Although we’re hurtling toward holiday madness and New Year’s Eve, it feels like it’s been forever since two title fights have graced a UFC fight card as with Saturday’s UFC 181. After all, we’re just about to our 44th UFC event this year, with three more to go after that until we ring in 2015 (and gear up for another 45 shows). Maybe it’s just the eggnog talking, but things are blurring.

Given the promotion’s frenzied pace, of course, it’s easy to lose sight of the fact that it’s only been five months since a pair of title fights served as headliners. July’s UFC 175 event was fronted by a middleweight title bout between champion Chris Weidman and Lyoto Machida, and a women’s bantamweight title fight between champ Ronda Rousey and Alexis Davis served as the co-main event.

Mostly, though, dual-title-fight events are a rare occasion. This past year, we’ve actually gotten triple the events with two titles on the line, with the traditional Super Bowl weekend card leading off — albeit with one of the belts of the interim variety — before UFC 175 and UFC 181, the talk of the moment with welterweight champ Johny Hendricks vs. Robbie Lawler and lightweight champ Anthony Pettis vs. Gilbert Melendez serving as headliners. Look at the timeline of such events, however, and you’ll see they’re reserved for the UFC’s traditional tentpole weekends.

Considering the much-discussed injury woes of 2014, it’s not a terribly shabby accomplishment to triple your output. And hey, it’s about time. Yes, a middleweight meeting between Weidman and Vitor Belfort would have been pretty sweet on Saturday, if for no other reason to finally get it over with after seven months of delay due to injuries and testosterone troubles and the like. Now, that lingering to-do is set for the UFC’s next dual-title event, February’s UFC 184 event featuring Rousey vs. Cat Zingano in the co-main event (and man, have they leaned heavier on any headliner in recent times than “Rowdy”?).

After losing so many awesome fights this year, the UFC actually caught a break with Hendricks and Lawler agreeing to step up on short notice to fill in for the scratched Weidman vs. Belfort UFC 181 booking. Given the welterweights’ effort in their first meeting, it was probably one of the best possible outcomes.

This event, however, feels like it’s been overshadowed a bit by the forward-looking mindset of the UFC, which for the first time chose to announce its coming year’s schedule in advance, and the promotion’s mega-deal with Reebok, which could bring a sea change in the MMA business as a whole as managers struggle to survive in the new economy of exclusivity. Poor Pettis and Melendez have seen early promo work, including a turn on “The Ultimate Fighter 20,” crammed alongside other events. The shuffling of the headliner deck is an ever-present story.

It’s all happened so fast, so a lot of us are playing catchup on the skinny of the card. If you want a quick primer, though, come along with us for 10 reasons to watch UFC 181, which takes place at Las Vegas’ Mandalay Bay Events Center. Main-card fights air on pay-per-view following prelims on FOX Sports 1 and UFC Fight Pass.

1. Explosions in the octagon

As recently discussed in a column about welterweight Robbie Lawler’s greatest hits, March’s fight for the vacant title was one for the ages, a fast-paced brawl with almost no pause between the heavy-handed Lawler (24-10 MMA, 9-4 UFC) and Johny Hendricks (16-2 MMA, 11-2 UFC) that ended with Hendricks claiming the belt.

It’s too bad the fighters don’t yet carry the kind of audience as the man who left behind the belt, Georges St-Pierre; the bout probably would have won far more appreciation were the two not still in search of traction at the box office. That will come in time, and especially if the champion delivers a repeat of the first performance.

Even if they only deliver 75 percent of what they previously did, it will be worth the price of admission.

2. The lost champions

Lightweight champ Pettis (17-2 MMA, 4-1 UFC) almost feels like a forgotten man returning after a 15-month layoff courtesy of a knee injury he aggravated taking the belt from Benson Henderson. He made quite the splash after laying an egg against Clay Guida in his octagon debut, of course. But this business is what-have-you-done for me lately. Questions of his legitimacy — as in, will he or won’t he be a one-hit wonder? — won’t be fully answered until he starts defending the belt.

Pettis’ first charge, Melendez (22-3 MMA, 1-1 UFC), is a real dream-ender. The former Strikeforce champ got hosed on scorecards against Henderson (a running theme to the advantage of “Smooth”) and was forced to rebuild. But he’s one of the best lightweights in the world, and to add fuel to the fire, he needs to beat Pettis to solidify his legacy. That’s a recipe for one heck of a fight.

3. The thorn in your side

Really a side note, but don’t we all want to hear what Nate Diaz has to say about the winner of Saturday’s title bout? Sure, if it’s Melendez, he won’t say (expletive); the two are longtime training partners and won’t fight each other.

If it’s Pettis, though, it would be a shock if Diaz didn’t burn some more and insert himself into the title debate. And he might just get his wish, too, seeing how things are going these days for popular fighters.

4. They’re so heavy

It’s career rehab time for heavyweights Travis Browne (16-2-1 MMA, 7-2-1 UFC) and Brendan Schaub (10-4 MMA, 6-4 UFC), who both suffered losses in the their recent outings.

For Browne, a lopsided loss to Fabricio Werdum was a more significant fall; a win would have brought him a title shot (or an interim title shot, as it happened). Schaub, meanwhile, still fights to separate himself from the pack with several losses to ranked competition.

In the overall scheme of things, Browne has a lot more to lose, and he’ll need to make a statement to prove he’s still a contender. That leaves Schaub all the room to pull off an upset, perhaps with the jiu-jitsu he’s employed to choke out strikers such as Matt Mitrione. The question is whether he’s up to the task.

5. Welcome back, Todd Duffee

There’s not much better an example of how fast you can rise and fall than heavyweight Todd Duffee (8-2 MMA, 2-1 UFC), who five years ago earned a seven-second KO in his debut only to get knocked out in his next fight. Adding insult to injury, he was released from contract after mouthing off about his pay. Just like that, all of that hype was scuttled.

Cut to the present, and Duffee is making another comeback after a nerve condition threatened to end his career. A lone appearance in 2012 showed he’s still a dangerous guy, and at 28, he’s got plenty of time to make a splash in the big-man division. He just needs to get cracking, and a fight with Anthony Hamilton(13-3 MMA, 1-1 UFC) is the starting point.

6. Passion and warfare

On paper, this looks like the Fight of the Night. Lightweight Tony Ferguson (16-3 MMA, 6-1 UFC) is on a roll, having won his past three outings with a preacher’s fire. Ferguson is a true believer in his mission to become champ. Now he meets one thickly muscled test: bash brother Abel Trujillo (12-5 MMA, 3-1 UFC), who’s knocked out his past two opponents with his fists.

Wrestling could be the big difference here, and it could also turn this bout into a bore. If Ferguson follows through on his promise to find a finish, however, it will deliver.

7. Faber and goliath

It’s another day at the office for Team Alpha Male patriarch Urijah Faber (31-7 MMA, 7-3 UFC), who’s current job is to hover in place until conditions are right for yet another title shot.

This Saturday, the name on the work order is Francisco Rivera (10-3 MMA, 3-2 UFC), a tight-fisted bantamweight with little to lose. It looks like another short night, but you never know with these things. Rivera has the kind of power that could take him out of the title orbit he’s stayed in for so long.

At 35, you wonder how much longer Faber can hover. Like his teammate, two-time flyweight contender Joseph Benavidez, Faber may wait a long time for another opportunity. And then again, he may get it next, especially if he’s truly willing to fight teammate and champ T.J. Dillashaw. The UFC is always game to give him another shot; it’s up to him to not screw things up.

8. Tragedy into triumph

“The Ultimate Fighter 17” wasn’t exactly the best look for middleweight Josh Samman. The guy was clearly a good fighter, but just came off as a blowhard. Not many shed tears for his exit from the show.

The opposite is true if you’ve read about the heartbreaking circumstances of his return, which comes 19 months after a successful pro octagon debut at the TUF 17 Finale. Samman (10-2 MMA, 1-0 UFC), as MMAjunkie’s Ben Fowkles reported, was one-half of a texting-and-driving exchange that killed his girlfriend. He was then sacked by injuries that kept him from continuing his career.

It’s hard not to root for the guy given all he’s gone through. Here’s hoping he can put all that pain to use against “The Ultimate Fighter 19” winner Eddie Gordon (7-1 MMA, 1-0 UFC).

9. Window of opportunity

Ashlee Evans-Smith (3-0 MMA, 0-0 UFC) first won notice by stopping the seemingly inexorable rise of Fallon Fox, muting the argument so many have made that Fox has an unfair advantage in competition. Now, she moves on to bigger (and less controversial) things in a short-notice bout borne of Holly Holm’s injury withdrawal from a meeting with “The Ultimate Fighter 18” veteran Raquel Pennington (4-4 MMA, 1-1 UFC).

While there are probably a few disappointed fans out there, the skills she’s put on display thus far indicate she’s gotten short shrift.

10. The other Showtime

Bantamweight Sergio Pettis (11-1 MMA, 2-1 UFC) got his octagon jitters and first loss out of the way with a submission defeat to Alex Caceres. After rebounding with a decision over Yaotzin Meza, he begins the long journey to the top in a bout opposite Matt Hobar (9-2 MMA, 1-1 UFC), who’s proved an uneven presence in the octagon.

It’s time to start shining for the younger brother of champ and co-headliner Anthony Pettis.

For more on UFC 181, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.

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