Break out the chicken-bone crosses.
Fight fans have to be pulling out all the stops to keep UFC 194 from falling victim to the injury jinx.
It's a card seemingly growing stronger by the day, and on Friday the UFC added another mouth-watering contest to an already-loaded lineup when it announced that Demian Maia and Gunnar Nelson—the two best grapplers in the welterweight division, if not the entire promotion—will meet at the Dec. 12 event.
Team at @BR_MMA was making a list of the fights we are most looking forward to in 2015. Gunnar Nelson vs. Maia just lept to the top of mine.
— Jonathan Snowden (@JESnowden) September 4, 2015
The news was reported Friday by MMA Junkie.
Nelson (14-1-1) is coming off a masterful first-round submission of Brandon Thatch in July. It was the 10th submission win for the 27-year-old Iceland native since he entered pro MMA.
In 2015, Maia (21-6) dispelled any notion that, at age 37, he was ready to hang up his gloves. In March, the fourth-degree Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt and former grappling world champion handed Ryan LaFlare the first loss of LaFlare's career. Then, in August, Maia dominated Neil Magny—who had won his last seven straight—before garnering a second-round chokeout win.
MMA fans have to hope that this card avoids the dreaded injury bug and stays at least relatively intact, given the star and firepower up and down the card. Look on the bright side
UFC 194 is headlined by a featherweight title-unification bout between interim champ Conor McGregor and lineal champ Jose Aldo.
In the co-main event, Luke Rockhold challenges Chris Weidman for the UFC middleweight strap while, one fight below, Ronaldo Souza and Yoel Romero battle for a likely shot at the winner.
Other bouts reportedly agreed on and announced Friday for UFC 194 include a battle between noted featherweight strikers Max Holloway and Jeremy Stephens, and the return of Urijah Faber in a bout with Frankie Saenz.
Of all the recent fight announcements, however, Nelson vs. Maia may be the most tantalizing. Fans have been clamoring for this elite-level grappling match for years. It was originally scheduled to take place at UFC Fight Night 76 but was put on hold after Maia suffered a staph infection.
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