'Countdown to UFC 185: Pettis vs. Dos Anjos' debuts Sunday on FOX Sports 2

The UFC’s traditional pre-event show returns Sunday with the debut of “Countdown to UFC 185: Pettis vs. Dos Anjos” on FOX Sports 2.

The one-hour special previews the card’s headlining bout between UFC lightweight champion Anthony Pettis (18-2 MMA, 5-1 UFC) and Rafael dos Anjos (23-7 MMA, 12-5 UFC), plus the co-featured women’s strawweight title fight between champ Carla Esparza (10-2 MMA, 1-0 UFC) and Joanna Jedrzejczyk (8-0 MMA, 2-0 UFC). In addition, the show looks at the key welterweight bout between former champ Johny Hendricks (16-3 MMA, 11-3 UFC) and Matt Brown (19-12 MMA, 12-7 UFC).

“Countdown” airs at 6 p.m. ET on Sunday (3 p.m. PT) on FOX Sports 2, and replays will air throughout the week leading up to the fight.

Pettis recently earned a second-round submission victory over Gilbert Melendez for his fifth straight win and first title defense. The 27-year-old Roufusport fighter and former WEC champ submitted then-champ Benson Henderson to win the title in his bout prior to Melendez. He’s won four consecutive fight-night bonuses while also defeating the likes of Donald Cerrone and Joe Lauzon.

Dos Anjos, meanwhile, has made a slow but steady climb to top-contender status. The 30-year-old Brazilian has won three straight fights since a decision loss to Khabib Nurmagomedov, and he’s now 8-1 in his past nine fights. Prior to earning a decision victory over Nate Diaz in his most recent fight, he posted back-to-back knockout wins over Jason High and Henderson.

Pettis is ranked No. 1 in the USA TODAY Sports/MMAjunkie MMA lightweight rankings (and No. 5 pound-for-pound). Dos Anjos is ranked No. 3 in the division.

“The Cookie Monster” Esparza has long been considered one of the best 115-pound fighters in the world. She was the Invicta FC titleholder before her UFC run. In 2014, the 27-year-old signed up as a cast member on “The Ultimate Fighter 20? and emerged victorious in the 16-slot tournament after scoring a submission win over Rose Namajunas in the December final to earn the UFC inaugural strawweight belt.

Jedrzejczyk, an undefeated 27-year-old Polish fighter, has rattled off eight consecutive wins since turning pro in May 2012. She made her UFC debut in July and scored a decision win over Juliana Lima before returning in December and scoring a hard-fought split-decision win over Claudia Gadelha to earn the No. 1 contender slot.

UFC 185 takes place March 14 at American Airlines Center in Dallas. The main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims on FOX Sports 1 and UFC Fight Pass.

The full UFC 185 lineup includes:

MAIN CARD (Pay-per-view, 10 p.m. ET)

• Champ Anthony Pettis vs. Rafael dos Anjos – for lightweight title
• Champ Carla Esparza vs. Joanna Jedrzejczyk – for strawweight title
• Matt Brown vs. Johny Hendricks
• Roy Nelson vs. Alistair Overeem
• Chris Cariaso vs. Henry Cejudo

PRELIMINARY CARD (FX, 8 p.m. ET)

• Ross Pearson vs. Sam Stout
• Roger Narvaez vs. Elias Theodorou
• Daron Cruickshank vs. Beneil Dariush
• Josh Copeland vs. Jared Rosholt

PRELIMINARY CARD (UFC Fight Pass, 6:30 p.m. ET)

• Ryan Benoit vs. Sergio Pettis
• Joseph Duffey vs. Jake Lindsey
• Germaine de Randamie vs. Larissa Pacheco

For more on UFC 185, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.

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