Another fight weekend is here, baby, and we love to see it. The next couple of days features a UFC card on ESPN+ Saturday night, a big Bellator show on DAZN and Paramount Network Friday night, as well as offerings from Rizin, KSW and Pancrase.

Here are the three fights I’m going to be watching closest this weekend:

Michael Chandler vs. Benson Henderson II, Bellator 243

Michael Chandler is Mr. Bellator. The former Division I All-American wrestler was the promotion’s first real homegrown star to earn accolades as a world-class elite fighter, debuting with Bellator in September 2010 and ruling their lightweight division ever since.

Chandler has fought over 20 bouts in Bellator’s circular cage, won the lightweight title three times and proven everything he probably needs to prove in that organization. Now, he’s staring down free agency: he’s talked frequently over the last few months about this Friday night’s fight being the last on his Bellator contract.

At 34 years old, Chandler might be running out of time to make a real run at UFC stardom, presuming of course that’s a thing he’s inclined to want. Even if he desires to stay loyal to essentially the only MMA home he’s ever known, he could use a big win in his last fight on this deal – it never hurts to have a little bit of leverage.

And Chandler’s got a nice big name lined up for his walk fight. Former UFC and WEC lightweight champ Benson Henderson was a major coup for Bellator when he signed with the organization in 2016, and while he’s since struggled a bit against Bellator’s elite – he lost to Andrey Koreshkov in a welterweight title fight in his debut, and since lost tight split decisions to Chandler and Patricky Freire at lightweight – he’s on a four-fight win streak and still carries the cred of a former UFC titleholder.

As previously mentioned, Chandler and Henderson met in a lightweight title fight in Nov. 2016, a bout which notably featured Chandler hitting one of the most picture-perfect German suplexes this side of Chris Benoit.

Chandler-Henderson I was one of the wildest fights of the year. Chandler, as he is wont to do, came out incredibly hot in the first round, hurting Bendo with punches, dominating with his wrestling and threatening with a couple guillotines. But Bendo, battle-scarred shogun that he is, has been incredibly tough to finish throughout his career, and he managed to withstand that flurry and rebound to start scoring points against a more sedate Chandler throughout the middle rounds.

Chandler still had some flashy moments in the third and fourth, but Henderson – who has always had great cardio and has thrived in late rounds, like seriously, you don’t want to go to a decision against this dude – managed to close the gap and even put Chandler in a damn crucifix like he was UFC 8 Gary Goodridge at the end of the fourth. Chandler was basically dead in the fifth, but his early dominance was enough to score a split decision win.

I don’t think anyone has any illusions that Benson Henderson is still one of the world’s elite, but he’s still a solid name and a tough opponent. Chandler has, throughout his career, relied on his explosive athleticism and blinding pace at the outset of fights, both of which have faded a little bit in the four years since he first fought Henderson. This time around, it’s a three-round fight, which could play into Chandler’s hands. But if Chandler can’t get the same kind of start he got last time, Bendo could be in cruise control to making Chandler’s contract negotiations a little more complicated.

Derrick Lewis vs. Alexey Oleinik, UFC Vegas 6

Alexey Oleinik – that’s the spelling I’m going with, since I’ve seen it spelled, I swear to God, at least five different ways – is, straight up, one of my favorite MMA fighters in the world. He’s a slouching, 43 year old Russian man who’s had over 70 pro fights and still somehow has absolutely hopeless-looking striking. None of that really matters because he’s one of the most unique and effective submission machines that heavyweight MMA has ever seen.

A former combat sambo champion, Oleinik can be instant death once he gets onto a fighter. He taps out fighters in ways we simply do not see from anyone else – he has TWELVE career wins by Ezekiel choke, most recently against Junior Albini in 2018, and his record is littered with an assortment of neck cranks and chokes.

Oleinik enters his main event matchup on Saturday on a two-fight win streak, most recently beating former UFC champion and fellow heavyweight grappling legend Fabricio Werdum in May, a few months after he tapped the 6-foot-7 Maurice Greene with just a bizarre-looking armbar in January.

The Boa Constrictor has a lot on his hands this weekend though in a top-10 heavyweight matchup. At 6-foot-3, 265 pounds, Derrick Lewis is one of the quirkiest characters in the UFC, and last time he fought a Russian, he knocked out Alexander Volkov and said that he had been personally tasked by the President because they were making him look bad on the news.

His big adjustment ahead of February’s fight against Ilir Latifi was to start drinking water for the first time. Lewis won that bout by unanimous decision, and holds KO wins over names like Gabriel Gonzaga, Shamil Abdurakhimov and Marcin Tybura along with a decision win over top contender Francis Ngannou two years ago.

Lewis has what can only be described as freak strength, and he’s a big, stalking boxer who has the ability to end fights on one punch. His cardio has been questionable throughout his career, and his approach in recent fights has been to punctuate longer periods of relative inactivity with flurries that carry with them true malice and horror. The result has been consecutive decision wins over another sambo master, the Bulgarian Blagoy Ivanov, and Latifi, the latter of whom he workshopped a flying knee against for two and half rounds before sealing up the win with some big shots late.

This time, however, Lewis has said he’s going to come out with his “balls blazing,” and I hope he does. It’s a fascinating stylistic matchup: Oleinik is an absolute submission artist when he can get on a guy, but Lewis has been known to counter someone getting him on the ground by literally just ignoring that the other person is there and standing up. Meanwhile, if Lewis can keep it standing, can Oleinik avoid having his skull explode out of the back of his head? This’ll be a fight between two guys who can be extremely entertaining in polar opposite ways.

Beneil Dariush vs. Scott Holtzman, UFC Vegas 6

Beneil Dariush is one of the most unassuming fighters in the UFC, looking more like a guitarist for an indie rock band than a professional martial artist. But don’t let that fool you: the Iranian-born Dariush mixes sharp, accurate striking with excellent grappling, making him a tough out for anyone in the lightweight division.

Dariush is one of those guys who’s always around but you kind of forget about until he pops up on a UFC card and has an awesome fight. This time, he appears on Saturday’s undercard on one of the better runs of his career: four straight wins in the UFC, the last three of them finishes.

Dariush last fought in March, where he took on rising prospect Drakkar Klose in the last UFC card held with fans in attendance. On that night, Dariush gave fans everywhere a reason to respect the gatekeepers, scoring an insane knockout a minute into the second round after Klose had badly wobbled him with some big power shots.

This time, his opponent isn’t a hot young newcomer – it’s 36-year-old Scott Holtzman, who’s won five of his last six fights in the Octagon. Holtzman beat guy-who-has-seriously-been-around-forever Jim Miller by unanimous decision in February, and a win will be a big step up the lightweight ladder for both fighters.

Dariush, in particular, has flown under the radar for way too long despite a well-rounded skillset and a penchant for finding himself in entertaining fights. If he can get past Holtzman, he’ll hopefully get a chance to show it against someone with a number next to their name.