It's been over five years since the UFC held an event in the city of Charlotte, but following a fantastic pay-per-view in New Jersey, the promotion will travel south down to the great state of North Carolina. This is a fantastic card filled top to bottom with pay-per-view level talent and some amazing fights. In the main event, knockout specialist Jairzinho Rozenstruik will take on one of the most highly touted prospects the UFC has on the roster, Jailton Almeida. In the co-main event, former title challenger Anthony Smith will meet the always-entertaining Johnny Walker in what should be a wild and fun fight. Also on the card, Irish superstar Ian Garry will look to move to 4-0 in the UFC, against seasoned veteran Daniel Rodriguez. Carlos Ulberg and Ihor Potieira will throw down and UFC vets Tim Means and Alex Morono will meet in the main card opener.
This card is featuring a lot of talent in the prelims as well, with Matt Brown, Court McGee, Cody Stamman, Douglas Silva de Andrade, Natan Levy, Bryan Battle, and Jessica Rose-Clark all competing on the prelims.
Let's take a further look at the main card as it appears on Verdict.
Jailton Almeida has surged into the UFC's heavyweight rankings, despite just making his debut last year. This man has been really impressive thus far, bringing a new and modern style of mixed martial arts to the heavyweight division. Speed, athleticism, and legitimate grappling credentials are the name of Almeida's game, compared to the "swang and bang" style of traditional heavyweights from years past. This will be his first main event, against the toughest opponent of his career. Jairzinho Rozenstruik resembles the traditional style of UFC heavyweights, as he is primarily a knockout artist, with twelve of his thirteen wins coming by knockout. Rozenstruik will be a massive underdog in this fight, but one shot is all it takes for Jairzinho. Meanwhile, Almeida will look to enter the top ten of the division, which would set him up for some amazing fights down the line.
Anthony Smith will make his eighteenth UFC appearance this weekend against Johnny Walker in a fantastic co-main event. Smith has not fought since last summer when he suffered an injury against Magomed Ankalaev and is looking to get back on track against the streaking Walker. Walker is a Dana White's Contender Series alum and was a potential title challenger and future champion to many. But, unfortunately, after starting his UFC career out 3-0, he went 1-4 in his next five fights, with two of them ending by a knockout. Walker has since rebounded with two straight finishes over Ion Cutelaba and Paul Craig. A win over Anthony Smith could put Walker back in those "title hopeful" conversations, but a loss could really put an end to the level of hype he had earlier in his career.
Ian Garry will not be fighting on a pay-per-view card for the first time in his UFC career, but he still gets a main card spot against a tough, durable UFC veteran in Daniel Rodriguez. This will be the toughest test of his career, but a win will prove to everyone that Ian Garry is a legit contender in this weight class. D-Rod has what it takes to derail the hype of "The Future," and this is a fight a lot of fans are looking forward to on Saturday.
Two very intriguing light heavyweight prospects will look to move up the ladder this weekend. A win for either Carlos Ulberg or Ihot Potieria could mean a ranked opponent next if either man gets a win in dominant style. Two knockout artists who possess an extraordinary amount of power call for a finish on Saturday night. Ulberg, the City Kickboxing standout who also trains with UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya, is on a three-fight win streak and has just looked better and better inside the octagon. On the other hand, Potieria rebounded from his first UFC loss to score a huge knockout over UFC legend Shogun Rua. This one should be fireworks.
The main card opener will feature two UFC veterans that have a combined 43 fights inside the octagon. Tim Means and Alex Morono have both fought everyone in the welterweight division, but both are looking for a win to get back on track. Both fighters leave it all out in the octagon, so fans should expect a high-paced and exciting main card opener.