UFC 174 Fight Card: How to Watch Preliminary Bouts
UFC flyweight champion Demetrious "Mighty Mouse" Johnson's title defense against Ali Bagautinov is the featured attraction on Saturday night in Vancouver, British Columbia, but before that scrap and the rest of the main card begins, the preliminary bouts will take center stage.
There are two bouts available on the UFC Fight Pass, and four more will broadcast on FX before the main card gets underway.
Here's a look at the schedule for the entire event.
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| Matchup | Weight Class |
| Jason Saggo vs. Josh Shockley | Lightweight |
| Roland Delorme vs. Michinori Tanaka | Bantamweight |
| Kajan Johnson vs. Tae Hyun Bang | Lightweight |
| Yves Jabouin vs. Mike Easton | Bantamweight |
| Valerie Letourneau vs. Elizabeth Phillips | Women's Bantamweight |
| Daniel Sarafian vs. Kiichi Kunimoto | Welterweight |
| Ovince Saint Preux vs. Ryan Jimmo | Light Heavyweight |
| Andrei Arlovski vs. Brendan Schaub | Heavyweight |
| Ryan Bader vs. Rafael Cavalcante | Light Heavyweight |
| Rory MacDonald vs. Tyron Woodley | Welterweight |
| (c) Demetrious Johnson vs. Ali Bagautinov | Flyweight Championship |
There are two particularly interesting fights on tap for the FX audience.
Mike "The Hulk" Easton vs. Yves Jabouin
The Hulk was seemingly on his way toward a title shot, but he's hit a tough stretch in his career and is in desperate need of a win.
Having lost three fights in a row, Easton should be fighting with a great sense of urgency on Saturday night. He tweeted this image just before weigh-ins and looked to be in great physical condition.
Jabouin is no slouch.
The 35-year-old veteran from Haiti is 4-2 in the UFC, but those two losses came against high-level fighters in Brad Pickett and Eddie Wineland.
He's positioning himself as a bit of a gatekeeper in the bantamweight division. If Easton wants to pass through, he has to win on Saturday night.
Daniel Sarafian vs. Kiichi Kunimoto
Both Sarafian and Kunimoto have a lot to prove. Sarafian is 1-2 in the UFC, but his losses to Cezar Ferreira and C.B. Dollaway were split-decision results and very close fights.
He needs to prove he can ascend back up the ladder to face another stiff test from a known fighter.
Kunimoto made an underwhelming debut in the UFC in January against Luiz Jorge Dutra Jr. Kunimoto won, but the victory came via disqualification after Dutra landed illegal elbows to his head.
Dutra was in control of the fight and had hurt Kunimoto, but he became overly excited and threw a 12-to-6 elbow that got him disqualified.
He was sorry for the infraction, but felt that Kunimoto played up the results of the illegal strike. Per Christian Stein and Dann Stupp of MMA Junkie, Dutra said:
"He exaggerated for a fact. As I see it, he could have returned. He didn’t return, I believe, because I was making things hard for him since I figured him out. ... In truth, he played it up to some extent. But there’s no room for opinion because the rule is clear: Strikes to the back of the head are illegal. My intent was to soften him up after I stifled his takedown attempt. I made a mistake.
"
We'll never know if there was any truth to Dutra's claims, but we do know that Kunimoto needs an impressive performance against Sarafian if he hopes to impress fans and UFC matchmakers.
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