By Alex Dillon
@ADillon__This weekend plays host to the final UFC fight card of the year as Lyoto Machida takes on C.B Dolloway in Barueri, Brazil. Former bantamweight champion Renan Barao also features in the co-main event against Mitch Gagnon as he looks to end 2014 on a good note following a disastrous year.
Here are the three fights you DO NOT want to miss from the card.
Lyoto Machida (21-5) vs C.B Dolloway (15-5)
The main event may be a pretty obvious inclusion this week. In actual fact, many believe this could end up being a boring affair due to Machida's elusive style and Dolloway's decision winning percentage whilst others believe it will be a walk in the park for Machida due to his skill set. Dolloway previously upset Francis Carmont in his last fight so don't be so quick to rule out that happening again. For Machida, this fight is a test for him to see if he can get back up to being a contender in the Middleweight division as now, there are arguably three to four guys ahead of him in the pecking order and he's not getting any younger. For Dolloway, a win would present a huge scalp for the massive underdog and ultimately propel him to a fight with one of the big contenders in the division. This fight will surprise people and light up the card.
Renan Barao (32-2) vs Mitch Gagnon (12-2)
Much like the main event, this co-main event has a heavy favourite and huge underdog. This is clearly down to the fact that Barao is the former bantamweight champion looking to end a very rough 2014 and many believe Gagnon is being fed to the wolves. Of course that's believable as credentials would suggest Barao is light years ahead of Gagnon but we've seen this scenario plenty times before in the UFC. Yes Barao is the former champ, a killer and a finisher but Gagnon also brings a finishing pedigree to the table, with a four fight winning streak and 11 of his 12 wins coming via submission it's hard not to give the Canadian a chance. With both fighters being finishers, this one has Fight of the Night all over it and Mitch Gagnon could end up shocking viewers come fight night especially with high stakes on the line for Barao. If he gets carried away can Gagnon take advantage of that? you bet.
Erick Silva (16-5) vs Mike Rhodes (6-3)
This weeks edition of three fights to watch might as well be 'huge mismatches'. On paper maybe that's how the card looks but anything can happen on MMA. This fight is another one where the favourite and underdog are both heavy in their own right. Brazilian Silva has showed promise so far in his UFC career but ultimately keeps on falling against the big names. The booking of this fight would suggest the UFC are desperate to get him on a win streak given Rhodes is 0-2 in his UFC career. Rhodes is a Roufusport product training alongside the likes of Anthony & Sergio Pettis and Ben Askren but has failed to light up the UFC since his arrival and is arguably on his last chance against Silva. A tough feat indeed but not an impossible one. Both fighters are more or less fighting for their UFC careers which makes this one to watch for sure come Saturday night. Cannot see this being boring one bit. Expect these two to come out and put it all on the line in Brazil!
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