Tonight’s big event takes place from the Quickens Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio, with the FS1 Prelims having a start time of 8 p.m. ET, and the Main Card having a start time of 10 p.m. ET. So if you haven’t booked a flight yet, you will probably need to settle in to watch it from home.
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Despite a looming suspension, Jones opened the door to a jump to heavyweight when he told a fan on Twitter that he buys the hype behind Miocic following the champion’s first round knockout of Alistair Overeem on Saturday at UFC 203. Miocic is 3-1 in fights that go to decision, and Overeem is 4-3. Overeem has this weird jog that he uses to get out of trouble. The next-highest accuracy rate is 60.6 percent, by Josh Barnett.
From pretty much the moment that Jon Jones first captured the light heavyweight title, he has been hinting – if not outwardly stating – that a move to the heavyweight division was all but inevitable.
Miocic is the slightest of favorites, though the betting odds for his fight with Overeem are nearly even. He is No. 4 in ESPN’s rankings.
Stipe Miocic will hold the first defense of the title against Alistayra Overeem.
Also on the main card, Fabricio Werdum, who lost the heavyweight title to Miocic at UFC 198 in May, is a -225 favorite against +175 underdog Travis Browne on the UFC 203 betting lines. Punk will join notable athletes such as Brock Lesnar, Alberto Del Rio, Ken Shamrock and Dan Severn in competing in MMA and professional wrestling.
Miocic said following UFC 203 that he would like to take some time off after going through back-to-back fight camps. However, to Browne’s credit, he continued to fight despite the injury. Urijah Faber goes head-to-head against Jimmie Rivera in a bantamweight match.
Faber is 33-9 (9-5 UFC) and has nine wins by knockout, 17 by submission. He is now on a two-fight losing streak. Rivera could be just one big win away from a title opportunity.
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Here is a quick breakdown along with some predictions for each fight on the main card. Miocic is the current champion but Overeem is a very good striker and has won his last four on the bounce so he has great momentum. He’s become a more patient fighter who picks his shots.
