The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) will be returning to Las Vegas, Nevada this August 20th for UFC 202: Diaz vs McGregor 2. Nearly three months away, the fight card is now almost complete with 10-bouts, and two to three more are expected to be added on the preliminary card. If interested in wagering on any bouts for this fight card, all betting lines will be made available at Several Bookmakerss. Nate Diaz vs Conor McGregor II Diaz vs McGregor II will serve as the evening’s main event. This bout was originally scheduled to take place at UFC 200, but after a dispute between McGregor and the UFC, the fight was pulled from the card and ultimately rescheduled. The Irishman got the better of the Stockton, CA native in the first round of their initial meeting, but fatigue began to set in and Diaz took over in the second frame. Diaz began to outbox McGregor, and then finished him on the mat with a rear naked choke after McGregor opted to take the fight to the mat. The former Cage Warriors featherweight and lightweight champion has reportedly been correcting his errors and promises to “toy” with Diaz in this rematch. When first announced, this was not a fight many cared for, but given time, intirigue and anticipation has grown. Anthony “Rumble” Johnson vs Glover Teixeira This light heavyweight contest will most likely serve as the co-main event of the evening at UFC 202. These two were originally scheduled to throw down next month at UFC Fight Night in Sioux Falls, but “Rumble” withdrew from the bout for personal reasons and the fight has been rescheduled for this card. If you ask me, I’d say Johnson didn’t want to be co-main eventing a Fight Night card in South Dakota and is much happier co-headlining a Pay Per View with Nate Diaz and Conor McGregor. Demian Maia vs Carlos Condit This welterweight contest has been added to the UFC 202 main card, and personally I think it should serve as the evening’s co-main event. I know this is a fight that gets me more excited than Johnson vs Teixeira, and out of the two, this is the fight I look forward to more. The winner of this match-up will be an arguably number one contender for the UFC’s welterweight title, right along with Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson. If Maia wins, I think both he and Thompson have a legitimate claim to the next title shot, but if Condit ends up getting his hand raised, I would say “Wonderboy” deserves it more than him. Rick Story vs Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone I love this match-up. “Cowboy” is going to try to go 3-0 since moving up from lightweight to the UFC’s welterweight division, where he has picked up a first round submission of the Brazilian “Cowboy” Alex Oliveira and Patrick “The Predator” Cote. Story will certainly be his stiffest test to date at 170-pounds and arguably the toughest fight of his professional mixed martial arts career, being that he has been a top 5-10 fighter in the UFC’s welterweight division throughout his Octagon career and will have a size advantage over Cerrone. Though, the same was said of Cote, who had previously challenged Anderson Silva for the UFC Middleweight title. I think this is going to be a great fight in the UFC’s 170-pound division and I very much look forward to it. Thiago Alves vs Al Iaquinta It is my guess that this lightweight bout will be kicking things off for the UFC 192 fight card on Pay Per View. Alves will be making his 155-pound debut in this contest againt Iaquinta, who is coming off an extended injury layoff. I think this is a great fight and could prove to be a real contender for the evening’s ‘Fight of the Night’ honors, but personally, it is not a match-up I am looking forward to very much. The reason for that is that I am a fan of both fighters and was hoping to see Alves get a win in his lightweight debut, as well as see Iaquinta get a win in his return from injury. Due the booking of this bout, I won’t get to see both happen; but on the bright, glass-half-empty side, at least one will. PRELIMS Neil Magny vs “Stun Gun” Dong Hyun Kim has been made official for UFC 202 and could easily be on the evening’s main card, though my guess is this contest will serve as the featured bout for the evening’s FOX Sports 1 preliminary card. This is an excellent match-up in the UFC’s welterweight division. This is actually a fight I have been wanting to see for some time; see here and here. Cody Garbrandt vs Takeya Mizugaki is another main card worthy match-up that I expect to see on the FOX Sports 1 prelims for UFC 202, likely preceding the aforementioned Magny vs Stun Gun bout. After breaking into the UFC’s 135-pound rankings with a first round knockout of then-undefeated Brazilian prospect Thomas Almeida, Garbrandt will be looking remain undefeated himself and get one step closer to a title shot. Standing in his way is the always tough Japanese veteran Mizugaki. In addition, Raquel Pennington vs Elizabeth Phillips has been booked in the women’s bantamweight division, Hyun Gyu Lim vs Sultan Aliev is scheduled at welterweight and Alberto Uda vs Marvin Vettori will also take place in the UFC’s welterweight division.
