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Carneiro suffered a technical knockout loss to former champion Jose Aldo in his last outing, while Jung was on the receiving end of a knockout for the ages from Yair Rodriguez. Neither man can afford another setback. Carneiro-Jung qualifies as a high-stakes confrontation, with the winner reversing his trajectory and rejoining the line of contenders behind Ultimate Fighting Championship featherweight titleholder Max Holloway.
The co-headliner features a rematch between hard-hitting bantamweights John Lineker and Rob Font. They first met in May 2016, when Font was only three fights into his UFC career. Most expect the rematch to be far more competitive now that he has established more secure footing. Lineker, meanwhile, will enter the cage as a short-notice replacement for the injured Cody Stamann and attempt to rebound from an upset loss to Cory Sandhagen two months ago. A win could thrust Font into the Top 10 at 135 pounds for the first time, while Lineker wants to cement his position within the division and avoid back-to-back losses for the first time in nearly a decade.
Beyond the two marquee attractions, Bryan Barberena collides with Randy Brown in a dark horse candidate for “Fight of the Night.” Barberena last competed at UFC on ESPN 1 in February, when he succumbed to knees and punches from Vicente Luque but managed to raise his stock in defeat in one of the year’s best bouts. Brown has struggled to find consistency since joining the UFC roster and has not fought since he was knocked out by Niko Price in July. The “Lookin’ for a Fight” alum has enjoyed moments of promise but has not yet shown the kind of significant growth one would expect from an aspiring contender at 170 pounds.
MAKING THE LEAP
Andrea Lee and Montana De La Rosa enter their main-card booking with an eye toward the Top 10 at 125 pounds. Lee remains in search of her first finish in the UFC, while De La Rosa has yet to go the distance since joining the roster. All three of her wins inside the Octagon have come by submission. The Lee-De La Rosa winner figures to be in line for a significant opportunity.
Kevin Holland and Alessio Di Chirico face off in a battle between middleweight hopefuls riding two-fight winning streaks. Can they emerge from a group of up-and-comers in a revitalized weight class? Holland sports 12 finishes among his 14 victories, while Di Chirico has delivered nine of his 12 wins by knockout, technical knockout or submission. Both men escaped their most recent outings with split decisions.
In the featured prelim, Dan Ige toes the line against Kevin Aguilar in a matchup between high-upside Dana White’s Contender Series graduates who have yet to taste defeat in the UFC. The Ige-Aguilar winner could find himself in position to challenge a well-established opponent before the promotion closes the book on 2019. Makwan Amirkhani, anyone?
PROMISING PROSPECTS
After his stint on Season 27 of “The Ultimate Fighter,” Luis Pena has had mixed success in the UFC. A loss to Michael Trizano prompted him to entertain a one-fight detour to featherweight, where he promptly missed weight before outpointing Steven Peterson. Now back in his more natural weight class at 155 pounds and with his first UFC win under his belt, many expect Pena to start “putting it all together” under Javier Mendez at the American Kickboxing Academy. “Violent Bob Ross” draws the returning Matt Wiman on the undercard, as “Handsome Matt” competes for the first time since 2014.
Another American Kickboxing Academy representative will make his organizational debut on the prelims, as Deron Winn takes aim at short-notice replacement Eric Spicely. Winn excelled as an amateur wrestler, winning two national championships at St. Louis Community College-Meramec and earning All-America honors at Lindenwood University. Winn owns a 5-0 record in MMA, with four of his five wins resulting in finishes.
Jairzinho Rozenstruik, his resume highlighted by a second-round knockout of Junior Albini in his UFC debut, carries his undefeated record into an undercard scrap with fellow heavyweight hopeful Allen Crowder. Rozenstruik, a fluid and explosive striker, showed the ability to work his way out of submission attempts and takedowns against Albini. A win here could put him on the map as a prospect to watch in a heavyweight division virtually devoid of young talent.