Originally scheduled to face each other for the second time in February, an injury to Velasquez scrapped the bout, and heavyweight history was ultimately altered, as Werdum went on to lose the belt he took from Velasquez in June of 2015 to Stipe Miocic at UFC 198 in May.

Since that bout, Brazil’s Werdum bounced back with a three round unanimous decision over Travis Browne in September that cemented his No. 1 ranking atop the division. But while Werdum is seeking a championship rematch with Miocic, he first has business to settle with the No. 2-ranked Velasquez.

A two-time heavyweight champion, California’s Velasquez bounced back from his defeat to Werdum with a Performance of the Night knockout of Browne at UFC 200 in July. And in December, he not only wants to earn a crack at the belt and the opportunity to join Randy Couture as the only fighters in UFC history to win the heavyweight championship three times, but to avenge the second loss of his career against the man who submitted him at UFC 188.

UFC 207, which is headlined by the UFC women’s bantamweight championship bout between Amanda Nunes and Ronda Rousey, airs live on Pay-Per-View.

Kelvin Gastelum promises that when he walks into the Octagon at Madison Square Garden for his UFC 205 bout against Donald Cerrone that he will be better.

Better than what? Well, according to the welterweight contender, better than a stellar performance against former world champion Johny Hendricks at UFC 200 in July.

“I did pretty well on probably the worst night of my life,” he said of the Hendricks fight, which he won via shutout decision on two of the three judges’ scorecards. “It really was a horrible experience, a horrible weekend.”

“I’m looking to have a great night on November 12th.”

The former Ultimate Fighter winner does have that great night potential, and he’s shown flashes of brilliance since coming off the reality show in 2013. Winner of seven of his nine UFC bouts, with his only defeats being split decisions against Neil Magny and current welterweight champ Tyron Woodley, Gastelum has grown up in public, and at 24, he’s a different fighter and man than he was three years ago.

“It’s been crazy,” he said of his UFC journey. “It’s been a ride of mainly just growth. I’ve done a lot of growing and maturing. When I got on the show I was 21 and didn’t know much about anything. Now I’ve been able to travel around the world, learn a few things, so it’s taken a complete 180 turn. Sometimes I surprise myself by how much I’ve changed.”

And though he doesn’t mark the Hendricks win as one of his great moments, he does realize that having to go through the hype and attention of being on the UFC 200 card will help him in the lead-up to UFC 205.

“It definitely does help me but, at the same time, I’ve envisioned this a million times in my head,” Gastelum said. “This is in my head, this is all supposed to happen, so it just comes naturally. My reaction to it is just like, ‘Hmm, this is supposed to happen for me.’ Or at least I think so.”

And against the surging Cerrone, he has the perfect dance partner to not only possibly pick up some bonus money, but to make his case for a world title shot.

“This fight, for me, I have to make a statement because I feel like now is the time where I start to define myself as a contender,” he said. “I’m never gonna be younger than now. I’m young, I’m quick and I’m only getting better, so I need to prove to myself that I can beat the elite guys in order for me to know that I can be champion.”

Having Woodley defending his crown against Thompson on the same night as he fights Cerrone is also a perfect storm, as fans will likely clamor for the winners of both bouts to eventually meet. Gastelum likes that idea.

“This is the perfect scenario,” he said. “I go in there and I make a statement and I win, and they go fight for the title, and they’ll put two and two together hopefully and say, ‘That guy can fight next for the title.’ And absolutely, I will take it.”

Former UFC Light Heavyweight champion Rashad Evans calls in to discuss his Middleweight debut at UFC 205 versus Tim Kennedy in NYC, comebacks in MMA, Rumble Johnson, Michael Bisping, blocking people on Twitter, depression after losses, and a lot more. Also, Aljo Sterling joins Jim and Matt in studio to talk about his fight against Raphael Assuncao in Albany on December 9, growing up with 19 brothers and sisters, and learning from his loss to Bryan Caraway.

Some of the highlights from Episode 36 of UFC Unfiltered include:

Rashad is happy to be on the UFC 205 card at MSG

Losing doesn’t make you less of a man

Rashad on the loss to Glover Teixeira

Aljo is looking for a TKO against Assuncao

1693
Days the UFC flyweight division has been in existence since its inception on March 3, 2012

4
UFC fighters – Joseph Benavidez, Demetrious Johnson, Ian McCall and Yasuhiro Urushitani – kicked off the new division at UFC on FX: Alves vs. Kampmann in a tournament to decide the inaugural champion

152
The UFC event where tournament finalists Johnson and Benavidez battled to a split decision to decide the first UFC flyweight champion

1
UFC flyweight champion has held the belt since then – Demetrious “Mighty Mouse” Johnson

117
UFC flyweight fights have occurred

27
KO/TKOs

22
Submissions

10
Fight of the Night bonuses awarded

3
Knockout of the Night bonuses awarded – Joseph Benavidez, John Dodson and Demetrious Johnson

2
Submission of the Night bonuses awarded – John Moraga and Demetrious Johnson

10
Performance of the Night bonuses awarded – Joseph Benavidez, Ray Borg (2x), Demetrious Johnson (2x), Brandon Moreno, Neil Seery, Fredy Serrano, Louis Smolka (2x)

1
Current ranking of Demetrious Johnson on the UFC pound-for-pound list

10
Wins by Mighty Mouse as a UFC flyweight, most in UFC flyweight history and 2nd longest active UFC win streak behind Jon Jones’ 13

8
Consecutive/successful UFC flyweight title defenses by Johnson, tied for 3rd with Jon Jones for most consecutive/successful UFC title defenses behind Georges St-Pierre’s 9 and Anderson Silva’s 10

3:11:08
Octagon time by Mighty Mouse at 125 pounds, most in UFC flyweight history

2:49
Time into the bout when Mighty Mouse scored a knockout via knees and punches against Henry Cejudo at UFC 197

24:59
Time into the fight when Johnson slapped on an armbar on Kyoji Horiguchi to force the tap at UFC 186, latest finish of any kind in UFC history

778
Significant strikes landed by Johnson, most in UFC flyweight history and 9th most among active UFC fighters

55.9
Significant striking accuracy percentage by Johnson, best in UFC flyweight history

43
Takedowns by Johnson, most in UFC flyweight history

10+
Takedowns by Mighty Mouse in three different UFC bouts, only UFC fighter to do so

24
The Ultimate Fighter season where 16 of the best flyweights from outside of the UFC are competing for a shot at current UFC flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson. Plus, former title contenders and rival coaches Joseph Benavidez and Henry Cejudo will meet each other at the finale

100
Percentage of the first eight fights on TUF 24 that have ended in a finish

6
Of those finishes came by submission, including two in the first round

2
Of those finishes came by knockout, including the 29-second KO by Kai Kara-France

9
Days notice that TUF 24’s Brandon Moreno had when making his Octagon debut against Louis Smolka at UFC Fight Night: Lineker vs. Dodson

143
Seconds it took for Moreno to secure a guillotine choke of the top ranked Smolka, which earned Moreno a Performance of the Night bonus and gave instant credibility to the TUF 24 tournament

1
Current ranking of Joseph Benavidez as a UFC flyweight

2:04:24
Octagon time by Benavidez as a UFC flyweight, 2nd most in UFC flyweight history

9
Wins by Benavidez as a flyweight, 2nd most in UFC flyweight history

6
Of Benavidez’s wins came over currently top 15 ranked UFC flyweights – Ali Bagautinov, Jussier Formiga, Zach Makovsky, Ian McCall, John Moraga and Dustin Ortiz

5
Fight active win streak by Benavidez, 2nd best among active UFC flyweights to Johnson’s 10

4
Knockdowns by Benavidez as a flyweight, 3rd most in UFC flyweight history behind John Dodson’s 6 and John Lineker’s 7

480
Significant strikes landed by Benavidez as a flyweight, 2nd most in UFC flyweight history

3.86
Significant strikes landed per minute rate by Benavidez as a flyweight, 5th best in UFC flyweight history (min. 5 fights)

61.3
Significant striking defense percentage by Benavidez as a flyweight, 9th best in UFC flyweight history (min. 5 fights and 350 opp. att.)

73.2
Takedown defense percentage by Benavidez as a flyweight, 6th best in UFC flyweight history (min. 5 fights and 20 opp. att.)

2
Current ranking of Henry Cejudo as a UFC flyweight

10
Wins and 1 loss by Cejudo across his pro career, lone loss against Johnson for the title at UFC 197

4
Wins by Cejudo inside the Octagon

227-120
Significant strikes landed to absorbed by Cejudo across his four UFC wins

3.71
Significant strikes landed per minute rate by Cejudo, UFC average is 2.83

71
Significant striking defense percentage by Cejudo, UFC average is 58%

10
Takedowns by Cejudo inside the Octagon

0
Times Cejudo has been taken down in the UFC

2.39
Takedown average per 15 minutes of fighting by Cejudo, UFC average is 1.75

21
Years old – the age Cejudo was when he won the gold medal at the 2008 Olympic Games, becoming (as of that date) the youngest U.S. wrestler to win an Olympic gold medal

For more than 50 years, the loyal, passionate fans in the area had endured a handful of near misses and an abundance of “not even close” seasons on the diamond, the hardwood and the gridiron, and as he ascended the heavyweight rankings, it always seemed like being able to bring UFC gold back to “The Land” was as important to Miocic as earning the championship victory would be for himself.

In May, the mild mannered knockout artist turned his dream into a reality, knocking out Fabricio Werdum in Curitiba, Brazil to close out UFC 198 and give Cleveland its first sports championship in more than half a century.

A few days later, Miocic appeared at a Cleveland Cavaliers playoff game, brandishing his new belt and sending the already electrified crowd into hysterics as he implored LeBron James & Co. to follow his lead and win the NBA title, which they did. When it came time for the Cavs victory parade, there was Miocic, smiling ear-to-ear, snap-back turned backwards, shiny gold belt on his shoulder, loving every minute of it and pumped to see his city finally getting to experience championship success.

For an encore, Miocic brought the UFC home with him, as his first title defense against Alistair Overeem headlined UFC 203, the organization’s inaugural event in Cleveland, in mid-September. Those in attendance throughout the week left no doubt whom their favorite fighter on the bill was, as Miocic was greeted by applause and ovations at every event leading up to fight night and when he walked through the curtain in “The Q” with Machine Gun Kelly’s “Til I Die” bumping through the in-house sound system, the place went nuts.

“The whole week was awesome,” Miocic said of fighting at home. “Going out to eat, knowing where we’re going, knowing where we’re at, knowing we’re close to home – it was awesome. I was nervous, but not in bad ways; I didn’t want to let anyone down. It was awesome to be home.

“It was crazy,” he added in regards to the raucous ovation he received on his walk to the Octagon. “I was expecting it was going to be like that and it was nuts. It’s a feeling I’ll never forget and an experience I’ll never forget and I appreciate that.”

While fans often think of fighting at home as a major plus for UFC athletes, many of the men and women that step into the eight-sided proving ground will tell you that they prefer road games, as competing close to home often comes with far more requests, either from the media, friends and family or long lost high school acquaintances who “will be happy with two seats anywhere” because they just want to be there to support you, old buddy.

For Miocic, the positives greatly outweighed the negatives and the close group around him helped make everything easy. Plus, getting dropped early in the first round on his home turf helped shake out any of the cobwebs and get him back on track as well.

“There’s a little bit of pressure, of course, but I took it in stride and it was no big deal,” the 34-year-old champion admitted. “I have great coaches, an amazing wife and family that have my back, so I was good to go. I got hit with that first shot and I think I was fine after that.”

That first clean shot Overeem landed sucked the air out of the Quicken Loans Arena, as Miocic dropped to the canvas and the challenger swarmed, looking for the finish. It was the first time the Ohio native had been dropped since his close duel with Junior Dos Santos and it briefly looked like the chaos that had consumed a number of champions earlier in the year would get the best of Miocic as well.

But he weathered the storm and avoided a guillotine choke attempt, eventually returning to his feet, resetting and going on the offensive himself, earning the stoppage win with just over 30 seconds remaining in the opening frame.

“He came in with a kick and came back around and I kind of squared up, kept my hands down and got crushed with that left,” Miocic said, recalling the blow that put him on his backside. But rather than dwell on the defensive error that got him dropped, the now 16-2 heavyweight kingpin is focusing on the fact that he didn’t get stopped and was still able to rally back and collect the victory before the horn sounded to end the opening round.

“I think about those things, definitely, and you’ve got to evolve as a fighter every day,” offered the Strong Style Fight Team standout. “So I’m doing that – watching the film and continuing to work on stuff. No matter what, there are things you can still work on. We’ll find something – every camp and every time I train, I try to get better every time.”

As of right now, there is no timetable set for the champion’s return. After earning a trio of victories and headlining a pair of successful Pay-Per-View events – one on the road, one at home – the newly married champion has earned a little down time, but he doesn’t plan on being away too long.

“I’m a little beat up and tired, so (the organization is okay with me taking a little break),” he said. “Hopefully sometime in the spring would be great. I’m not trying to take a whole year off like some of those other guys, but after four, five months to myself, I’ll be ready to go.”

And his plans going forward haven’t changed either.

“Keep winning; keep that belt for a long time,” he answered when asked what he can do for an encore in 2017. “Like I said after the fight, I’m not giving that thing up for a long time.”

UFC 207, which is headlined by the UFC women’s bantamweight championship bout between Amanda Nunes and Ronda Rousey, airs live on Pay-Per-View from T-Mobile arena.

Looking to get back in the race to regain his 170-pound title, the No. 7-ranked Hendricks is eager to return to the form that took him to the top of the division in 2014, and a win over the No. 9-ranked Magny, who is 10-2 in his last dozen bouts, is a step in the right direction for „Bigg Rigg.“

Also seeking a return to the win column is Ohio’s Brown, an all-action battler who is always willing to fight the best in the world at anytime. He will get his wish when he faces Saffiedine, a fellow contender who has emerged victorious in six of his last eight.

Stay tuned to UFC.com for more fight card announcements.

The UFC Fight Night event, which is headlined by the strawweight bout between Paige VanZant and Michelle Waterson, will air live on FOX. Tickets go on sale on October 28.

Currently ranked seventh in the world in the bantamweight division, former WEC featherweight champion Faber is a pioneer for the lighter weight classes in MMA, but this December, he is intent on proving that he still has another title run left in him. The goal is similar for England’s „One Punch“ Pickett, and after going 1-1 thus far in 2016, he wants to end the year with a win in the backyard of „The California Kid.“