Demetrious Johnson vs. Ali Bagautinov headlines UFC 174 in Vancouver

The UFC's first trip to Vancouver, BC since 2011 has its main event, and unlike the previous two visits, this headliner will be a championship bout. Flyweight belt-holder Demetrious Johnson, who has had all of his previous title defenses broadcast on Fox, will make the jump to PPV on June 14th as he takes on Ali Bagautinov. Joe Ferraro of Rogers Sportsnet first reported the bout, which UFC officials confirmed via the Canadian Twitter account:

#UFC174 will see @MightyMouseUFC vs @AliPuncherKing headline in Vancouver via @ShowdownJoe http://t.co/HSjMagJb0M pic.twitter.com/G5WyDCRZk8

— UFC Canada (@UFC_CA) April 9, 2014

Johnson (19-2-1) closed out 2013 with a brilliant 1st round knockout of Joseph Benavidez at UFC on Fox 9, a fight that was a rematch of the inaugural flyweight title, which "Mighty Mouse" won by split decision. His title defense run also includes a FOTN decision win over John Dodson and a 5th round submission (which netted him a SOTN bonus) against John Moraga. Add that to his KOTN performance vs. Benavidez and all that's left for him is the new "Performance of the Night" award.

The 28-year-old Bagautinov (13-2) is a perfect 3-0 in the UFC, with a TKO of Marcos Vinicius and decision wins vs. top 10 ranked flyweights Tim Elliott and John Lineker. Bagautinov is ranked #5, but Johnson has already beaten fighters #1-4 (Dodson, Benavidez, McCall, and Moraga). The Dagestani standout has been on the main card in each of his UFC fights and he'll continue that streak with this title fight main event.

UFC 174's co-main event is a welterweight top contender match-up between BC's own Rory MacDonald and Tyron Woodley. A rumored light heavyweight bout between Ryan Bader and Rafael Cavalcante is also planned for this card but hasn't been finalized.