The bouts are signed and the commission paperwork has been rubber-stamped. The UFC is officially back in business in Las Vegas with Saturday’s UFC on ESPN 9 marking the promotion’s return to its home city.
With the sporting world tentatively looking to emerge from the coronavirus pandemic, the UFC Apex will form the home of the UFC’s upcoming hometown events for the foreseeable future, with the purpose-built fight facility taking center stage with its maiden UFC-branded fight card.
UFC on ESPN 9 features a pivotal bout for the promotion’s welterweight division, with former undisputed champion [autotag]Tyron Woodley[/autotag] making his return after his title loss to Kamaru Usman. “The Chosen One” will look to reassert hit championship credentials against surging Brazilian contender [autotag]Gilbert Burns[/autotag] in the night’s main event.
Also set to feature on the card is a heavyweight battle, as rising prospect [autotag]Augusto Sakai[/autotag] takes on the teak-tough Bulgarian veteran [autotag]Blagoy Ivanov[/autotag]. There’s also a fascinating clash in the women’s flyweight division, as former title challenger [autotag]Katlyn Chookagian[/autotag] looks to bounce back with victory over [autotag]Antonina Shevchenko[/autotag] after falling short in her title shot against Shevchenko’s flyweight champion sister, Valentina.
UFC on ESPN 9 takes place Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The event airs on ESPN and streams on ESPN+.
So, without further ado, here are seven burning questions heading into fight night.
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How will Tyron Woodley look after his long layoff?
After almost 15 months away from the cage, Tyron Woodley is stepping back into the octagon, and it’s going to be fascinating to see how he performs. “The Chosen One” was on his way to being considered as one of the best welterweight champions in UFC history, but that title reign was abruptly halted by Kamaru Usman at UFC 235 in March 2019.
Woodley (19-4-1 MMA, 9-3-1 UFC) didn’t look his usual self during his one-sided decision loss to Usman and he’s been away from the cage ever since. We know he’ll be super-motivated to get back to winning ways and position himself for another shot at gold, but there are many questions to be answered in his display this weekend.
How will the long layoff affect his performance, particularly early, in his fight with the dangerous Gilbert Burns on Saturday night? What tweaks and changes has he made to his game? And can he step straight back in and halt an in-form, surging contender like Burns, who possesses fight-ending knockout power to go along with his world-class grappling credentials?
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On top form and fighting aggressively, Woodley is a serious problem for everyone else at 170, but during his title reign we saw him fall into a very defensive approach at times, and he eventually lost his belt. Will we see Woodley go on the offensive again to deliver a statement?
He’ll be in shape – he always is – but his sharpness, and his fighting mentality, will be fascinating to watch on fight night.
Next up: Brazilian contender gets his shot at big-name opposition
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