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The final pay-per-view card of an already unpredictable 2020 is upon us on Saturday when Deiveson Figueiredo gets his second headlining opportunity in three weeks at UFC 256 in Las Vegas. Figueiredo, fresh off a submission win over late replacement Alex Perez at UFC 255 last month, will take on another dangerous top contender in Brandon Moreno in the main event inside the UFC Apex facility. 

The card has undergone many changes with both welterweight champion Kamaru Usman and women's featherweight champion Amanda Nunes originally scheduled to headline before injuries delayed their returns. The same happened for bantamweight champion Petr Yan as his scheduled title defense against Aljamain Sterling was moved to 2021 due to visa and travel reasons. 

Let's take a closer look now at the biggest storylines entering this weekend as the UFC gives us its final PPV event of this insane year. 

1. No one's had a better 2020 than Deiveson Figueiredo

With his effortless swagger and penchant for finishing fights, it would be an understatement to describe Figueiredo's previous 12 months as a star turn. If 2020 ended today, Figueiredo would likely already be your Fighter of the Year in MMA following three victories -- all by early stoppage -- and a seizing of the UFC flyweight title. But a swarm of injuries and poor luck opened up the door of opportunity one more time, and Figueiredo answered with his second PPV-headlining role in as many months. 

For a Brazilian fighter who possesses everything short of a grasp of the English language as it pertains to becoming a crossover star, the UFC is giving Figueiredo every chance possible with this kind of close-up to end the year. Figueiredo is not only 9-1 since making his UFC debut in 2017, he has won five straight and evolved into a dangerous finisher either standing or via submission on the ground. 

2. Expect Brandon Moreno to be a very live dog

There's always more pressure on the champion to defend his title than on the challenger looking to make his name. The 27-year-old Moreno has had to turn his career around the hard way after a two-fight losing skid in 2018 led to his UFC release. Moreno was also somewhat controversially passed over for a title shot against Figueiredo last month in favor of Perez after former bantamweight champion Cody Garbrandt pulled out. Moreno went on to stop Brandon Royval on the UFC 255 undercard, and now sets for his own three-week turnaround entering the biggest fight of his career. 

Although he has settled in as a 2-1 underdog, Moreno's chaotic style and durability could present an issue for the champion, especially if Figueiredo's history of difficult weight cuts (he missed weight completely in February and was forced to defeat Joseph Benavidez a second time to win the vacant title) becomes an issue given the short turnaround. Figueiredo appeared to barely meet the 125-pound limit ahead of the Perez fight and, to his credit, showed no ill signs because of it inside the cage. But he also scored another early stoppage. Moreno is a dangerous threat to push Figueiredo into the championship rounds, and seemingly has nothing to lose.

3. Stakes in Tony Ferguson-Charles Oliveira

Under any circumstance, given the entertaining style of both, this lightweight co-main event would be worthy of "must-see" classification. But the recent turnover in the sport's most dangerous division could play a big part in this being an important title eliminator of sorts depending upon how the cards fall. With unbeaten champion Khabib Nurmagomedov having announced his intention to retire and UFC president Dana White (at least up to this point) proving unsuccessful in luring "The Eagle" back in for a farewell attempt at a 30-0 record, Ferguson-Oliveira has all the making to be just as important as the Jan. 23 showdown between Dustin Poirier and former champion Conor McGregor. 

White, for whatever reason, has chosen not to add an interim or vacant title to the McGregor-Poirier rematch, which means it's very possible the winners of both fights could meet for the belt later on in 2021. Either way, the 36-year-old Ferguson enters what amounts to a must-win bout in hopes of achieving his title hopes after seeing his 12-fight win streak snapped in May by Justin Gaethje. Don't expect it to come easy against this version of Oliveira, who is riding high on a seven-fight win streak since 2018, all by stoppage. 

4. Just how good is Kevin Holland?

For all the talk about how masterful Figueiredo has been during a year which has been difficult to most, the 28-year-old middleweight prospect Holland has been just as opportunistic. Owning a 3-2 record inside the Octagon entering 2020, Holland has gone on to win four straight fights in a five-month span, including three by stoppage. The hot streak was supposed to have led to him facing Jack Hermansson last Saturday in the main event of a UFC Fight Night card until a positive COVID-19 test forced Holland to withdraw. 

He'll get a second chance this weekend following a matchmaking switcheroo in which Marvin Vettori, originally set to face Ronaldo Souza at UFC 256, took Holland's place by defeating Hermansson with Holland stepping in to face "Jacare." As impressive as Holland has looked against hopeful future contenders, the 41-year-old Souza should provide a better indication as to how for real Holland is. 

5. How much life does JDS have left? 

The former UFC champion has been on hard times of late despite ripping off a three-fight win streak (and knocking out Derrick Lewis) as recently as 2019. It's everything that has happened since then that has placed the future for Junior Dos Santos in discernible doubt. At 36, the wars and miles have seemed to add up for Dos Santos as he enters UFC 256 on a streak of three straight defeats, all by TKO. 

The good news, if there is any, is that each defeat game against dangerous top contenders in Francis Ngannou, Curtis Blaydes and Jairzinho Rozenstruik. The bad news is that unbeaten upstart Ciryl Gane has been installed as a 4-1 betting favorite on Saturday. A win or even a competitive loss could save JDS his job given his name value and the fact that heavyweights can often reinvent themselves late (see Andrei Arlovski's seemingly never-ending career). But a stoppage loss could be the end of the road for a legend who fought for the UFC heavyweight title as recently as three years ago but hasn't held it since 2012.