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With Jon Jones’ narrow victory over Dominick Reyes last weekend at UFC 247 — which came seven months after his narrow victory over Thiago Santos at UFC 239 — the UFC’s light heavyweight division is suddenly more interesting than it has been for quite some time.
No longer simply a matter of Jones lording over a cast of over-the-hills and also-rans, 205 pounds is a land of intrigue. And the increased interest from UFC 247’s result carries over into this weekend’s UFC on ESPN+ 25.
[autotag]Corey Anderson[/autotag] meets [autotag]Jan Blachowicz[/autotag] in a light heavyweight showdown Saturday night in the main event of the UFC’s return to New Mexico. It’s a rematch of a bout won by Anderson (13-4 MMA, 10-4 UFC) in 2015, but so much has changed in the meantime that this may as well be an all-new matchup.
And while many fans continue to clamor for an immediate rematch between Jones and Reyes in the wake of Jones’ highly controversial decision win in Houston, the victor on Saturday night will have a real claim for a title shot, too.
UFC on ESPN+ 25 takes place Saturday at Santa Ana Star Center in Rio Rancho, N.M. The event streams on ESPN+.
Without further ado, then, here are five burning questions heading into UFC on ESPN+ 25.
Can Corey Anderson seal the deal?
Heading into UFC 247, Jones let slip that the UFC approached him with both Reyes and Anderson as potential opponents, and given the choice, Jones picked Reyes. Jones said he saw Reyes as a more interesting style matchup than Anderson.
That shows both how far Anderson has progressed, but also how much of his old image still lingers. The “TUF 19″ winner was perceived as a play-it-safe wrestler, and one who went through a 1-3 stretch at one point, to boot.
His current four-fight win streak, all over solid names, has been good enough to get him onto the short list for a title shot. But not even an exciting TKO of Johnny Walker at Madison Square Garden last time out was enough to vault him into a No. 1 contender spot.
Should he put in a similar performance against a competitor who enjoys a good brawl in Blachowicz, though, then Anderson might snag that elusive title matchup once and for all.
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