10 reasons to watch UFC Fight Night 124, where 'Korean Superboy' gets fellow slugger Stephens

The UFC makes its 2018 debut on Sunday with UFC Fight Night 124, which also marks the organization’s long-overdue debut in St. Louis. The headlining bout between Jeremy Stephens and Dooho Choi is a spectacularly fan-friendly featherweight matchup.

Stephens enters the bout on the strength of what might have been the best performance of his career. In September he systematically dismantled former Strikeforce lightweight champion Gilbert Melendez. Stephens earned a unanimous-decision win in his “Fight of the Night” bonus-winning performance. Choi lost his most recent bout, but that “Fight of the Night” contest against Cub Swanson – one that also earned “Fight of the Year” accolades – earned him a lot of respect and didn’t hurt his standing one bit with fight fans.

In the co-main event, former light heavyweight champion Vitor Belfort faces Uriah Hall in what Belfort said is the final fight of his 21-year career.

Also on the main card is rising welterweight star Kamaru Usman. The “Nigerian Nightmare” faces Emil Meek in the first bout of the main card.

UFC Fight Night 124 takes place at Scottrade Center, and it airs on FS1 following early prelims on UFC Fight Pass.

Here are 10 reasons to watch the event.

1. Different career stages, same goal

Choi’s most recent trip to the octagon was in December 2016. He dropped the decision to Swanson that night in a “Fight of the Year” contender. After the loss, the South Korean told UFC commentator Joe Rogan, via an interpreter, “I’m going to train even more, and I’m not going to lose again.” We’ll find out if Choi (14-2 MMA, 3-1 UFC) is true to his word when he faces Stephens (26-14 MMA, 13-13 UFC).

Choi has surged in popularity since his debut in 2009. Before his loss to Swanson, he had won 12 straight fights. Ten of those wins came by knockout, which included three first-round stoppages with the UFC. In addition to his powerful and precise striking, Choi has displayed an iron chin.

Stephens, whose game has always been about power, will test that chin. The American enters this contest as the underdog. Stephens, who has been with the UFC since 2007, will be anxious to prove he’s no one’s stepping stone.

2. An enigma vs. ‘The Phenom’

Hall has been an enigma during his UFC tenure. At times he’s looked like he would rather be anywhere but inside the octagon. He’s also ended fights with spectacular displays of violence. Sometimes both of those things have occurred in the same fight. Hall’s recent knockout of Krzysztof Jotko, which halted his three-fight losing skid, was one of those nights.

Hall told MMAjunkie Radio he was ready to quit during that fight until he had a brief – and profane – conversation with himself.

“I literally said, ‘(Expletive) this (expletive), (expletive) you, (expletive) this, (expletive) everybody,’ and I knocked him out.”

Hall (13-8 MMA, 6-6 UFC) might want to have that talk with himself before he enters the octagon against Belfort (26-13 MMA, 15-10 UFC). The former UFC champ might not be the fighter he once was, but if given the opportunity early, he can still recapture some of his past glory and finish things in a hurry.

Belfort, an honorable mention in the most recent USA TODAY Sports/MMAjunkie MMA middleweight rankings, ended a three-fight losing skid in June with a decision win over Nate Marquardt.

3. Turning dreams into reality

Paige VanZant made headlines in November when she tweeted that her next fight would be against the then-uncrowned women’s flyweight champion. That was just wishful thinking. Instead, VanZant makes her 125-pound debut against Jessica-Rose Clark.

Paige VanZant

VanZant, who the UFC has been pushing as a potential star since she was signed, has not fought since Michelle Waterson choked her out in December 2016.

Clark earned a split-decision win over Bec Rawlings in her UFC debut. She missed weight ahead of that short-notice fight.

Like VanZant (7-3 MMA, 4-2 UFC), Clark (8-4 MMA, 1-0 UFC) has title aspirations in the growing flyweight division. The odds of the winner of this fight getting an immediate title shot are slim, but an impressive win could give the victor a healthy promotional push from the UFC.

4. Still climbing

Usman has been steadily climbing the welterweight rankings since he won Season 21 of “The Ultimate Fighter.” Now 6-0 in the UFC, he looks like he could part of the next generation of stars at 170 pounds. With a knockout win over Sergio Moraes in his most recent fight, Usman (11-1 MMA, 6-0 UFC) hopes to cement his position as a threat in the division when he meets Meek (9-2 MMA, 1-0 UFC).

After the Moraes fight, Usman climbed from rankings honorable mention to the No. 9 spot. He also decried the rankings and called out the rest of the division in the hopes of landing a top-10 opponent.

Meek is unranked and has just one UFC fight under his belt, a December 2016 decision win over Jordan Mein.

Meek has the opportunity to pull off the biggest upset on the card. If he does so, he could find his name mentioned as an up-and-comer in the division.

If Usman wins, there’s a good chance he’ll call out No. 4-ranked Colby Covington.

5. Area man is not happy

Michael Johnson was born in St. Louis. As such, he hoped he would get a main-card spot when the UFC visited his hometown. It turns out his bout against Darren Elkins is the final fight on the prelims. That did not please him.

Johnson is 1-4 in his past five outings, but he’s won fight-night bonus awards in three of those contests. One of those bonuses came in Johnson’s most recent fight, a second-round knockout loss to Justin Gaethje. That bout won MMAjunkie’s “2017 Fight of the Year.”

Elkins, who is ranked No. 10 at featherweight, is on one of the best runs of his long career. He’s won five straight, including his March “Comeback of the Year” knockout of Mirsad Bektic.

Johnson (17-12 MMA, 9-8 UFC) will be motivated to not only show the UFC they messed up with the placement of this fight, but also that he can be a contender at featherweight. Elkins (23-5 MMA, 13-5 UFC), seven years into his UFC career, will look to continue his climb up the rankings.

6. There’s some potential here

The lightweight bout between Matt Frevola and Marco Polo Reyes has the potential to be a good one. Reyes (7-4 MMA, 3-1 UFC) has gone the distance just once in his career while the unbeaten Frevola (6-0 MMA, 0-0 UFC) has two decision wins on his record.

Marco Polo Reyes

Reyes was on a four-fight winning streak before James Vick knocked him out in May. The Mexican fighter opened his UFC career with two fight-night-bonus-winning knockouts. He has a good muay Thai base, and he isn’t afraid to get into a slugfest.

Frevola earned his UFC roster spot with a second-round submission win on the Dana White’s Contender Series 8 card. Frevola, like Reyes, is an aggressive and exciting striker, but he’s not as technically sound. The American fought with his hands low and chin high on the DWCS card, which could be a recipe for trouble against Reyes.

Despite his apparent technical shortcomings, Frevola is a more than 2-1 favorite.

7. Long-awaited return

Jessica Eye has not fought since she dropped a split decision to Bethe Correia in September 2016. It was her fourth straight defeat.

Jessica Eye

Eye was set to return in July, but her opponent, Aspen Ladd, was pulled from the fight on the day of the event. Eye was then set to make her UFC flyweight debut against Paige VanZant at UFC 216, but a back injury forced VanZant from the fight. Eye (11-6 MMA, 1-5 UFC) was subsequently removed from the card. Her UFC Fight Night 124 flyweight booking against Kalindra Faria (18-6-1 MMA, 0-1 UFC) has been locked in since November.

Eye is under a lot of pressure to get a win in St. Louis. Her goal will be to remain focused despite that pressure and the adrenaline rush she’ll get when she returns to the octagon.

Faria dropped her UFC debut when Mara Romero Borella submitted her in the first round.

8. Make up the difference

The stylistic matchup between strawweights J.J. Aldrich and Danielle Taylor should make for an intriguing fight.

J.J. Aldrich

Aldrich (5-2 MMA, 1-1 UFC) is a technical striker who uses her length well. She also gets her opponents to bite on her feints. She has a 5-inch height advantage over Taylor (9-2 MMA, 2-1 UFC), as well as a seven-inch reach advantage.

Taylor, who is 5 feet tall, is not unaccustomed to being on the wrong end of the tale of the tape. To overcome those disadvantages, she relies on heavy-handed counter strikes. The downside of Taylor’s style is that she is not a very active striker. That could work against her when it comes to her more aggressive opponent.

9. ‘Show me’ fight in the ‘Show Me State’

Mike Santiago and Mads Burnell both lost their short-notice UFC debuts by submission. Santiago fell to Zabit Magomedsharipov while Burnell tapped to Michel Prazeres.

With both fighters getting a full camp ahead of UFC Fight Night 124, this contest should help determine where the two stand in the 145-pound division.

Mike Santiago

Santiago (19-10 MMA, 0-1 UFC), the former Ring of Combat featherweight champion, has a wrestling background. He also has boxing and kickboxing fights on his resume. The loss to Magomedsharipov ended his nine-fight winning streak.

Burnell (8-2 MMA, 0-1 UFC), a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu, was signed to the UFC after two first-round Japanese necktie submissions wins.

10. It’s been a minute

No, the bantamweights opening the card are not making their UFC debuts. But the names Kyung Ho Kang and Guido Cannetti might not ring a bell.

Kyung Ho Kang

Kang (13-7 MMA, 2-1 UFC) hasn’t fought since September 2014 while Cannetti’s (7-2 MMA, 1-1 UFC) most recent UFC bout was in August 2015.

Ten months of Cannetti’s absence were due to a USADA suspension after a long list of banned substances showed up in an out-of-competition drug test. A dietary supplement Cannetti was taking was found to contain all five substances he tested positive for.

Kang returns to the octagon after serving two years of mandatory military service.

Between them, they have 17 stoppage victories. Don’t be surprised if these two look to make up for lost time by getting after it early.

For more on UFC Fight Night 124, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.