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.
Corey Anderson meets Jan Blachowicz 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.
Can Jan Blachowicz state his case?
In all this talk about who should be placed where in line for the next shot at Jones, Blachowicz (25-8 MMA, 8-5 UFC) has somehow become the forgotten man.
Maybe that’s because the Poland native was finished by Santos around this time last year, but that was Blachowicz’s only loss in a seven-fight stretch dating back nearly three years. Consider how Blachowicz has rebounded, as well: With a vicious knockout of Luke Rockhold (beating a former middleweight champion who was going up in weight looks better in hindsight than it did at the time, following Reyes’ performance against Jones after finishing Chris Weidman), and a win over former Strikeforce champion Ronaldo Souza.
If Blachowicz can also stop Anderson’s biggest career run cold, it’s going to be hard to keep him outside the title picture looking in much longer.
Last call for Diego Sanchez?
Yeah, we don’t deny it: On the surface level, there’s something warm and fuzzy about the fact that Diego Sanchez is still on the UFC roster.
It’s 2020. “The Ultimate Fighter 27” winner Brad Katona just got cut from the company. And here’s Sanchez (29-12 MMA, 18-12 UFC), The “TUF 1” winner, returning for his 31st UFC bout, and fighting in his hometown, to boot.
As long as guys like Sanchez are still on the roster, those of us who have been following this sport awhile will feel there’s still some sort of connection to the days before the UFC was part of a multi-billion-dollar conglomerate.
And yet, we can’t help but wonder how much longer this ride is going to last. Heading into his last fight, against Michael Chiesa, Sanchez rambled about dying “a good death” in the cage, and you couldn’t help but wonder if we were seeing something more than just his ordinary quirkiness. Then he went out and lost badly to Chiesa, his third loss in his past five fights.
Ideally? Sanchez gets a victory over an interesting competitor in Michel Pereira (23-10 MMA, 1-1 UFC) in the evening’s welterweight co-feature bout, get a thunderous ovation in his hometown, and then calls it a career.
But you know as well as I do that if Sanchez wins, there’s zero chance he walks away. The flip side of this: If Sanchez puts in another listless performance, it might be time for the UFC to pull the plug before things get out of hand.
Can the De La Rosas make a piece of UFC history?
Assuming all goes smoothly between now and fight day, Mark and Montana De La Rosa will make UFC history when they show up in Rio Rancho on fight night. The duo will become the first married couple ever to compete on the same UFC card.
Mark De La Rosa (11-3 MMA, 2-3 UFC) will take on Raulian Paiva (18-3 MMA, 0-2 UFC) in the evening’s opening matchup at flyweight, while Montana (10-5 MMA, 3-1 UFC) will compete on the main card against Mara Romero Borella (12-6 MMA, 2-2 UFC), also at 125 pounds.
It will also be in both competitors’ best interests to become the first married couple in UFC history to win their fights on the same card, as both enter their fights battling headwinds.
Mark, for his part, has proven to be a scrappy competitor. But he’s bounced between flyweight and bantamweight and has dropped his past two fights.
Montana, meanwhile, seemed well on her way to establishing herself as a real contender in the women’s class, as the submission artist strung together a four-fight win streak. But she lost a decision to Andrea Lee in June. A bounce-back win here would serve as a reminder that she’s one to watch in her division.
Can Yancy Medeiros regain his mojo?
Win or lose, when Yancy Medeiros is on the card, there’s a high chance of thunder in the forecast.
Remember his victory over Alex Oliveira at UFC 218, a slugfest he won via third-round TKO in a late entry in 2017’s “Fight of the Year” race? That fight got “Fight of the Night” honors, which was Medeiros’ (15-6 MMA, 6-6 UFC) third post-fight bonus in his previous four fights, and fifth in his previous eight.
Two years later, it also stands as the high-water mark in Medeiros’ career. The Oliveira victory put him on a three-fight win streak. But since then, he’s lacked his usual fire, getting finished with two seconds remaining in the opening round against Donald Cerrone and with one second left in the second against Gregor Gillespie.
The latter bout marked Medeiros’ return to lightweight. Saturday, one year on from that loss, he gets another 155-pound foe – and another competitor capable of both exciting fights and stinkers – in Lando Vannata (10-4-2 MMA, 2-4-2 UFC). This fight, the main-card opener, should provide some clarity on whether Medeiros has another run left in him.
