In a year that already has proved to be massive for the UFC, with one major card after another, UFC 205 on Nov. 12 at Madison Square Garden in New York looks to be the biggest and most important of them all. In honor of such a marquee event, ESPN.com is providing dedicated previews to all 13 bouts on the card, breaking down whats at stake and projecting who will win, along with quotes and statistics for each fighter.Lightweights: Jim Miller (27-8) vs. Thiago Alves (21-10)Odds as of Nov. 2: Alves (-165), Miller (+145)Dana Whites thoughtsJim Miller is always exciting. You never watch a Jim Miller fight and go, Oh, what happened? That guy just didnt show up tonight. Hes one of those guys who just goes. Hell stand with you if you want to stand, but hes also great on the ground and has had some great ground wars.And Thiago, I think everybody the last couple years has been moving around weight classes and if hes still the Thiago we used to know at this new weight, that should be a really good fight.Whats at stake?Miller: From retirement talk to win streak in less than six monthsA strange feeling came over the veteran Miller on March 5 as he stepped into the Octagon to fight Diego Sanchez at UFC 196. It was something he had never felt in his entire career.That was the first time I actually kind of didnt want to be there, Miller said. That was a tough one for me, and it was for a million different reasons.Miller, 33, decided long ago that whenever his career ends, it will happen immediately after a fight, while hes still inside the cage. He wants that farewell moment on the microphone, to let his fans know its over. In order to guarantee that moment, Miller said he has to know ahead of time, going into a fight, that its his last one.He thought that was going to be the case at UFC 200 in July. After performing poorly and not feeling right at UFC 196, Miller asked for a fight at UFC 200. He figured it was the perfect time and place to say goodbye.But when he got into that fight camp, Millers body responded better than he thought. Things turned around quickly and he ultimately decided that wouldnt be his last fight. He has won two in a row since.It started off like it would be my last run, but I got back to feeling like my old self, Miller said. Its different now. I know what its like when Im off, but I also know when Im feeling good. I know by the results in the gym -- theyre back to where they should be, where they used to be a couple years ago.It went pretty quickly from All right, lets just get through this and put on a show to I think I can stay in this for a while.Alves on weight cut: Im gonna make all these lightweights payAlves is tired of looking up to the opposition -- literally.The veteran welterweight will make his long-awaited lightweight debut at UFC 205, and hell do it without the assistance of longtime nutritionist Mike Dolce. Alves is working with a new nutrition group ahead of his first cut to 155 and feels confident about the process, even though he actually has struggled in the past to make the 170-pound limit.Im gonna make weight and Im gonna feel great -- thats actually the slogan of the company Im working with, the 5-foot-9 Alves said. I know the morning of the weigh-in, Ill have the whole world asking, Is he gonna make it? Thats exciting for me because I love to prove people wrong.Ill be one of the biggest lightweights in the division. I had to lose 10 pounds of muscle and 10 pounds of fat. Ive lost a lot of muscle and Im gonna make all these lightweights pay for that s---. We shouldnt be losing muscle, man, especially doing what we do, but thats what was necessary and my body feels great.I was just giving up a lot of reach and height as a welterweight. All my last fights, these guys were 6-foot-2. Its tough fighting giants.Alves, 33, has never recaptured the magic of a seven-fight win streak that led to a title shot at UFC 100 in 2009. But in a new weight class, under a new lifestyle, he doesnt think it will take long to get a title shot.A lot has changed since the last time I fought [in May 2015], Alves said. Im a father now. I got married. You guys used to see the young, dumb Pitbull. Now youve got an adult.Im not looking ahead. I know Ive got to get through Miller first. But I think it makes complete sense to give me a top-5 opponent next and then the title. Thats the goal.Statistical comparisonMiller: 27-8 record (16-7 UFC); on two-fight win streakMiller: 16 wins in UFC lightweight division tied for most all time with Gleison TibauAlves: 21-10 record (13-7 UFC); first fight since May 2015Alves: 11 knockdowns landed in UFC fights, tied for eighth most all timeBreakdownAlves said it in plain English: Hes looking forward to fighting opponents with less reach.His knockout power stacked up fine at 170 pounds, but the same wasnt always true of his frame. That doesnt mean he wasnt (or still couldnt be) effective at that weight, but you cant blame him for dropping down.Although he has expressed confidence, its worth asking how that cut to 155 will go. Miller likely will look to set a high pace on the bigger man and his grappling can be deadly, especially if his opponent tires. He does have a tendency to get into prolonged exchanges, which is good for his entertainment value but perhaps bad against a dangerous finisher like Alves.PREDICTION:?Miller by third-round submission. Los Angeles Lakers Jerseys . -- The Magic have their first victory of the new year. Shaquille ONeal Lakers Jersey . The return match will take place next Wednesday. Udinese leads Fiorentina 2-1 in the other semifinal. Napoli staged a second-half comeback from two goals down after Gervinhos opener and a stunning strike from Kevin Strootman. http://www.lakersbasketballshop.com/Kobe-Bryant-Jersey/ . 31, the CFL club announced Monday. The team also has yet to decide on the future of Doug Berry, who began the season as a consultant to the head coach but took over the offensive co-ordinators duties in July. Byron Scott Jersey . Louis. To which I would say two things: 1. Where there is smoke, there is or perhaps has been a little fire. Or, in other words, the two teams would appear to have at least spoken. And spoken is defined as one calling the other to inquire, no more, no less. Nick Van Exel Jersey . LOUIS -- Mike Smith is used to facing plenty of shots, so this was nothing new. When the tough junior lightweight fight was over and Juan Manuel Lopez had knocked out fellow former world titleholder Wilfredo Vazquez Jr. in the 11th round of their bitter grudge match, they showed each other mutual respect and embraced multiple times.But what a wild time it was getting to that point Saturday night at Roberto Clemente Coliseum in San Juan, Puerto Rico.The Puerto Rican rivals, whose animosity had been building for years, went at each other relentlessly before the fight in a build-up that was as nasty as there could have been. Vazquez went so far as to say a few days before the fight that Lopez repulses him, and then they nearly came to blows at the final news conference, which prompted Black Tiger Promotions officials to beef up security at Fridays weigh-in.But on fight night, they let it all hang out in an exciting battle that ended in wild fashion, with Lopez, moments after scoring the knockout, exchanging punches with one of Vazquezs cornermen as the ring filled and fans began throwing objects, soda and beer at ringside.It took a few minutes to restore order, at which point Lopez and Vazquez stood with their arms around each other in the ring, having earned each others respect after a grueling fight, which was contracted at 129 pounds, one below the junior lightweight limit as an accommodation to the smaller Vazquez.Lopez (35-5, 32 KOs), 33, a powerful southpaw who won world titles at junior featherweight and featherweight and was at one time widely considered one of the 10 best fighters in the world pound-for-pound, was coming off a 25-month retirement and had been badly knocked out inside four rounds in three of his previous four fights.Lopez did not look good early. Through most of the first half of the fight, Lopez appeared to lack the usual snap on his punches, looked a bit soft and was being soundly outboxed by the quicker Vazquez (24-7-1, 19 KOs), 32, a former junior featherweight titleholder who repeatedly landed lead left hands.Slowly but surely, however, Lopez began to find his target. He nailed Vazquez with a right hook that shook him in the fifth round. As the rounds wore on, Vazquez was having trouble with his left eye, which he continually blinked for the rest of the fight. By the eighth round, it had turnedd into an all-out brawl, exactly the kind of fight that typically does not bode well for Vazquez.dddddddddddd At the end of the ninth round, they continued to trade punches with each other after the bell as the crowd went wild.Finally, in the 11th round, Lopez backed a fading Vazquez close to the ropes and fired a combination that rocked him and sent him falling into the ropes. Vazquez grabbed onto the top rope to try to keep from going down but landed on his rear end. Rather than give Vazquez a chance to collect himself and begin counting for the knockdown, referee Ramon Pena immediately called off the fight at 2 minutes, 29 seconds.Lopez began to celebrate, and then moved aggressively toward one of Vazquezs cornermen, who had entered the ring. They exchanged multiple punches in a wild scene and the ring immediately filled with people, and a riot nearly broke out in the ring and at ringside before order was restored.At time of stoppage, Lopez was ahead 96-94 on two of the judges scorecards, and the third judge had it 95-95.Vazquez, the son of former three-division world titleholder Wilfredo Vazquez Sr., his trainer, has lost three fights in a row and four of his past five, but he accomplished more in his career than many thought he ever would. He began boxing in 2006 without any amateur background, won a vacant 122-pound world title in 2010 and made two successful defenses. After the loss to Lopez, however, Vazquez said in the ring that this was his last fight.Lopez, out of retirement, said he planned to fight again and wanted any big name willing to face him. He mentioned former three-division titleholder Abner Mares, who is scheduled for a Dec. 10 fight against featherweight titleholder Jesus Cuellar. In September 2014, Cuellar obliterated Lopez in the second round of an interim title fight in the loss that sent him into retirement.Lopez also mentioned a desire to face Mexican rival Orlando Salido again. Salido traveled to Puerto Rico in 2011 and knocked Lopez out in the eighth round of a major upset to take his featherweight title. In the 2012 rematch, Salido knocked him out again, this time in the 10th round. ' ' '