Video
ROAD TO THE OCTAGON
Follow six UFC stars as they prepare for battle at UFC Chicago
Former women's bantamweight champion Holly Holm leads a cast of hungry contenders looking to make their mark at UFC on FOX in Chicago
MANY believed that after her spectacular knockout of Ronda Rousey at UFC 193, Holly Holm would reign supreme at the top of the UFC's women's bantamweight division.
But things can change very quickly in mixed martial arts, and Holm lost her title in her very first defence, as Miesha Tate survived Holm's elite-level kickboxing until the final round, when she slapped on a late submission to rip the belt away from 'The Preacher's Daughter.
7
Now Holm is back, looking to propel herself back to the top of the division and reclaim the title once again.
She takes on Kyrgyzstan's former kickboxer Valentina 'Bullet' Shevchenko at UFC on FOX in Chicago this weekend in what promises to be an exciting battle between two of the division's best natural strikers.
7
Shevchenko went the distance with Brazilian Amanda Nunes, who subsequently went on to defeat Tate for the title at UFC 200. Shevchenko started slowly in that bout and, had there been a fourth and fifth round, may well have taken the win against the tiring Nunes.
Now she faces the biggest test of her career against former three-sport world champion Holm, who has held belts in boxing, kickboxing and MMA.
7
The night's co-main event sees a battle between two of the most exciting lightweights in the UFC, as Edson Barboza welcomes the returning Gilbert Melendez to the Octagon.
Former Strikeforce champion Melendez is currently riding a two-fight losing streak and makes his return to action after a one-year doping ban.
7
And 'El Nino' certainly hasn't been given an gimme fight to ease himself back in, because Edson Barboza is in the best form of his career.
Barboza lost out to Tony Ferguson in a wild fight last December, but looked very impressive during that bout before finally succumbing to a Ferguson submission.
7
But the Brazilian came storming back in his last outing to defeat former lightweight world champion Anthony 'Showtime' Pettis at UFC 197.
Widely regarded as one of the most dangerous kickers in the game, Barboza will be looking to add another former world champion to his CV as he bids to move one step closer to a UFC title shot.
UFC on FOX: Fight Card
Holly Holm v Valentina Shevchenko
Edson Barboza v Gilbert Melendez
Francis Ngannou v Bojan Mihajlovic
Felice Herrig v Kailin Curran
Frankie Saenz v Eddie Wineland
Darren Elkins v Godofredo Pepey
Kamaru Usman v Alexander Yakovlev
Michel Prazeres v JC Cottrell
Alex Oliveira v James Moontasri
Hector Urbina v George Sullivan
Jim Alers v Jason Knight
Luis Henrique v Dmitry Smolyakov
The other featured main card bout of the night sees strawweights Felice Herrig and Kailin Curran look to push themselves up the 115lb rankings.
7
MMA veteran Herrig has been out of action since her defeat to Paige VanZant in April 2015, but now the former kickboxer is back in action and looking to kickstart her UFC career with victory over Hawaii's Curran.Twenty-five-year-old Curran had a tough introduction to the UFC, losing her opening two contests to Paige VanZant and Alex Chambers.
7
But a submission victory over Emily Kagan at UFC Vegas last December gave Curran her first win inside the Octagon.
And she'll be looking to make it back-to-back victories in the UFC with a win over the seasoned Herrig on Saturday night in Chicago.
Watch UFC on FOX: Holm v Shevchenko live on BT Sport 2 on Saturday night. The prelims kick off at 11pm, with the main card following live at 1am.
Latest MMA stories
Topics