UFC on ESPN 42 was a welcome reprieve after the Ultimate Fighting Championship's previous event, the dreadful UFC Fight Night 215, which was the weakest in Fight Night history. By contrast, “UFC Orlando” had a whopping seven fights better than last week’s Ion Cutelaba-Kennedy Nzechukwu headliner: namely the entire main card plus Emily Ducote vs. Angela Hill.
The main event was perennial contender and one of the greatest strikers in MMA history, Stephen Thompson, facing the endlessly dynamic and entertaining Kevin Holland.