Best Fights of 2014

Former Strikeforce champion,Tarec Saffiedine looks to leave his mark in his UFC debut as he takes on Hyun Gyu Lim at UFC Fight Night.

It's the oldest matchup in combat sports, and always one of the most exciting, as young gun Abel Trujillo meets seasoned veteran Jamie Varner in an attempt to see whether Trujillo is ready for prime time or if Varner is on his way to the top ten once again.

The talent-rich welterweight division will take center stage at UFC 171. A new 170-pound champion will be crowned when Johny "Bigg Rigg" Hendricks battles "Ruthless" Robbie Lawler for the vacant title.

In November of 2011, Dan Henderson and Mauricio "Shogun" Rua met at UFC 139. After five of the greatest rounds ever seen in the Octagon, Henderson's hand was raised, but now, a little over two years later, these mixed martial arts superstars will meet again.

Two of the welterweight division's most exciting members, Matt Brown and Erick Silva, hope to continue their charge. Silva has ended his four wins in the first round. Brown has had six consecutive wins and his next stop may be a shot at the world title.

UFC bantamweight champ Renan Barao will put his winning streak and crown on the line against offensive machine T.J. Dillashaw.

UFC middleweight champion Chris Weidman will defend his crown against former light heavyweight champion Lyoto 'The Dragon' Machida. Weidman, fresh off two finishes of future Hall of Famer Anderson Silva in 2013, will now battle Brazil's Machida, who has won two straight at 185 pounds against Mark Munoz and Gegard Mousasi.

A star wrestler in high school who went on to play football in college, Mike King is an all-around athlete who ran a gym for three years after school ended before discovering MMA. 5-0 as a pro, The Ultimate Fighter 19 veteran makes his Octagon debut against Team Penn squadmate Cathal Pendred.

The next challenger for the UFC welterweight championship will be determined in what is expected to be a Fight of the Year candidate between 170-pound sluggers "Ruthless" Robbie Lawler and Matt "The Immortal" Brown.

Coming off a three fight win streak, Yoel Romero takes on contender Tim Kennedy, who is on a four fight win streak of his own in this middleweight battle at UFC 178.