One to Watch: Yusuke Kasuya vs. Alex Volkanovski

After last weekend's double header in Belfast, Northern Ireland, and Sao Paulo, Brazil, the UFC returns to your lives this weekend as they revisit the city which saw Holly Holm dethrone UFC women's bantamweight queen Ronda Rousey—Melbourne, Australia.

UFC Fight Night: Whittaker vs. Brunson (otherwise known as UFC Fight Night 101) is to be held at Melbourne's Rod Laver Arena—an impressive building, albeit much smaller than Etihad Stadium which held the UFC's last visit to Melbourne in front of a record attendance of over 56,000 spectators.

This card has been chopped and changed aplenty. Luke Rockhold and Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza were originally slated to be the main event of this show in a title eliminator. However, Rockhold was forced to sit out this UFC Fight Night 101 having gained a knee injury in training. As a result, another middleweight bout between Robert Whittaker and Derek Brunson—two of the 185lbs weight class' most promising prospects—serves as the headline act.

The collapse of UFC Fight Night: Lamas vs. Penn in the Philippines meant fights between Yao Zhikui and Jenel Lausa, as well as Seo Hee Ham vs. Danielle Taylor, were rearranged for the UFC's return to Australia's most prominent sporting city.

However, it's the contest between Yusuke Kasuya and Alex "The Great" Volkanovski which really catches the eye.

Kasuya, who also met difficulty thanks to the aforementioned cancellation of the UFC event in the Philippines, hasn't fought for over a year following his UFC debut in an unlucky decision loss to Nick Hein at UFC Fight Night 75 in the legendary Saitama Super Arena.

The Japanese grappler, who packs a punch too, was the aggressor throughout the fight. But, the judges scored their contest in the favor of Cologne, Germany, native Hein after three rounds. With a record of 9-2-2, Kasuya made his name on the East Asian MMA circuit with his most notable win coming against fellow submission specialist Frank Camacho by a rear naked choke in the first round in early 2016. Of Kasuya's nine wins, eight of them are by submission with the other coming by knockout.

Kasuya will have another tough opponent this weekend in Sydney, Australia, native Volkanovski.

Like his opponent, Volkanovski had to make a change of plans when the October event in Manilla was scrapped by the UFC—prolonging his eagerly anticipated UFC debut. It may have been frustrating at the time, but it worked in the Aussie's favor, given his start to life in the Octagon is now on home soil.

Talking to Australian news outlet Sporting News, Volkanovski said: "When that Manilla card got canned it was a bit disheartening, but in saying that it was a blessing in disguise. I was hopeful of fighting in Melbourne, so when I got the call that I was gonna be on the Australian card it was just unreal.

"Everyone here believes in me and knows that I can do well in there and I'm gonna prove that on Sunday. I'm gonna prove that because I've got a lot of people coming as well. I've got hundreds coming down and that's just the people who've told me they're coming. You'll hear them roar."

A former rugby player with impressive wrestling pedigree in his home country, Volkanovski—formerly known as "The Hulk"—has a penchant for finishing fights a lot like Kasuya. Boasting a record of 13-1 with eight knockouts and three submission victories to his credit, "The Great" has also won multiple regional titles in the flourishing Aussie MMA scene. This, along with his 10-fight undefeated streak, has led to a big local support in his home country—one which will be fully backing him this weekend.

The Aussie of Croatian and Macedonian descent won his titles as a featherweight. Standing at 5'5", Volkanovski is pretty undersized as a UFC featherweight, let alone a lightweight. However, due to the relative late notice ahead of this contest, Volkanovski is seizing upon this opportunity to finally make his UFC debut despite the disparity in size between the both men.

"I think there's probably been four [fan] campaigns to get me on," he said. "Every time there's an event there's been one and that's what I mean saying it's been a long time coming. They can't refuse you forever and I'm on a 10-fight win streak, I'm 13-1 and fought all the top guys in Australia.

"I really believe they were looking for an opportunity for me for that Manila card. It was five weeks' notice, but they could have gotten any lightweight. I feel Joe Silva wanted me in there and that was the opportunity. Obviously I usually fight at featherweight, but I'm gonna take whatever I can get. He gave me that call and I jumped on it."

When asked what UFC fans should be expecting ahead of his UFC debut, Volkanovski simply said: "Fireworks." Well, that works for me. Make sure this is your One to Watch this weekend.