‘Countdown to UFC 168’ debuts Dec. 24 on FOX Sports 1

The UFC’s traditional pre-event show returns Tuesday, Dec. 24, with the debut of “Countdown to UFC 168: Weidman vs. Silva 2? on FOX Sports 1.

The one-hour special previews the card’s headlining middleweight title fight rematch between champion Chris Weidman (10-0 MMA, 6-0 UFC) and the man he beat for the belt, Anderson Silva (33-5 MMA, 16-1 UFC).

“Countdown” airs at 10 p.m. ET (7 p.m. PT), and replays airs throughout the week.

UFC 168 takes place Dec. 28 at Las Vegas’ MGM Grand Garden Arena. The main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims on FOX Sports 1 and Facebook. An extended video preview of the event can be found above.

“Countdown” will focus on the headliner, in which Weidman looks to silence critics who say his first win over “The Spider” was only because Silva didn’t take the challenge seriously, as well as the night’s other title fight: women’s bantamweight champ Ronda Rousey (7-0 MMA, 1-0 UFC) vs. former Strikeforce champ Miesha Tate (13-4 MMA, 0-1 UFC).

A key heavyweight bout between top contenders Josh Barnett (33-6 MMA, 5-1 UFC) and Travis Browne (15-1-1 MMA, 6-1-1 UFC) is also featured in the special.

The full UFC 168 card includes:

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

• Chris Weidman vs. Anderson Silva - for UFC middleweight title
• Ronda Rousey vs. Miesha Tate - for women’s bantamweight title
• Josh Barnett vs. Travis Browne
• Fabricio Camoes vs. Jim Miller
• Diego Brandao vs. Dustin Poirier

PRELIMINARY CARD (FOX Sports 1, 8 p.m. ET)

• Uriah Hall vs. Chris Leben
• Michael Johnson vs. Gleison Tibau
• Manny Gamburyan vs. Dennis Siver
• Siyar Bahadurzada vs. John Howard

PRELIMINARY CARD (MMAjunkie.com, 7 p.m. ET)

• William Macario vs. Bobby Voelker
• Estevan Payan vs. Robert Peralta

For more on UFC 168, stay tuned to the UFC Rumors section of the site.