UFC 200 fight card primer: Prelims on FS1 and Fight Pass

UFC 200: Tate vs. Nunes features a stacked card all the way to the opener. Here, in our Bloody Elbow fight card primer series, we take a look at all of the prelim fights. UFC 200 airs live from Las Vegas this Saturday, July 9. The main card airs on PPV with a fight time of 10:00 p.m. ET / 7:00 p.m. PT, with the prelims starting at 8:00 p.m. ET on Fox Sports 1 and 6:30 p.m. ET on Fight Pass.

FOX SPORTS 1 PRELIMS (8:00 p.m. ET)

#3 Cat Zingano (9-1 MMA; 2-1 UFC) vs. #5 Julianna Pena (7-2 MMA; 3-0 UFC) - Women's Bantamweight
In the UFC 200 main event, Miesha Tate and Amanda Nunes clash for that title, while here on the prelims main event, we see the return of Cat Zingano. Given that Zingano holds UFC wins over both Tate and Nunes (those are in fact her only UFC wins), you have to think an impressive Zingano win here could make her the next title challenger. This is her first fight since a Feb. 2015 loss to Ronda Rousey, as she's been dealing with various issues outside of the cage. Looking to steal Zingano's momentum is the first ever TUF Women's winner, Julianna Pena. Pena won TUF in 2013, took a year off due to injury, and is 2-0 since coming back, looking good in both her fights.

#6 Johny Hendricks (17-4 MMA; 12-4 UFC) vs. #12 Kelvin Gastelum (11-2 MMA; 6-2 UFC) - Welterweight
Former Welterweight champion Hendricks continues his quest back to title contention here. Since dropping the belt to Robbie Lawler, Hendricks is 1-1. He comes in here off a TKO loss to Stephen Thompson - the first stoppage loss in Hendricks' career. Hendricks is known for both his strong wrestling and his dynamite KO power. He's also known for struggling with his weight, and indeed, he missed the 170 pound limit here. Gastelum won TUF 17 as a relative rookie, and has looked great in his UFC run. He won his first 5 in the Octagon, showing great improvement each time, but has gone 1-2 in his last 3, with losses to Neil Magny and Tyron Woodley. Gastelum has also struggled with his weight, including being forced up to Middleweight by Dana White, but he was on point this time.

#1 T.J. Dillashaw (12-3 MMA; 8-3 UFC) vs. #3 Raphael Assuncao (23-4 MMA; 7-1 UFC) - Bantamweight
This is a rematch from 2013 and is one of the best fights on the entire card in my opinion. Assuncao won that first encounter, and if justice was served, this rematch would have been his shot at UFC Bantamweight gold. Unfortunately, Dillashaw lost that title to Dominick Cruz while Assuncao was out for over a year with a severe ankle injury. This is the Brazilian's first fight since October 2014. Currently on a 7 fight win streak, and with wins over Dillashaw and Bryan Carraway, Assuncao is the clear top contender if he wins here. Dillashaw looked incredible in his pair of title fights against Renan Barao (and Joe Soto), and managed to give Dominick Cruz all he could handle in a razor close losing effort. This is his first fight since losing the belt, and you know he sees a rematch with Cruz in his future.

Sage Northcutt (7-1 MMA; 2-1 UFC) vs. Enrique Marin (8-3 MMA; 0-1 UFC) - Lightweight
On the highly stacked UFC 200 card, this fight sticks out, and not for good reasons. Here you have two pretty inexperienced fighters, both coming off of loses. Clearly, this is designed to showcase Dana White pet project Northcutt, who gets a bounce back fight here after suffering his first pro loss last time out. At only 20 years old, Northcutt certainly is impressive, but his obvious promotional push has soured some fans on him. Marin is a Spanish fighter whose lone UFC outing is a split decision loss to Erick Montano. He has a golden ticket here though if he can punch it.

UFC FIGHT PASS PRELIMS (6:30 p.m. ET)

Diego Sanchez (26-8 MMA; 15-8 UFC) vs. Joe Lauzon (25-11 MMA; 12-8 UFC) - Lightweight
Sometimes a fight gets booked and it just makes sense - this is one of those fights. Here are two experienced UFC veterans, and two crazy men who give it their all every single time. Both have been either in or near title contention in the past, and those days are gone for both, with the really good performances becoming increasingly rare for each man. This one won't determine a future title challenger, and in the end, it won't really matter who wins. But it will be a blast to watch, because Diego, and because J-Lau.

#8 Gegard Mousasi (38-6-2 MMA; 5-3 UFC) vs. #15 Thiago Santos (13-3 MMA; 5-2 UFC) - Middleweight
Former Dream and Strikeforce champion Mousasi is one of the most technically skilled strikers in the division, but also one of the most frustrating, equally capable of brilliance and disappointment. He had a rough loss to Uriah Hall - the lowest ranked fighter Mousasi has lost to in years - but bounced back with a good win over Thales Leites. Santos did not have a great start to his UFC career, but is now on a 4 fight win streak and coming in off a first round KO of Nate Marquardt. He made waves last year with his great head kick KO of Steve Bosse as well. Look for a stand-up battle here, and keep your eye on Santos, who is certainly a live dog.

Jim Miller (25-8(1) MMA; 14-7(1) UFC) vs. Takanori Gomi (35-11(1) MMA; 4-6 UFC) - Lightweight
Gomi is the former Pride Lightweight champion, and at one time was considered the top Lightweight in the world. He came to the UFC in 2010 but was already past his prime. While he's had some success at times in the Octagon, UFC fans have never really seen him at his best. An 18 year veteran of the sport, there's probably not a lot of time left in the career of the Fireball Kid. Jim Miller was a near contender during a great run from roughly 2010-2012. A real workingman's kind of fighter, Miller has been able to outwork and grind his way to victory against some very skilled opponents. But he too is past that time and is now on a 1-4 run. Both men remain capable of delivering very entertaining fights though.