9. Jussier da Silva vs. Ben Nguyen
UFC 221 “Romero vs. Rockhold”
Feb. 10 | Perth, Australia
Like all other flyweights, da Silva and Nguyen find themselves dwarfed by the historic shadow of longtime champion Demetrious Johnson. Nevertheless, the two 125-pound standouts will collide in a high-stakes undercard battle Down Under, with the winner perhaps joining a short list of potential contenders for Johnson’s throne. Da Silva throttled Yuta Sasaki in September and owns a 6-4 mark under the UFC flag. His losses have come against John Dodson, Joseph Benavidez, Henry Cejudo and Ray Borg, all four of whom have tried and failed to unseat “Mighty Mouse” at least once. Ngyuen last appeared at UFC Fight Night 110 on June 11, when he needed less than a minute to submit Tim Elliott with a rear-naked choke. The 29-year-old South Dakota native has won 11 of his last 12 fights.

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