The Complete Guide to UFC 213: Nunes vs. Shevchenko

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International Fight Week has returned.

The UFC's annual summer event is often dubbed their version of WrestleMania. Historically, it is one of the biggest events of the year, with thousands of fans from across the world descending on Las Vegas for five days of fights and fun, culminating with a stacked pay-per-view card on Saturday night.

This year, things are a little different.

The UFC is presenting just two fight cards instead of the usual three, and Saturday night's PPV event is, by any logical measure, just not up to the same kind of quality level we're used to.

It's a good fight card, for sure, but any fan in their right mind is already looking past Saturday night toward UFC 214 and its otherworldly bill on July 29. And the best fight of the week might be the Friday main event between Michael Johnson and Justin Gaethje.

Still, we've got two title matches on this card and one of those will be violent. So let's take a look at those fights, plus the rest of the card, and figure out what we should be looking forward to on Saturday night.

Giles is an undefeated prospect with plenty of tools in his arsenal, but his core fighting attack is built on two things: a blistering and exhausting ground game and his ability to take seemingly endless amounts of punishment.

Giles is coming from super-indie promotion Legacy Fighting Alliance for his short-notice UFC debut here, and he does so on a streak of seven straight submission wins.

Though Bochnovic can make this one ugly and tiresome, you're looking at a likely first UFC win here for Giles.

Prediction: Giles by submission, round 2

This is another bout featuring two UFC newcomers, and both are doing so on short notice. Neither is particularly excellent in any one area of mixed martial arts, instead relying mostly on athleticism. 

Stamann, in particular, is something of a physical freak of nature, especially for the featherweight division.

On short-notice fights like this, I tend to place more value on youth than I do when looking at fighters who go through a full camp prior to their fights, which means I give Ware the edge over the older Stamann here.

Prediction: Ware by decision

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"Big Monster" Santos approaches his fights like a train on the verge of careening out of control.

While that's entertaining for those of us watching at home, it leaves him open against fighters who can stifle and negate his kick-based offense and keep him on his back. That's easier said than done, however, because Santos is highly athletic.

I'm not sure Meerschaert has the tools to do it, either. He's not good at takedowns, which means he's going to spend plenty of time on his feet here. That's just not where he needs to be.

Prediction: Santos by KO, round 1

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Don't be fooled by this bout's placement on the card. Both of these fighters are excellent prospects in what has surely become the UFC's most loaded division.

Silva de Andrade is something of a difficult opponent for anyone; he doesn't settle into movement patterns like most fighters do, which makes him a little erratic and difficult to both prepare for and hit.

But Font has more upside, and he's smack in the middle of the best overall run of his career. He will secure another finish here to continue working his way up the ladder.

Prediction: Font by KO, round 2

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Mein has entered the gatekeeper phase of his career. He never quite attained the heights many of us thought he would reach.

The Canadian should be entering his prime, but his early entrance into pro fighting over a decade ago has rendered him much older than his actual 27 years. 

Thus, he finds himself in bouts like this one against Muhammad, clearly designed to garner the prospect a convincing win over something of a name opponent.

That's exactly how this one will play out, with Muhammad dominating Mein and taking the fight pretty much anywhere he wants it to go before getting a ground-and-pound stoppage over the exhausted Mein in the final frame.

Prediction: Muhammad by TKO, round 3

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The Firas Zahabi-trained Laprise has a significant speed and technical skill advantage over the much taller Camozzi.

And like his big brother, Chris, Camozzi has often run into difficulties when facing opponents who simply outtechnique him.

But Camozzi's greatest strength is his leg kicks—he utilizes them more than any other tool in his arsenal—and they are the perfect antidote against a speedy opponent.

Look for Camozzi to whip those leg kicks out early, slowing Laprise down starting in the first round on the way to an upset decision win.

Prediction: Camozzi by decision

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Browne, once considered a future heavyweight champion, has had a rough go of things over the past three years.

Starting with a loss to Fabricio Werdum back in April 2014, he is just 2-5 in his UFC outings. Sure, a few of those losses came at the hands of top heavyweights Fabricio Werdum and Cain Velasquez. But he also lost to Andrei Arlovksi and Derrick Lewis; both of those fights would have been sure-fire wins for Browne before his losing streak started.

It seems like Browne has never truly found himself as a fighter; he's a patchwork project who borrows bits and pieces from others, and his run with the awful coaching of Edmund Tarverdyan did him no favors.

But the real problem for Browne is his chin, which has vanished into the ether after an early-career reputation for being able to take punishment. Oleinik isn't a good fighter by any stretch of the imagination, but he's a heavyweight who hits hard, which makes him dangerous against Browne.

Prediction: Oleinik by TKO, round 1

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Blaydes is a large and terrifying man. He's also a sublime takedown artist and is a massive favorite here against Omielanczuk—and rightly so.

This fight seems to have been designed to show off Blaydes' ability to take down pretty much anyone and then beat the stuffing out of them.

Omielanczuk may get an opportunity or two to hit Blaydes before being deposited on his back. If he does, he better hope one of them turns his opponent's lights out; otherwise, he's spending a few minutes looking up at the lights before the American finishes him with a ferocious ground-and-pound attack.

Prediction: Blaydes by TKO, round 2

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Though his decline hasn't been as sharp as that of Johny Hendricks, it's still stunning to think of where Pettis was just a few short years ago.

He was a UFC lightweight champion with a wide array of tools at his disposal—a fighter who could win by sneaky head kick or by submission off his back. But then the wheels fell off.

After a lackluster run at featherweight that ended when Pettis became one of the few fighters in UFC history to lose a title shot on the scale, he's back in the division of his greatest accomplishments.

Unfortunately, the man he'll face on Saturday night is the kind of opponent seemingly crafted in a lab solely for the purpose of beating Pettis and crushing his spirit.

Miller is a gritty veteran who can put you on your back and then break you, which is exactly where Pettis goes off the cliff.

Prior to a tough loss to Dustin Poirier in February, Miller had rattled off three straight wins, and I expect him to resume those winning ways here in an ugly battle.

Prediction: Miller by decision

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These two fought back in 2006, but nothing about that fight 11 years ago should be an indicator of what's going to happen in the rematch.

For starters, both men's styles and game plans have changed dramatically. Overeem used to bully his opponents right out of the gate and then mentally crumble when the tactic failed; today, he's a more cerebral fighter thanks to the workings of Greg Jackson and Mike Winklejohn.

Werdum, meanwhile, has developed a fully formed game; instead of just being a submission guy, he can do it all, and he experienced a period of great success that saw him capture the UFC heavyweight championship.

It's hard to picture how this one will play out simply because we never know which version of Werdum will show up. But we do know Overeem has become the more dependable fighter and the guy more likely to stick to a game plan rather than jumping into areas where he might be surprised by something his opponent does.

That gives him the tactical edge over Werdum here, and he'll use that patiently until finding the opening for one of his signature brutal groundknockouts.

Prediction: Overeem by KO

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If we had to pick the fight we're most looking forward to on this card, it's an easy call. Romero versus Whittaker is a battle of two supremely talented middleweights who are nothing but deserving of a title opportunity.

Normally, I hate interim titles, but since champion Michael Bisping seemingly would rather sit out just to hold on to his belt a little while longer, it's a perfect situation for the interim designation to make an appearance.

Whittaker's rise to middleweight contention has been fascinating to watch. His win over Ronaldo Souza cemented his place here and shredded any remaining doubts about his viability as a contender.

Unfortunately, he's going into the cage against the man I consider to be the best middleweight in the world: the terrifying force of nature known as Yoel Romero.

I would probably pick Whittaker against almost every other top middleweight. But I don't believe there's a middleweight alive who can beat Romero right now, and I don't think Whittaker even comes close.

Romero takes this one in a walk and then easily dispatches Bisping later this year (unless Bisping decides to retire rather than face Romero, which is a plausible scenario) to become the undisputed champion and most terrifying man on earth not named Francis Ngannou.

Prediction: Romero by decision

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It does the heart good to see Nunes' rise to the top of her division. Trouncing Miesha Tate and then permanently destroying the Ronda Rousey myth cemented the Brazilian as one of the two best female fighters in the world. She's vicious, talented and confident—and she knows it.

She also has a prior win over Shevchenko, and she has improved since their first meeting, a fight she also won. Nunes has become a feared striker in a division that lacks truly threatening punchers, and she looks for the kill from the moment the first bell sounds.

This may not seem like a showcase fight for Nunes (the UFC typically doesn't put showcase fights in main event positions such as this one), but that's exactly what it is, and that's exactly how it'll play out.

Nunes may not be able to finish the durable Shevchenko, but this is a bright spotlight for her and she'll make the most of it.

Prediction: Nunes by decision