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And now, here's one for the hardcore fans.

Following a recent string of pay-per-view main events featuring fighters who'd gained the attention of casual mixed martial arts fans, the latest UFC show is going back to its roots by comparison.

In fact, there's not a Conor McGregor, a Ronda Rousey or a Jon Jones to be seen.

Instead, the spotlight at the Arena Atlético Paranaense in Curitiba, Brazil, will shine brightest on the country's largest octagonal hero -- UFC heavyweight champion Fabricio Werdum.

It's just the third home turf appearance in a dozen years for the 38-year-old title-holder, who these days makes his home in Los Angeles, but was born just more than 430 miles from Saturday's venue.

There, he'll face the third-ranked contender to his throne, twice-beaten American Stipe Miocic.

"I'm very excited for this fight in this stadium, with 45,000 people there," Werdum told CBS Sports. "It's amazing. Brazil is my country and it's very emotional to be there."

It's the first fight in 11 months for the champion, who captured the full-fledged crown on the UFC 188 card last June with a third-round submission of Cain Velasquez. He'd entered that show as the interim champion after a previously scheduled meeting with Velasquez -- at UFC 180 -- was scrubbed by injury.

Werdum punished Velasquez while the two were on their feet, then quickly ended matters once it went to the mat by applying a guillotine choke that prompted his foe to tap out.

He forecasts a similar fate for Miocic, regardless of the challenger's street cred as a college wrestler and professional acumen as a powerful striker with high-level takedown defense and conditioning.

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Fabricio Werdum and Stipe Miocic are ready to do battle on Saturday. Getty Images

"I respect him. He's a nice guy. He doesn't say a lot of bad things and he has a good boxing record," Werdum said. "But I want to see him on the ground. I want to see his back on the ground and I want to see his reaction. When I get him there, I'll have him for sure."

And even though he's closer to 40 than 30, Werdum anticipates a Saturday win will be just the first step of a reign that'll eventually approach record proportions.

"I've trained a lot for the fight. I've been ready for four months. I believe I have a lot of energy," he said. "My goal is to defend my title four or five times. I want to break records. I want to defend my title a lot of times. I want to retire as a champion."

The Werdum-Miocic matchup will top a five-bout, pay-per-view card that will go live at 10 p.m. ET. Here's how the rest of the card shakes out.

UFC 198 Fight Card
Weightclass Favorite Challenger
Heavyweight Fabricio Werdum (-155) Stipe Miocic (+135)
Middleweight Ronaldo Souza (-315) Vitor Belfort (+265)
Women's Bantamweight Cris Cyborg (-1600) Leslie Smith (+900)
Light heavyweight Mauricio Rua (-235) Corey Anderson (+200)
Welterweight Warlley Alves (-550) Bryan Barberena (+420)

Fox Sports 1 will air a separate four-bout preliminary show that begins at 8 p.m. A UFC Fight Pass early prelims show includes three more bouts and airs at 6:30 p.m.

As mentioned, Werdum is a slight favorite. It'll take a $155 wager to return a $100 profit on him, while a $100 outlay on Miocic would return $135 for an upset.

Miocic, not surprisingly, isn't shy about forecasting a surprise.

"(Werdum's) got a black belt, and he uses it well," he said, in the UFC's official pre-fight countdown video. "But it gets harder to do jiu-jitsu when you're getting punched in the face."

Main event Tale of the Tape
Category Fabricio Werdum Stipe Miocic
Record 20-5-1, 16 KO/Sub 14-2, 11 KO/Sub
Height 6-foot-4 6-foot-4
Reach 77" 80"
Leg reach 45" 39"
Weight 231 240
Age 38 33
Hometown Porto Alegre, Brazil Independence, Ohio

How Werdum wins: Though the champion has developed his striking and Muay Thai skill sets, he's a world-class grappler who's still at his best on the mat. A worn-down Velasquez was doomed after intentionally trying to take the battle to the floor last June and Werdum's clearest path to a win Saturday presumably has a horizontal orientation as well.

How Miocic wins: The American was a decorated wrestler in college, but he's earned his MMA chops based on what he can do with his fists. He's especially heavy-handed with punches, takes a strong shot and has an enviably large energy reserve for long fights. A 70-percent takedown defense will be key for him to keep the scrap on a level where he's best suited to thrive.

Prediction: Werdum enters as the champ, but the burden remains on him to seize control of the fight and dictate where most of it will be played out. The longer the two fighters are on their feet, the better it figures to look for Miocic - particular if he's able to play effective defense along the way and wear his man down with his hands.

The guess here is that the challenger will indeed take Werdum into deep waters and begin landing meaningful shots in the fight's second half. As the punishment mounts, look for him to register a belt-seizing stoppage in Round 4.