Dione Barbosa is the UFC Vegas 94 fighter to watch

The UFC returns to the UFC APEX this Saturday for UFC Vegas 94 and for the second time this year, women headline consecutive cards, as former strawweight challenger Amanda Lemos gatekeeps against fast-rising former Invicta champion Virna Jandiroba.

Elsewhere, middleweights Jun-Yong Park and Brad Tavares look to rebound from defeats last time out, while fan-favorite featherweight Doo-Ho Choi returns after more than a year away against Bill Algeo. The rest of the card, like the one last week, is short on name value but teeming in star-making potential.

Tthe prelims in particular feature an intriguing prospect who deserves more shine: flyweight Dione Barbosa, born in Brazil but happily training at Kings MMA in California under the legendary Rafael Cordeiro.

It is safe to say that she has come from absolutely nowhere to become someone to watch out for. While she did begin her professional MMA career on a three-win streak, most notably getting a unanimous decision over fast-rising flyweight contender Karine Silva, consecutive defeats to current UFC bantamweight Josiane Nunes and Bellator/PFL flyweight Jena Bishop sapped her of momentum.

But consecutive wins in the Legacy Fighting Alliance, the second coming against Bellator veteran Jessica Middleton served to restore her reputation as a prospect. And then bizarre circumstances led her to the biggest opportunity of her career.

Corinne Laframboise was initially booked against Rainn Guerrero as part of Season 7 of Dana White's Contenders Series. Only days before the fight, however, she found out that she was pregnant. Normally that would mean cancellation, but Barbosa stepped in and proceeded to have the best day of her career.

She snatched Guerrero's arm in a little over three and a half minutes, securing herself a UFC contract. And her debut would be a magical one - UFC 301 in Rio de Janeiro, her first fight in Brazil since the first loss of her career. Barbosa was pitted against fellow newcomer Ernesta Kareckaite, herself a DWCS alum. And in a back-and-forth fight, she prevailed via unanimous decision.

Dione Barbosa fights Miranda Maverick at UFC Vegas 94

Now, circumstances have once again led her to the biggest fight of her career. Miranda Maverick was supposed to face Tracy Cortez at Saturday's event: just the standard unassuming battle between ranked flyweights looking to move up the divisional ladder. Then, Maycee Barber's illness refused to subside in time for her supposed main-event clash against Rose Namajunas a week prior.

With that fight in need of a replacement opponent, Cortez bravely stepped in (she would eventually drop a unanimous decision). This left Maverick without a partner, but Barbosa stepped in.

This fight easily represents the most significant test of Barbosa's career. Maverick is highly regarded as one of the most promising prospects in MMA, someone who can conceivably be world champion. And she has had her fair share of fighting major names like Barber and Erin Blanchfield, so she is certainly battle-tested.

None of that, however, intimidates Barbosa. She knows that Maverick is not infallible. Blanchfield utterly controlled her when they met. Jasmine Jasudavicius managed to outmaneuver and outwork her. Even in Invicta, she suffered losses to Brogan Walker-Sanchez and DeAnna Bennett - a pair of fighters who had/have a limited ceiling in the Octagon.

This is a low-risk, high-reward opportunity for Barbosa. Win, and she suddenly has inroads towards higher-profile fights that will help her ascend to title contender status. Lose, and she can still rebuild.

Maverick, on the other hand, cannot afford another damaging defeat. Despite being the younger woman by five years, she has always had to carry the expectations of being the next big thing. But ill-timed losses have put her steps back just as she was making progress in her development as a fighter, and failing against a seemingly lesser talent may instantaneously cause much, if not all, of her promise to disappear.