The past few days have not been good to MMA. Between drug-test failures, suspensions, fighters missing weight, fighters being pulled from events and nasty injuries, it seems like there have been very few opportunities to celebrate the sport.

So, here’s hoping tonight’s UFC on FOX 20 card will give us a brief respite from the recent onslaught of bad news.

In the main event, former UFC women’s bantamweight champion Holly Holm looks to get back in the win column following the loss of her belt to Miesha Tate. Holm faces Valentina Shevchenko, who is also coming off a loss – to current champion Amanda Nunes, who took the belt from Tate earlier this month.

In the co-main event, Gilbert Melendez returns to the octagon for the first time in more than a year, and the UFC matchmakers are giving him a lulu of a welcome back test in exciting striker Edson Barboza.

UFC on FOX 20 kicks off with early preliminary-card bouts on UFC Fight Pass before switching to FOX for the remaining prelims and main card.

There are plenty of reasons fight fans should tune in to UFC on FOX 20; here are 10.

1. Real pressure

An argument could be made that Holm’s fight against Shevchenko is the highest-pressure bout of her MMA career. When Holm (10-1 MMA, 3-1 UFC) defeated Ronda Rousey to win the women’s bantamweight title, very few people expected Holm to win (remember, Rousey opened as a nearly 13-1 favorite), and thus, the challenger was essentially free rolling.

Sure, Holm’s title defense against Tate was high pressure, but when she lost that fight, and her title, it increased the pressure on Holm for her next fight, which is this one.

If Holm, the No. 2 fighter in the USA TODAY Sports/MMAjunkie MMA women’s bantamweight rankings, loses to No. 10 Shevchenko (12-2 MMA, 1-1 UFC), it will make her road back to a title shot a tough one. And that’s not to mention the backlash she’ll face from fickle fans who will undoubtedly label her dominant win over Rousey as nothing more than luck.

2. Striker or grappler?

Like Holm, Shevchenko enters this fight coming off a loss after dropping a unanimous decision to Nunes in March. Shevchenko was hailed as a dangerous striker when she came to the UFC, but she’s found success using her clinch game to take the fight to the mat, a technique she utilized well in defeating vet Sarah Kaufman.

Shevchenko is talented, but she’s shown almost too much patience at times. She’s content to sit back and counter. Against Holm, who favors a distance game, that game plan will put Shevchenko at a disadvantage. If she can close the distance and push Holm to the cage and work her clinch, this fight could get interesting. If that doesn’t happen, this one could be a long five rounds.

3. Proving ground

Melendez entered his first UFC fight with a 21-2 record and ranked No. 2 at lightweight. Today he is 1-3 in the UFC, ranked No. 9, and coming off a year-long suspension due to a failed drug test.

In short, Melendez (22-5 MMA, 1-3 UFC) has a lot to prove in this fight against No. 7-ranked Barboza (17-4 MMA, 11-4 UFC).

Melendez has had two UFC title fights during his run with the promotion, and if he hopes to get a sniff at a third in a highly competitive division, he’s going to need a win over Barboza.

A former Strikeforce and WEC champion, Melendez isn’t likely to be released with a loss here, but it may leave him in an unenviable position with the UFC.

4. Roadblocks removed

Barboza has struggled in breakthrough fights after losing to Donald Cerrone, Michael Johnson and Tony Ferguson just when it looked like he was going to make the leap into the upper echelon of the lightweight division.

He worked through that barrier in his last fight and defeated former champ Anthony Pettis. Barboza fought the most complete fight of his career against Pettis, and that should help remove any mental obstacles he had about competing against top competition in the division.

5. Building something big

Francis Ngannou, one of the rare younger-than-30 UFC heavyweights, seems like he’s getting the slow build treatment, and that makes sense. After all, he’s been training in MMA only since 2013.

Despite his short time in the sport, fans are beginning to notice Ngannou (7-1 MMA, 2-0 UFC). Seven finishes in eight fights, including two knockouts in the UFC, doesn’t hurt in that respect.

Ngannou, who has shown a good combination of patience and power in the octagon, faces UFC newcomer Bojan Mihajlovic (10-3 MMA, 0-0 UFC), who enters the fight on a 10-fight winning streak.

6. Standin’ at the crossroad

Much like Melendez, Felice Herrig is at a crossroads. She hasn’t fought in more than a year after taking time off to recover from burnout from the fight game.

Herrig (10-6 MMA, 1-1 UFC) has been known to put a lot of pressure on herself, and her fight against fellow strawweight Kailin Curran (4-2 MMA, 1-2 UFC) has all the makings of a stressful bout. Not only is Herrig entering the event after a long self-imposed layoff, but she’s also coming in off a loss to Paige VanZant.

If Herrig can get through this contest with a victory, we’ll know the time off was the correct decision. If she losses to Curran, who is coming off a submission win over Emily Kagan, Herrig may find herself in the same place she was after the loss to VanZant.

7. Different styles

If you have 16 minutes to spare, you can watch each of Godofredo Pepey’s last five fights, none of which have left the first round.

Pepey (12-3 MMA, 4-3 UFC) lost the first two of those contests, but he’s now riding a three-fight winning streak, earning a “Performance of the Night” bonus in each victorious outing.

Pepey is a little reckless in his striking, a bit risky in his submission game, and all excitement. He faces the biggest test of his career in Chicago when he meets Darren Elkins in a featherweight bout. Elkins (20-5 MMA, 10-4 UFC), a wrestling-based fighter, has gone the distance in 10 of his last 12 fights.

8. The new guy

If you’re looking for a newcomer to get behind at UFC on FOX 20, J.C. Cottrell might be your guy. Cottrell (17-3 MMA, 0-0 UFC) is on a six-fight winning streak entering his lightweight fight against Michel Prazeres (19-2 MMA, 3-2 UFC) with four of those wins coming by way of submission.

Cottrell is a tough fighter who has managed to extricate himself from some sticky situations in his recent fights. He’s showed no sense of panic when put in tight spots and seems to have good fight IQ. His style is to use his striking to set up his submissions, and he’s not afraid to use flashy and risky techniques.

The only drawback for Cottrell is that he’s coming into this fight on short notice and faces a step up in competition. Prazeres enters this fight coming off a split-decision win over Valmir Lazaro in his last outing.

9. Wherever the fight goes

The welterweight bout that headlines the UFC Fight Pass prelims might not have the name recognition as some of the digital streaming service’s other featured prelims, but that doesn’t mean this is a fight that can be missed.

Both Alex Oliveira and James Moontasri are fun fighters to watch, and their different styles make this fight an intriguing one.

Oliveira (14-3-1 MMA, 3-2 UFC) excels in the clinch while Moontasri (9-3 MMA, 2-2 UFC) is best at distance. However, that doesn’t mean Oliveira won’t fight to Moontasri’s strengths if need be – because he will, and he’ll do so with no qualms.

10. Another new heavyweight

At 8-0 with eight first-round stoppages, Dmitry Smolyakov is the kind of heavyweight fighter who gets your attention. However, if you dig into the records of his eight opponents, you’ll find they’re a combined 23-26 with 13 of those wins coming from just two fighters.

That dampens things a bit in the enthusiasm department. With that being said, Smolyakov (8-0 MMA, 0-0 UFC) is not being thrown into the deep end in his first UFC fight; he faces Luis Henrique (8-2 MMA, 0-1 UFC), who has just one UFC bout to his name: a second-round knockout loss to Ngannou.

For more on UFC on FOX 20, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.