The UFC's 2017 schedule comes to an end Saturday with UFC 219 in Las Vegas.
A featherweight title fight between defending champion Cris "Cyborg" Justino and Holly Holm will headline. It's the biggest fight to make, currently, in female mixed martial arts -- by a long shot.
In the co-main event, Khabib Nurmagomedov returns from a year off to face ever-dangerous Edson Barboza. The result should have significant title implications at lightweight.
ESPN Cheat Sheets are here to tell you everything you need to know about the year-end event.
Cris "Cyborg" Justino (18-1) vs. Holly Holm (11-3), featherweight championship
Odds: Justino -360; Holm +325
When Holly Holm transitioned away from boxing to mixed martial arts in 2011, she immediately knew a fight against Ronda Rousey was inevitable. It was all anyone wanted to talk about.
And, although it wasn't discussed nearly as much, Holm also knew back then that she likely would run into Cris "Cyborg" Justino, too.
Holm, 36, has a unique opportunity this weekend, as she'll attempt to become the only woman to ever defeat both Rousey and Justino. Those two, of course, are widely considered the most dominant female fighters of all time.
A former world champion boxer, Holm checked off Rousey in stunning fashion in 2015 and will now meet Justino two years later. She admits, however, the idea of beating both icons was hatched many years ago, by Greg Jackson, one of her coaches.
"Someone came into the gym one morning, after one of Cyborg's fights, and said, 'I just don't think anyone will ever beat her,'" Holm said. "And Greg Jackson goes, 'I know who. Holly's style is perfect to beat Cyborg.' And then he just walked away.
"This was years ago, before I was even in the UFC. And I remember thinking at that time, 'Hmmm. Well that's interesting.'"
For Justino, Holm wasn't on the radar before 2015. The Brazilian champion had been angling to face Rousey for years -- but, when Holm knocked her out with a now-infamous head kick, Justino knew that ship had sailed.
In some ways, this is Justino's "Rousey fight." The one that got away. She's one of the -- if not the -- most accomplished female martial artists of all time, but she's never been given the full spotlight.
She'll never get a chance to beat Rousey herself, but this might be a way to prove she always would have and was always deserving of the superstar treatment. It's trending that way. The UFC signed her to a multifight extension last month.
"I watched that [Holm, Rousey] fight, and she did an amazing fight," Justino said. "That day, I knew I was going to fight Holly.
"Holly is the girl that beat Ronda. Ronda never gave me the chance to fight her. And you know, maybe when I fight Holly and beat her, people may say, 'She's the girl who could [beat both Ronda and Holly]. Maybe people will think like that."
Fight breakdown
Holm is 1-3 since that dominant win over Rousey. That record speaks for itself. And the lone win came against Bethe Correia, who is arguably a below-average UFC bantamweight.
Truthfully, Holm is not a dominant force in MMA. That's not a knock; more like a necessary adjustment of expectations on her, which were sky-high after Rousey. Holm admits she still feels like "a baby" in MMA.
That's not a good thing to be saying before a fight against Justino, but here's the good news: Much of what Holm does best matches up very well with Justino.
We all saw what happens when an opponent aggressively goes after Holm from bell to bell. That was the only way Rousey knew how to fight, and it led to a swift demise against Holm. Holm's problem is she doesn't yet know how to lead and create her own offense. But when she's allowed to jam those sidekicks and left hands into oncoming traffic, she's a world-beater.
Justino is known for overwhelming pressure. Maybe she's capable of fighting another way, but she has never needed to. Who cares if she occasionally gets hit or her punches go wild? She's so physical and hits so much harder than anyone else, it doesn't matter.
The key areas where Holm might be different from previous Justino opponents are footwork, athleticism and experience.
Holm is mobile, and very good at circling away -- and countering -- an aggressor. Justino has never faced a better opponent at playing matador. Nor has she faced one who can match her in size and athleticism as much as Holm can. Yes, Holm is lighter, but she's not significantly undersized here. And unlike many of Justino's previous foes -- who had never tasted the spotlight and probably weren't sure whether they ever would again -- Holm is very comfortable in big fights.
All that said, the pressure Justino will bring Saturday is very different from what Holm dealt with against Rousey. Rousey's pressure was essentially running toward Holm with arm punches while reaching for the clinch. Justino is coming with kicks, elbows, knees and the threat of a takedown -- fueled by more horsepower than any other woman in the sport.
Prediction: Justino via TKO, third round.