UFC Oklahoma City preview: This time, it's personal for 'Maverick'

Warning: Video contains coarse language

When it was announced that Michael "Maverick" Chiesa and Kevin "The Motown Phenom" Lee would be headlining the UFC's return to Oklahoma City, the news was met with polite applause and modest excitement over two budding lightweight contenders getting some much-needed shine.

That said, the matchup lacked a certain sizzle. Then this happened:

Rarely has a passing mention of someone's mother garnered such a violent reaction, but Lee touched a nerve when he mentioned the Chiesa matriach at a recent press conference, leading to the near-brawl that provided a much-needed jolt to Sunday's UFC Fight Night 112 main event.

Chiesa has since downplayed the incident, telling MMAjunkie that his outburst was merely a "lapse of character," which is a shame because nobody would blame him if he brought some of that edge into the Octagon against Lee. In fact, the UFC is probably banking on it.

Beyond any personal beef, the two men will also be competing to inch their way up the ranks of the UFC's deepest division. Chiesa is ranked No. 7 with Lee four spots behind him, and the winner will be that much closer to rubbing shoulders with the likes of Tony Ferguson, Khabib Nurmagomedov, and professional boxing star Conor McGregor.

While waiting to see what "Yo Mama" jokes Lee will strategically inject into his confrontation with Chiesa, there are a couple of other notable bouts to keep an eye on throughout the night.

Bigger Rigg

It didn't exactly summon flashbacks of his days as a top welterweight champion, but at least Johny Hendricks could smile after outpointing Hector Lombard in his first fight at 185 pounds in February.

Hendricks' once ever-present grin had gone missing after a brutal stretch that saw him lose four-of-five fights and miss weight on two of those occasions. That doesn't even include a bout against Tyron Woodley that was canceled due to medical complications caused by "Bigg Rigg" draining himself to make the 170-lb cut.

Now that he's back on the winning track, things don't get any easier for Hendricks as he's facing a massive middleweight in Tim Boetsch - another fighter who's tumbled down the ranks in recent years. A former light heavyweight, Boetsch will have a glaring size advantage over Hendricks and he's a more daunting challenge than his 11-10 UFC record suggests.

Hendricks will have to overcome that to pick up his first win streak since 2013 and continue his surprising reinvention.

Penn again

BJ Penn just can't stop.

It looked like the 38-year-old Penn's latest comeback was over before it began when he was shredded by Mexican buzzsaw Yair Rodriguez in January, but "The Prodigy" made no mention of retiring again. Instead, he chose to wait for an opponent that he was supposed to fight last June.

Dennis Siver will be attempting a comeback of his own after being shelved by injuries for the past two years. He was always a logical matchup for Penn - being just one month older than the former two-division UFC champion - and the pairing should make for a competitive three rounds predicated on skill and strategy, as opposed to who's more athletic.

Penn hasn't won a fight since knocking out Matt Hughes all the way back at UFC 123, and there are many who would be happy to see him hang up the gloves on Sunday, regardless of the outcome. And he very well could be heading to yet another loss that dents his sterling legacy.

But seeing as we live in a world where McGregor is about to fight Floyd Mayweather, the sight of Penn getting his hand raised in 2017 doesn't seem all that unlikely, now does it?

(Photos courtesy: Action Images)