Fan favourites Donald "Cowboy" Cerrone and Matt "The Immortal" Brown square off this weekend in what is bound to be an action-packed slug-fest.
Cerrone has won 11 of his last 12 fights including impressive stoppages of Rick Story and Patrick Coté in his last two bouts.
His résumé also includes wins over former UFC lightweight champion Eddie Alvarez, Jim Miller, Benson Henderson and Edson Barboza as he charged to a title shot at then-lightweight champion Rafael Dos Anjos.
Although Matt Brown's record sits at 22-15, he is a firm fan favourite due to his 'never say die' attitude and willingness to brawl.
He has only won one of his last five fights, but his stock hasn't depreciated as he faced off against the likes of Robbie Lawlor, Jonny Hendricks and Demian Maia. He has handed Stephen "Wonderboy" Thompson his only UFC loss thus far as well.
Brown is a relentless brawler who engages whenever possible, the classic 'he blocks punches with his face' attitude sums him up best.
Cerrone, on the other hand, is very similar stylistically to his opponent but also has an excellent ground-game. He has submitted 16 of his 38 opponents and this could well be the difference in this fight.
They have a combined 23 post-fight performance bonuses between them although Cowboy accounts for 18 of those.
The fight is the perfect preamble to the Holloway-Pettis main event.
Prediction
All the signs point to a Cerrone win. He's on form and has adapted to the welterweight division almost seamlessly. However I think Brown might take this one on a split decision.
I doubt he's fighting for his UFC career but another loss would put him under severe pressure and I think that extra adrenaline will get him over the line in a highly entertaining scrap.
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