably defeating Tim Boetsch at UFC 155. This is a big fight at this stage in both fighters’ careers, but it will be Philippou adding a sixth straight win to his resume.
A pair of heavyweights are competing next as Matt “Meathead†Mitrione (6-2-0) battles Brendan “The Hybrid†Schaub (9-3-0). Mitrione has only won one of his last three in the UFC, with that lone win coming over Philip De Fries at UFC On Fuel TV IX. Schaub has also only won one of his last three under the UFC banner, with his win coming over Lavar Johnson at UFC 157. This is a must win bout for both competitors if they are to remain relevant in the division and it will be Mitrione notching the much needed win.
Up next is a UFC Interim Bantamweight Title bout as champion Renan Barao (30-1-0-1NC) defends against Eddie Wineland (20-8-1). Barao will be defending the title for the second time, he last defended it against Michael McDonald at UFC On Fuel TV VII. Wineland will enter the fight riding a two fight winning streak, last defeating Brad Pickett at UFC 155. Wineland is a worthy foe for the champion, but Barao has many more tolls than his opponent and that will allow him to keep the gold.
Headlining this card is a UFC Light Heavyweight Title fight as champion Jon “Bones†Jones (18-1-0) defends the gold against Alexander “The Mauler†Gustafsson (15-1-0). Jones will be making the sixth defense of his championship, he last defended it against Chael Sonnen at UFC 159. Gustafsson will enter the fight riding a six fight winning streak and he earned a shot at the gold after defeating Mauricio Rua at UFC On Fox V. The winner of this bout will be determined by who can use their range better, which is Jones strength and that will be how he keeps the title.
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