UFC 214 is the biggest fight card of the year for the most prominent promotion in the sport of mixed martial arts.

Three title fights and a collection of action-packed tilts line the card, with the most heated feud currently rolling in MMA anchoring the lineup as embattled pound-for-pound great Jon Jones will look to reclaim the perch he once held against current titleholder Daniel Cormier. It's a bout that has had no shortage of heat in the build-up, and on Saturday night in Anaheim fight fans will finally get to see the two rivals handle their business with violent intentions.

Before the main event fireworks, a women's featherweight title bout between Cris "Cyborg' Justino and Tonya Evinger will go down in addition to a welterweight title tilt between champion Tyron Woodley and submission ace Demian Maia.

Throw in a shootout between former champion Robbie Lawler and the always game Donald Cerrone, and you have one hell of a main card at UFC 214.

Every fighter mentioned is on a quest for victory. Let's take a look at what each needs to do to make that happen.

Jon Jones vs. Daniel Cormier

Not only does this fight feature the two best light heavyweights on the planet, but it's a fight that comes with some meat already carved out in the reference department. Jones and Cormier have stepped into the Octagon on a previous occasion, with the former light heavyweight king taking a decisive victory on the judges' scorecards.

Jones won the first fight at UFC 182 by controlling the action and dictating every exchange in the fight. In doing so, he prevented Cormier from ever getting his offense going. The former Olympian relies heavily on his ability to push the action to the cage and use his wrestling pedigree to take control of his opponent. That didn't happen against Jones in the first fight, and if "D.C." hopes to earn the victory on Saturday night, he certainly needs to find a way to make it happen in the rematch.

Cormier has to push the pace from start to finish and close the distance early and often. Jones is just as much a pressure fighter as the current champion, but Cormier needs to find a way to bully Jones and make him fight going backward. The AKA leader has a solid overhand right, so putting that power on Jones early is imperative, and if he can find his mark, it will open up shots and action against the cage.

As for Jones, "if it's not broke don't fix it" applies, but having spent the majority of the past two years away from the cage, it's difficult to tell just how much of his previous skill set remains intact. Granted, when dealing with the fighter widely regarded as the best to ever do it there is plenty to suggest it's all still there, but we won't know for sure until things go live at UFC 214 Saturday night.

What has made Jones next to impossible to stop is the length and unorthodox approach he brings to the cage. Jones' 84-inch reach makes it difficult for fighters to get in on him, and an outstanding wrestling base makes it even more difficult for said fighters to do anything offensive if they do get inside.


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Yet, on the flip side, that distance and those strengths allow Jones to open up a bevy of versatile strikes, which he's proven to do time and time again with an impressive highlight reel serving as proof.

Jones needs to dictate the action and keep the offense flowing early and often to defeat Cormier. The former champion also has a point to prove, so he'll need to keep his emotions in check as well, and if Jones is able to do these things, reclaiming the divisional crown is in his future.

Former Jones opponent Chael Sonnen recently weighed in on the matters in an interview with FloCombat, where he made some poignant observations.

"When a younger fighter beats an older fighter and then they rematch... the younger fighter wins again only easier," Sonnen told FloCombat. "That is the rule of fighting and holds true in boxing, wrestling or MMA. You would have to go back and search two decades to find a scenario where that didn't happen.

"There is a meaningful gap in their ages, and their first fight wasn't close. A lot of people forget that, but it was not close. I had it 5-0 to Jon Jones, and the official judges had it 4-1. It was not a competitive fight. It was fun, and Daniel tried, and by Jon Jones' standards next to [Alexander] Gustafsson it was his closest fight, but he still won by a large margin. And to make believe that with age and time Daniel caught him somehow is a big leap.

Cris Justino vs. Tonya Evinger

There's no denying Cris "Cyborg" Justino is a wrecking machine built to destroy her opposition inside the cage. That's what the former Strikeforce champion has done throughout her career, and this is the reason it's difficult to find women who want to fight her. Think about that: Talented and capable women who are elite-level fighters just don't want any part of what Justino brings to the table.

Tonya Evinger is that exception.

We know the aggression and power Justino brings to the table, and she'll need to supply that full throttle to pick up the victory at UFC 214. Brutality is just what Cyborg brings, and no female fighter has ever come close to equaling that force.

That said, defeating Evinger at UFC 214 isn't a given by any means.

The former women's Invicta bantamweight champion jumped up to take the fight for a host of good reasons, the biggest being it's a fight with a known path to victory.

Above all the things Evinger possesses it's toughness and a willingness to scrap that has set her apart from her peers. She simply isn't afraid to get down to it, which in most cases would be a death sentence against Justino. But in Evinger's case, there's substance to the madness.

Justino blitzes her opposition, and that's sure enough going to happen. If Evinger can weather that storm and still be not only standing, but throwing back bombs of her own, that has the potential to tip the balance on Justino's confidence--and her cardio as well.

Should Evinger withstand the pressure and bombs Justino is fitting to throw and still be standing, there's a chance. And in MMA...sometimes a chance is all a fighter needs.


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Tyron Woodley vs. Demian Maia

The paths to victory in this fight are fairly simple, therefore we won't spend much time on this fight. Woodley has to stay off the ground and hurt Maia with his power, but most importantly, the champion needs to get out clean when he makes his signature blitzes.

Maia, on the other hand, desperately needs to get this fight to the ground in order for victory to remain a possibility.

Whoever enforces their will and their game plan wins this fight. Period. 

Robbie Lawler vs. Donald Cerrone

While there are plenty of fights to get excited about on the card for UFC 214, the true hardcores are anticipating the guaranteed violence that will unfold when Robbie Lawler and Donald Cerrone step into the Octagon to let the fury fly.

And while the fight is sure to deliver, it's the way each fighter can get it done that is worth examination.

Much like the aforementioned Justino, the former welterweight champion Lawler has made a career out of bringing the ruckus in a signature way. Everything "Ruthless" throws is exactly that, and the Iowa native has left a long list of able-bodied opponents in his wake.

That said, his most recent loss to Tyron Woodley at UFC 201 last July is either a freak occurence or a sign of what's to come.

In the bout with Woodley, it took only one clean shot from the then-challenger to level the notoriously difficult to finish Lawler, but in all fairness "T-Wood" is one powerful welterweight fighter. While Cerrone doesn't have the one-shot devastation Woodley possesses, he's sure enough going to touch Lawler's chin, and if there isn't much left of the once-granite base, it's going to be a short night.

Working with Brandon Gibson has the hard-charging Cerrone throwing more volume with greater accuracy than ever before. If Cerrone can dictate distance and close the range with a swarm of precision like he put on Rick Story, victory will come with violent brilliance.

Nevertheless, Lawler has switched camps, and movement and distance are keys to the Henri Hooft approach at Combat Club. If Lawler can use that aggression to push Cerrone backward, an entirely different narrative opens up, because for all the success "Cowboy" has had inside the Octagon, the bad nights inside the cage all have the same stamp on them.

For all intents and purposes, Cerrone hates to be bullied. The fighters who take him head on like Jorge Masvidal, Anthony Pettis and Rafael dos Anjos have all found quick success against him.

Should Lawler come out guns blazing or make the priority of his game plan to move forward behind power shots, the keys to victory are there for the taking.