Without farewell to Belfort, UFC St. Louis opens 2018 calendar in a melancholy mood

Stephens (left) and Choi (right) face each other this Sunday. Photo: Reproduction / Twitter UFC Brasil

Ultimate opens the 2018 calendar in a melancholy mood this Sunday (14). UFC Fight Night St. Louis, the franchise's first event of the year, would highlight UFC's farewell fight. Vitor belfort. But Uriah Hall he had problems cutting weight and the fight ended up being cancelled. As a result, the show may have lost much of its shine for the Brazilian public.

Even with Belfort's absence, the fight program features 11 duels, two Brazilians in action and highlights the featherweight dispute between Doo Ho Choi and Jeremy Stephens as the main attraction.

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Brazil will be represented at UFC St. Louis by women: Kalindra Faria, the country's best athlete ranked at flyweight, will try to recover from a defeat in her UFC debut when she faces Jessica Eye in the preliminary portion. Bantamweight Talita Bernardo is in a similar situation and is looking for her first UFC victory against the Mexican Irene aldana. The welterweight Thiago Pitbull was going to face Zak Cummings, but his opponent slipped in the bathroom during the weight cut and got injured – the fight was cancelled.

Finally, two ranked in their categories will change categories in search of better days – Michael Johnson featherweight debut against Darren Elkins, after a good spell at lightweight; while the muse paige vanzant will make her first fight at flyweight after losing at strawweight – the American will face Jessica Rose-Clark.

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The main fight

Looking for a shot at the featherweight belt, Doo Ho Choi and Jeremy Stephens promise an eventful duel. The South Korean comes from a defeat to Cub swanson, in a fight that was voted the most exciting of 2016. Jeremy Stephens, in turn, achieved one of the biggest victories of his career by overcoming former Strikeforce lightweight champion Gilbert Melendez.

With the triumph, “Lil' Heathen” repositioned himself towards a title fight among featherweights. If he gets past the “Korean Superboy”, Stephens could be close to a rematch with the champion Max Holloway. Choi, in turn, is racing against time – he wants a title shot before having to leave for two years due to mandatory military service in South Korea. Who will get there first?

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Brazilians in action

Kalindra will have a new opportunity (Photo: Reproduction/Facebook UFC)

Promises of Brazilian MMA in bantamweight and flyweight, Talita Bernardo and Kalindra Faria did not have good debuts in Ultimate. But UFC St. Louis brings a chance at redemption for both of them. Bernardo, who debuted with little preparation time and fought hard in the defeat to Marion Reneau, faces the dangerous Mexican Irene aldana, known for her remarkable stint at Invicta FC before signing with the UFC. A victory could put the Brazilian in the rankings.

Kalindra was ranked despite losing to Mara Romero Borella in his first fight. Therefore, a triumph before Jessica Eye, former bantamweight fighter and well-known name within the UFC, could place her close to the top-5 in the category and with her eye on the belt held by inaugural champion Nicco Montaño.

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