UFC on FOX 18 lineup finalized with Northcutt-Holbrook kicking off main card

The lineup is set for this month’s UFC on FOX 18 event, and lightweight prospect Sage Northcutt has landed a marquee spot on the card.

The event takes place Jan. 30 at Prudential Center in Newark, N.J., and the main card airs on FOX following prelims on FOX Sports 1 and UFC Fight Pass.

In the headliner, Anthony Johnson (20-5 MMA, 11-5 UFC), who’s ranked No. 3 in the MMAjunkie/USA TODAY Sports MMA light-heavyweight rankings, takes on fellow contender and No. 4-ranked Ryan Bader (20-4 MMA, 13-4 UFC). A title shot could be on the line.

In the co-headliner, veteran heavyweights tangle when No. 6-ranked Ben Rothwell (35-9 MMA, 5-3 UFC) takes on No. 9 Josh Barnett (34-7 MMA, 6-2 UFC).

Also on the main card, Jimmie Rivera (18-1 MMA, 2-0 UFC), who’s an honorable mention in the bantamweight rankings, looks for his 18th straight win when he meets Iuri Alcantara (33-6 MMA, 7-3 UFC), who’s 4-1 over his past five fights.

Kicking off the network-televised portion of the event is undefeated and highly promoted Northcutt (7-0 MMA, 2-0 UFC) vs. fellow undefeated 155-pounder Andrew Holbrook (11-0 MMA, 1-0 UFC).

Closing out the prelims is a welterweight bout between former Strikeforce champion Tarec Saffiedine (15-4 MMA, 1-1 UFC) and UFC vet Jake Ellenberger (30-10 MMA, 9-6 UFC). Both fighters are looking to reemerge in the 170-pound title picture.

The full UFC on FOX 18 lineup includes:

MAIN CARD (FOX, 8 p.m. ET)

• Anthony Johnson vs. Ryan Bader
• Josh Barnett vs. Ben Rothwell
• Iuri Alcantara vs. Jimmie Rivera
• Andrew Holbrook vs. Sage Northcutt

PRELIMINARY CARD (FOX Sports 1, 5 p.m. ET)

• Jake Ellenberger vs. Tarec Saffiedine
• Olivier Aubin-Mercier vs. Diego Ferreira
• Kevin Casey vs. Rafael Natal
• Dustin Ortiz vs. Wilson Reis
• George Sullivan vs. Alexander Yakovlev
• Alex Caceres vs. Masio Fullen

PRELIMINARY CARD (UFC Fight Pass, 3:30 p.m. ET)

• Damon Jackson vs. Levan Makashvili
• Tony Martin vs. Felipe Olivieri
• Randy Brown vs. Matt Dwyer

For more on UFC on FOX 18, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.