Not just one championship match, but two of them have been the main event of the first five of the last six UFC pay-per-view fight cards. There is a great deal of gold and glory at stake.

In contrast, there won't be any championship fights at UFC 279 at all.

The Las Vegas event on Saturday (10 p. ET on ESPN+ PPV) will, however, include Nate Diaz and Khamzat Chimaev, two draws that shine as brightly as a cage full of dazzling belts.

Diaz is the oversized representation of the UFC's former tagline, "As Real As It Gets." Since he first stepped foot inside the Octagon in 2007, this legendary antihero has been a fan favorite by displaying his rebellious truth. He is unpolished and unrepentant.

This man's aggressive demeanor always draws a crowd, and his visit this weekend might result in extremely intense thrills. The fact that Diaz will be fighting in his last UFC match has the intriguing potential to heighten his sincerity, if that is even possible.

For the main event, Chimaev will be standing across the cage. Since making his UFC debut two years ago, he has rapidly risen through the welterweight division. That's because he has compiled statistics by going 5-0 in the Octagon that, if mapped out in a superhero movie script, would be returned for a more believable rewrite. And it has been fascinating to watch him pull this off. Chimaev is a difficult person to describe in words. He consistently puts on shows that you have to see to believe, and even then you might say that your eyes are lying.

Make no mistake, UFC 279 will be all about Nate and Khamzat despite the fact that there will be a dozen other fights on the program, some of which feature well-known athletes who on other nights would demand the attention.

With that in mind, here is a list of the top three things to do on Saturday night, but they are placed in reverse order to honor the possibility that everything could go wrong.