UFC 238 Main Card Preview

The last time UFC visited Chicago, the card featured an epic battle for the middleweight crown between Robert Whittaker and Yoel Romero, along with the not-so-triumphant return of CM Punk.

This time around, the promotion is bringing another stacked card to the Windy City. UFC 238 has some very intriguing matchups including a pair of title fights and a highly anticipated bout between two of the lightweight division's very best.

In the main event, reigning flyweight king Henry Cejudo will attempt to capture a second title — the vacant UFC Bantamweight Championship. To accomplish this feat, he'll need to get past hard-hitting Marlon Moraes.

The co-main features the heavily favored UFC Women's Flyweight Champion Valentina Shevchenko taking on scrappy Cleveland native Jessica Eye.

In what could be a headlining fight on most cards, former interim champ Tony Ferguson takes on the winningest fighter in UFC history, Donald "Cowboy" Cerrone. The winner of the contest will likely get at shot at the lightweight strap in the very near future.

Now that the table has been set, it's time to take a closer look at this Saturday's main card.

Popular heavyweight Tai Tuivasa is an exciting fighter with a big personality. After all, how can folks not get behind a man who earned the nickname "Shoeyvasa" from drinking beer out of a shoe? After suffering his first loss in the UFC, the 26-year-old Australian will be looking to get back on track in his bout with veteran Blagoy Ivanov.

Tuivasa is an aggressive knockout artist who is very athletic and has finished his first seven professional opponents in the opening round. Ivanov is a decorated sambo champion who owns a black belt in judo. The judo expert has been mostly a counter puncher since debuting in the UFC, but does have an impressive submission game in his back pocket, should he decide to use it. Ivanov hasn't looked particularly impressive in his last couple of fights, which consist of a decision loss to Junior Dos Santos and a somewhat controversial win over Ben Rothwell.

Look for Tuivasa to come out fast early and overwhelm the former sambo standout with a flurry of strikes. Ivanov isn't the most fleet-footed heavyweight and may have difficulty surviving the early onslaught.

That being said, in his 20 professional fights, Blagoy Ivanov has never been knocked out. It's quite possible that Tuivasa punches himself out early and opens the door for his opponent to grind out a decision win or catch him with a submission.

In the end, it feels like this fight was booked for Tuivasa to get a rebound victory over a solid opponent, which is the more likely of the two scenarios here.

The Pick: Tuivasa via 1st round TKO.