UFC 274 is bursting with the potential for dramatic moments.
Saturday's pay-per-view event at Footprint Center in Phoenix, Arizona, is headlined by a lightweight title fight pitting champion Charles Oliveira and his 10-fight winning streak against perhaps the most exciting fighter in MMA, Justin Gaethje.
The co-main event is also a championship fight, in which Rose Namajunas, in her second reign, takes on former champ Carla Esparza -- who eight years ago beat Namajunas to become the UFC's first 115-pound champ.
The main card is on ESPN+ pay-per-view starting at 10 p.m. ET, with prelims on ESPN and ESPN+ at 8 p.m. and early prelims on ESPN+ at 6 p.m.
Beyond the two championship fights, UFC 274 also features fights by a couple of longtime stars, Tony Ferguson and Donald Cerrone, who have struggled in recent years. Will Ferguson be able to hang with explosive Michael Chandler? Can "Cowboy" Cerrone handle Joe Lauzon? There could be drama.
What are the storylines behind these fights? How are experts breaking them down? What do the fighters have to say? Here is the fight card, how to watch it, and a collection of all of the UFC 274 essentials.
UFC 274 fight card
ESPN+ PPV, 10 p.m. ET
Lightweight championship: Charles Oliveira (c) vs. Justin Gaethje
Strawweight championship: Rose Namajunas (c) vs. Carla Esparza
Lightweight: Michael Chandler vs. Tony Ferguson
Light heavyweight: Mauricio Rua vs. Ovince Saint Preux
Lightweight: Donald Cerrone vs. Joe Lauzon
ESPN/ESPN+, 8 p.m. ET
Welterweight: Andre Fialho vs. Cameron VanCamp
Welterweight: Randy Brown vs. Khaos Williams
Women's featherweight: Macy Chiasson vs. Norma Dumont
Men's flyweight: Brandon Royval vs. Matt Schnell
ESPN+, 6 p.m. ET
Heavyweight: Blagoy Ivanov vs. Marcos Rogerio de Lima
Welterweight: Francisco Trinaldo vs. Danny Roberts
Women's flyweight: Tracy Cortez vs. Melissa Gatto
Men's flyweight: Kleydson Rodrigues vs. CJ Vergara
Strawweight: Ariane Carnelossi vs. Loopy Godinez
Men's bantamweight: Journey Newson vs. Fernie Garcia
(c) = defending champion
How to watch the fights
Watch the PPV and all other fights on ESPN+: Get ESPN+ here.
Watch the prelims on ESPN and ESPN+ and early prelims on ESPN+. Download the ESPN App | WatchESPN | TV schedule
Don't have ESPN? Get instant access.
Purchased the fight on your phone and want to stream on your TV? Find out how here.
There's also FightCenter, which offers live updates for every UFC card.
From a title fight at UFC 274 to her wedding: Carla Esparza has big plans
Charles Oliveira celebrates his TKO vs. Michael Chandler with Joe Rogan, Dana White and by going into the Houston crowd
The call from the UFC came on March 16. Carla Esparza was to face Rose Namajunas at UFC 274 on May 7. One week before the wedding.
"It put me in a little bit of a spot where I had to make a decision, and it was like, do I cancel it or postpone it?" Esparza said. "And have to redo everything, maybe have to wait, like, months, and all the vendors won't be available. Or do I go through with it and just hope for the best outcome in the fight?"
She was nervous about the decision. She wanted to look beautiful on her big day. She needed the help of her fiance, Matthew Loimeli.
"I asked him, 'What do you think I should do?' He gave me a really supportive response: 'I knew what I was getting myself into when I asked a fighter to marry me. Bumps and bruises come with the package.'"
Ranking the fights at UFC 274 and beyond ... and cautioning about a couple of them
Ranking the fights on a big UFC card can seem like an obvious exercise. The sport curates its fight nights to build and build throughout the evening, culminating in the main event that has been hyped on promo posters to draw fans into the arena or to watch on television.
And yet a lot of fight cards invite spirited debate. Is the main event really the most appealing contest of the night? Is there a glittery co-main event that's attracting a lot of eyeballs? Or a preliminary bout that quietly has the potential to make the biggest noise? Sometimes it's a close call for the true No. 1.
Well, unless Justin Gaethje is on the bill. Then the competition is for No. 2.
This is the case for Saturday's UFC 274.
Inside Justin Gaethje's journey from a mining town to MMA stardom
Thirteen years ago, Justin Gaethje was working in a copper mine near his Arizona home, and he didn't know where life would take him. He couldn't have foreseen that a kid from a mining family would end up as an elite mixed martial artist. Yet that kid from Safford will fight Charles Oliveira on Saturday in the main event of UFC 274 with the lightweight championship on the line.
A daunting prognosis, a chance meeting and Charles Oliveira's UFC moment
UFC 274 headliner Charles Oliveira has come a long way from being told by a doctor he would never walk again, and that he would require the use of a wheelchair because of illnesses he contracted at the age of 7.
On Saturday night in Las Vegas, Oliveira will walk into the Octagon to face Justin Gaethje in his second title defense of the UFC lightweight championship.
It will mark the continuation of a journey that began in the favelas of Vicente de Carvalho in Guaruja, Brazil, where Oliveira randomly was introduced to jiu-jitsu by a family friend who wouldn't live long enough to see the impact the sport made on his life.
Three of the four fighters in the UFC 274 title bouts are in the pound-for-pound rankings
Both of the fighters in the UFC 274 co-main event, strawweight champion Rose Namajunas and former champ Carla Esparza, are in the ESPN women's pound-for-pound rankings. And lightweight champion Charles Oliveira is in the men's top-10, with his main event challenger, Justin Gaethje, among the fighters getting votes ... but not enough to make the rankings.
That's a lot of supremacy on one card.
TUF 20 finale: Esparza wins UFC strawweight title
LAS VEGAS -- Carla Esparza entered "The Ultimate Fighter" reality series a champion. She left it the same way.
Esparza (10-2) won the inaugural UFC strawweight championship Friday [Dec. 12, 2014], submitting Rose Namajunas via rear-naked choke at 1:26 of the third round. The 115-pound title fight headlined the TUF 20 Finale inside The Palms Hotel and Casino.
What they're saying
Charles Oliveira vs. Justin Gaethje
@CharlesDoBronxs it's called respect you fool and we are in the breaking faces business. My respect that night was just as real as my intention to take everything from you in your country @ufc #uhvaimorrer https://t.co/MjpvEv0Qy8
— Justin Gaethje 🇺🇸 (@Justin_Gaethje) December 24, 2021
Rose Namajunas vs. Carla Esparza
The fight Rose wants. The fight I want. The fight the fans want. Simple. Make it happen @ufc 👊🏽 #rematch #runitback pic.twitter.com/VL74CFeYI6
— Carla Esparza (@CarlaEsparza1) December 14, 2021
Michael Chandler vs. Tony Ferguson
🎶🕶🎶 -CSO- 🇺🇸🏆🇲🇽 # UFC🥇274 # Moar🕴Hype # CominAfterChandler pic.twitter.com/NxGr5WPUNb
— Tony Ferguson (@TonyFergusonXT) April 8, 2022