UFC 211: Stipe Miocic vs. Junior dos Santos II

UFC 211: 5 Fights Under The Radar

UFC 211: 5 Fights Under The Radar

UFC 211 is the biggest card of the year and FloCombat's James Lynch gives five more bouts to keep an eye on.

May 8, 2017 by James Lynch
UFC 211: 5 Fights Under The Radar
UFC 211 emanates from the American Airlines Center this Saturday in Dallas, TX and is easily the most stacked events on paper this year.

Featuring notable fighters such Junior Dos Santos, Stipe Miocic, Joanna Jędrzejczyk and Frankie Edgar, it’s easy to forget how many great fights are actually on this card. Here at FloCombat we’ve highlighted five under the radar matchups you won’t want to miss on UFC 211.

Eddie Alvarez (28-5) vs. Dustin Poirier (21-5) – Lightweight matchup


Former UFC lightweight champion Alvarez returns to the cage for the first time since his loss to Conor McGregor in November at UFC 205, when he battles Poirier in a lightweight contest. Alvarez (28-5) is coming off just the second TKO loss in 33-career fights and will look to avoid back-to-back losses for the first time in his career. The pride of Philadelphia has gone 3-2 in the UFC, with his only setbacks to McGregor and Donald Cerrone.

Poirier (21-5) is coming off a gritty performance against Jim Miller at UFC 208, which saw him take home a majority decision victory - basically on one leg. The 28-year-old has gone 5-1 since moving up to lightweight in 2015 and has only gone the distance twice during that span. Expect this matchup to contend for “Fight of the Night” honors.

Chas Skelly (17-2) vs. Jason Knight (17-2) – Featherweight matchup


A featherweight matchup pits two fighters with identical records against each other as Combat Club’s Skelly takes on 24-year-old Knight.

Skelly (17-2) heads into this matchup off back-to-back submission victories over Maximo Blanco and most recently Chris Gruetzemacher at UFC Fight Night 104 back in February. The 31-year old has never been finished in his career and has won six of his last seven fights. Knight (17-2) is riding a three-fight win streak after dropping his promotional debut on short notice against Tatsuya Kawajiri at the TUF 22 Finale in December 2015.

The Alan Belcher BJJ product is coming off an impressive submission victory over Alex Caceres at UFC on FOX 23 back in January. This important matchup in the 145-pound division is the early favorite to win “Fight of the Night.”

Krzysztof Jotko (19-1) vs. Dave Branch (20-3) – Middleweight matchup


Jotko looks to extend his winning streak to six-straight when he battles former WSOF middleweight and light heavyweight champion Branch.

Jotko (19-1) has quietly amassed a 6-1 record in the UFC, including a knockout victory over Tamdan McCrory last year and a decision victory over former UFC title challenger Thales Leites at UFC Fight Night 100 back in November. Branch (20-3) returns to the UFC for the first time since 2011, where he went 2-2 with the promotion. Since then, the 35-year-old has gone on an impressive 12-1 run with notable wins over TUF 25’s Jesse Taylor, former title challenger Yushin Okami and BJJ ace Vinny Magalhães.

The lone loss during that span was to Anthony Johnson in a 195-pound catchweight fight at Titan FC 22 in 2012. As the 185-pound class anxiously awaits champion Michael Bisping defending his title against Georges St-Pierre, the winner of this fight could situate themselves nicely near the top of the division.

Jessica Aguilar (19-5) vs. Cortney Casey (6-4) – Strawweight matchup


Easily the most underrated fight on the card sees former WSOF champion Aguilar take on the always exciting Casey in a strawweight encounter.

Aguilar (19-5) has fought just once since 2015 because of injuries and lack of opponents when she competed in WSOF. Because of this, the 34-year-old has become the forgotten contender in the 115-pound class. In her UFC debut, Aguilar came up short against Cláudia Gadelha at UFC 190 losing a unanimous decision and subsequently snapping her 10-fight win streak. The American Top Team product looks to avoid two-straight losses for the first time in her career.

Casey (6-4) is also coming off a unanimous decision loss to Gadelha in her last fight at UFC Fight Night 100 in November, which dropped her UFC record to 2-3. The 30-year-old is the only strawweight to finish Randa Markos in the octagon and has won all of her fights by stoppage. With how wide open the 115-pound division is right now, a win for either fighter could inch them closer to a title shot.

Jared Gordon (12-1) vs. Michel Quinones (8-1) – Welterweight matchup


Two UFC newcomers make their promotional debuts against each other as ‘Looking For a Fight” standout Gordon takes on American Top Team’s Quinones in the welterweight division.

Gordon (12-1) defeated Bill Algeo in his last fight at CFFC 63 in February to secure himself a UFC contract and is riding a three-fight win streak. The 28-year-old boasts five wins by knockout and is the former CFFC featherweight champion. Quinones (8-1) was slated to make his promotional debut in February at UFC Fight Night 105, but an injury forced him out of his matchup with Alexander Volkanovski. The 32-year-old, former I.T. specialist lone loss was to Bellator standout Brandon Girtz in 2012 and since then he’s won six-straight fights.

Main Card (PPV)

(c ) Stipe Miocic (16-2) vs. Junior dos Santos (18-4) – Heavyweight title
(c ) Joanna Jedrzejczyk (13-0) vs. Jessica Andrade (16-5) – Strawweight title
Demian Maia (24-6) vs. Jorge Masvidal (32-11)
Frankie Edgar (21-5-1) vs. Yair Rodriguez (10-1)
Henry Cejudo (10-2) vs. Sergio Pettis (15-2)

Preliminary Card: (FX)

Eddie Alvarez (28-5) vs. Dustin Poirier (21-5)
Jason Knight (16-2) vs. Chas Skelly (17-2)
David Branch (20-3) vs. Krzysztof Jotko (19-1)
Marco Polo Reyes (7-3) vs. James Vick (10-1)

Preliminary Card: (UFC Fight Pass)

Jessica Aguilar (19-5) vs. Cortney Casey (6-4)
Enrique Barzola (12-3-1) vs. Gabriel Benitez (19-5)
Jared Gordon (12-1) vs. Michael Quinones (8-1)
Rashad Coulter (8-1) vs. Chase Sherman (9-3)
Joachim Christensen (14-4) vs. Gadzhimurad Antigulov (19-4)