UFC on ESPN 51 Fight Card: Former UFC Champion Returns

After a couple of weeks of traveling and two successful sold-out events, the UFC returns to the APEX in Las Vegas. The card for this week's event is quite diverse and we will see a little bit of everything. Here is the UFC on ESPN 51 fight card.

UFC on ESPN 51 Fight Card: Everything You Need to Know

As expected, the UFC fight card tonight is stacked with all the names you have never heard before, and some well-known veterans to sell it to the dedicated fans. This does not mean that it will be a bad one, instead, this is our best chance to see the potential in the roster. We also love all the veterans – they deserve our respect.

Starting off with the prelims, we have some low-level fights with names that have to prove themselves. TUF 31 winner Juliana Miller will face Luana Santos in the opening bout. Together, they share about 10 professional fights in total, so we really don't know what to expect. We can only say that Miller really did win the Ultimate Fighter recently.

In the second female bout of the evening, we have a couple of impressive ladies that have a lot to prove. Jaqueline Amorim vs Montserrat Conejo will be an interesting one because both fighters lost their last matches. Amorim lost her debut in the UFC and Montserrat has not fought in two years.

A little later, Josh Parisian will face Martin Buday in the heavyweight division. We love Parisian but there isn't much that can be said about him. He has failed to establish himself in the UFC and alternates between wins and defeats. His opponent, however, is on an 11-bout win streak and he won his three fights in the UFC to date.

In another interesting bout from the prelims of the UFC on ESPN 51 fight card, we will see Terrance McKinney face Mike Breeden. McKinney made an incredible debut a couple of years ago but since then, he has lost three out of four. This is his best chance for a rebound as Mike Breeden has not fought in more than a year and a half.

UFC on ESPN 51 Co-Main and Main Events

The finishing bouts from UFC on ESPN 51 fight card are all about the veterans. First off, Cub Swanson returns to the UFC against Hakeem Dawodu.

Swanson is at an interesting stage in his career. After he fought 33 times in the Featherweight division, he decided to drop down to Bantamweight and unfortunately lost. He is now back here, at 39 years old, and won three out of four fights in this weight class. Perhaps he has a chance against the significantly younger Hakeem Dawodu, who is also coming from a loss, which happened almost a year ago.

In the main event of the UFC on ESPN 51 fight card, we have a battle between two extremely experienced warriors. Rafael Dos Anjos, former UFC Lightweight Champion, and former Welterweight contender, returns to the octagon for the 47th time and will face Vicente Luque, a fighter that still has a lot to prove.

Dos Anjos is at the end of his career but he remains a ranked fighter in the Welterweight division. He has been in the UFC since 2008 and is one of the most loved fighters on the roaster. Despite his age, he remains extremely competitive and we think that he has a chance.

On the other end, Vicente Luque is just 31 years old and he has time to revive his career. He lost twice in a row and is at risk of losing his Top 10 position. Since joining the UFC, he has a 14-4 record and was well on his way to the title before losing to Belal Muhammad and Geoff Neal.

UFC on ESPN 51 Main Card

• Welterweight: Vicente Luque (21-9-1) vs Rafael Dos Anjos (32-14-0)
• Featherweight: Cub Swanson (28-13-0) vs Hakeem Dawodu (13-3-1)
• Light Heavyweight: Khalil Rountree Jr. (12-5-0) vs Chris Daukaus (12-6-0)
• Women's Strawweight: Polyana Viana (13-5-0) vs Iasmin Lucindo (14-5-0)
• Middleweight: AJ Dobson (6-2-0) vs Tafon Nchukwi (6-3-0)
• Middleweight: Josh Fremd (10-4-0) vs Jamie Pickett (13-9-0)

UFC on ESPN 51 Prelims

• Bantamweight: JP Buys (9-5-0) vs Marcus McGhee (7-1-0)
• Lightweight: Terrance McKinney (13-6-0) vs Mike Breeden (10-5-0)
• Featherweight: Francis Marshall (7-1-0) vs Isaac Dulgarian (5-0-0)
• Heavyweight: Josh Parisian (15-6-0) vs Martin Buday (12-1-0)
• Women's Strawweight: Jaqueline Amorim (6-1-0) vs Montserrat Conejo (10-2-0)
• Bantamweight: Da'Mon Blackshear (13-5-1) vs Jose Johnson (15-7-0)
• Women's Flyweight: Juliana Miller (4-2-0) vs Luana Santos (5-1-0)

UFC Fight Card Tonight: Match Ups to Watch Out For

Besides the co-main and main events of the UFC on ESPN 51 fight card, there are some solid bouts in the main card. Klalil Rountree Jr. will face Chris Daukaus in a massive heavyweight bout and we expect a wild one here.

Rountree has finally found his form and is on the first three-win streak in his career and he will have to test his skills against one of the struggling fighters in the division. Daukaus lost three in a row and probably has one final chance to make it right.

All in all, we definitely believe that the UFC on ESPN 51 fight card is worth watching and there will definitely be action.