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With the first pay-per-view of 2021 under its belt, the UFC marks its return to Las Vegas with another exciting fight card for next weekend.
The promotion has announced the complete lineup of fights for its upcoming UFC Vegas 18 event set to take place at the UFC Apex on February 6. Ahead of the event, let's take a closer look at the three fights you absolutely cannot miss from next weekend's UFC Vegas 18 event.
Alistair Overeem vs Alexander Volkov
The Fight Night event is headlined by a crucial heavyweight encounter between fight game veteran Alistair Overeem and Alexander Volkov. Over the years, Overeem has seen it all inside the octagon in his hall-of-fame worthy career. However, there's still one thing that he is yet to achieve in the UFC, and that is the capture of the much-coveted heavyweight title.
Overeem has picked up four knockout wins in his last five fights over Augusto Sakai, Walt Harris, Aleksei Oleinik, and Sergey Pavlovich. He will be looking to inch closer to another shot at the heavyweight title with a win next weekend. It will also be Alistair Overeem's fifth straight UFC main event.
As The Reem gets back on the horse for one last run at the coveted UFC gold, he will have to go through a dangerous knockout artist in Volkov. Although Volkov hasn't been impressive lately, he still managed to pick up a second-round TKO win over Walt Harris at UFC 254 last year.
Cory Sandhagen vs Frankie Edgar
The co-main event of UFC Vegas 18 features a bantamweight thriller between top contender Cory Sandhagen and former lightweight champion Frankie Edgar.
After succumbing to a disappointing second-round submission loss against Aljamain Sterling at UFC 250, Sandhagen bounced back spectacularly by defeating Marlon Moraes at UFC Fight Island 5. Sandhagen has won six out of his last seven fights in the UFC, and we can expect to see him fighting for the title soon if he manages to get past Edgar this weekend.
In his second outing in the bantamweight division, Edgar will face a stern test against Sandhagen. However, he will always have the edge over Cory in terms of experience. Having been a former champion, Edgar is no stranger to big fights, so expect him to bring his A-game on February 6.
This bout will be Edgar’s second UFC fight at 135 pounds. A former lightweight champion and featherweight title challenger, Edgar made a successful bantamweight debut in August with a split decision win over Pedro Munhoz.
Diego Ferreira vs Beneil Dariush
The main card's opening contest at UFC Vegas 18 is a mouthwatering lightweight rematch between Diego Ferreira and Beneil Dariush. The pair were initially set to face different opponents last year, but since both fights fell through, they have now been matched against each other for next weekend's event.
The first time the pair met was back in 2014 when Dariush emerged victorious via unanimous decision. That was the first defeat in Ferreira's career. Almost seven years later, the Brazilian has the chance to exact sweet revenge.
Ferreira is on a six-fight winning streak and will be looking to stretch it to seven against Dariush as he aims to climb atop a heavily stacked 155 lbs division. However, it won't be a stroll in the park for him. Beneil Dariush is on an impressive five-fight winning streak inside the octagon.
This one promises to be a cracker of a contest.
The complete main card for UFC Vegas 18:
(Heavyweight) Alistair Overeem vs Alexander Volkov
(Bantamweight) Frankie Edgar vs. Cory Sandhagen
(Women's bantamweight) Macy Chiasson vs. Marion Reneau
(Flyweight) Alexandre Pantoja vs. Manel Kape
(Bantamweight) Cody Stamman vs. Andre Ewell
(Lightweight) Beneil Dariush vs. Diego Ferreira
