UFC 156 Preview: 10 Things You Need To Know

Alistair Overeem (James Law/HeavyMMA)

10 things to know before UFC 156

1. UFC 156 is the promotion's first Pay-Per-View event of 2013. Two prelims will broadcast live on Facebook at 7 p.m. ET and four more will make up the FX prelims broadcast for the next two hours. The PPV portion of the event begins at 10 p.m. ET.

2. UFC 156 will be the first card in the last three years on which Frankie Edgar did not fight a man named BJ, Gray, or Ben. Since April of 2010, he fought BJ Penn, Gray Maynard, and Ben Henderson twice a piece. To put it in perspective, the last time Edgar fought someone outside of those three, Kimbo Slice was still on the UFC roster.

3. Jose Aldo will enter the Octagon this Saturday riding a 14-fight win streak. Aldo's only career defeat came back in 2005 in his 8th career MMA bout.

4. The UFC 156 main event will be the 7th title fight for Edgar and Aldo under the Zuffa banner. Edgar is 3-2-1 in championship contests, while Aldo is a perfect 6-0 with three championship tilts won in the WEC and three in the UFC.

5. Alistair Overeem makes his return to the Octagon against Antonio Silva following a lengthy suspension. He was out of action after failing a pre-fight drug test for UFC 146; he was scheduled to meet heavyweight champion Junior dos Santos on the card.

6. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira is nearly a 3 to 1 underdog heading into UFC 156, and rightfully so. He faces Rashad Evans, who has lost twice (both in title fights), and the pair share a common opponent in Phil Davis. Evans easily worked his way to a unanimous decision against Davis, while Nogueira was on the losing end of a decision to "Mr. Wonderful."

7. Flyweight contender Ian McCall has a tall task ahead of him this weekend in Joseph Benavidez, but "Uncle Creepy" has been having some difficulty outside the cage with personal problems. This fight could very well determine the next flyweight top contender.

8. Jon Fitch hopes to win consecutive fights for the first time since 2010. The longtime contender has fought just three times in over two years, going 1-1-1 in that span. Compare that to the 5-0 record he compiled between January of 2009 and August of 2010.

9. Since abandoning the middleweight division, a weight class of which he was once top contender, Demian Maia has happened upon greener pastures in the welterweight division. The submission ace looks to secure his third win at 170 lbs. against Fitch, which would also earn him a three-fight winning streak for the first time since early 2009.

10. Both Tyron Woodley and Jay Hieron look to avoid consecutive losses for the first time in their careers this weekend. Hieron lost to Jake Ellenberger in his last outing, while Woodley lost to Nate Marquardt in Strikeforce last year.