On 3 May the Octagon arrives in des Moines where a potential fight of the night candidate has different ties with Conor McGregor.
Jeremy Stephens returns to the UFC in a shocking movement that will see the 51-Fight veteran who will compete in the main card opener for his hometown fans.
'Lil Heathen' has recently undergone a career birth birth in BKFC, where his history with 'The Notorious' could have led to a collision between Stephens and McGregor.
His opponent on Saturday evening will also be a former UFC hunter who is back on the Roster after a while with former lightweight Prospect Mason Jones who returns to 30-year-old.
Before the first run of the Welshman in the promotion, he made his name in the European stage by replicating the performance of two of the best hunters that the VK and Ireland have ever produced.
Mason Jones followed in the footsteps of Conor McGregor and then Hardy by becoming a champion in Cage Warriors
After getting 8-0 in his career, Mason Jones claimed his first title in Cage Warriors by stopping Joe McColgan in the first round to win the lightweight title, because all sport came to a halt in 2020 because of the pandemic.
The exciting striker would then put his sights on a second belt, my move to Welterweight later that year to see Adam Proctor for the empty title.
At Cage Warriors 116 in September 2020, he produced his second back-to-back first round to beat Proctor and to become a champion in European promotion.
Immediately after the fight, Jones would call the UFC where he made his debut in January and fights four times before he decided not to renew his contract so that he could get some more experience.
He brought a lot of hype into the octhoek because of his two -weight performance that only two hunters had done in Cage Warriors.
Both Conor McGregor and Dan Hardy held two belts at the same time before they signed with the UFC where 'the notorious' would make history by replicating this performance in the Octagon.
Although 'The Outlaw' did not wear UFC gold in his career, Hardy Georges St-Pierre challenged the Welterweight title on UFC 111 in 2010.
Mason Jones has rebuilt himself by proving that he is still the best in the European scene
It was a daring decision by Mason Jones to run away from a UFC contract in 2022, but after a rough run in the Octagon, 'The Dragon' wanted to increase its value by getting some momentum behind him.
He did exactly that by returning to Cage Warriors, where he produced three consecutive Finishes and one battle of the year candidate against Michael Pagani before signing again at the UFC earlier this year.
At the age of 30, the Welshman still has enough time in his hands, but it is now on him to show what he is really capable of at the highest level.
Given his exciting style and the track record of Jeremy Stephens, the main card opener wrote fireworks everywhere on 3 May.