UFC Fight Night 88 preview: Will Barao be reborn at featherweight?

Four of the world's best bantamweights will be in action at UFC Fight Night 88, but it's the former ruler of that division who might be facing the most pressure.

Young guns Thomas Almeida and Cody Garbrandt compete in their first UFC main event, while the co-main sees ex-bantamweight champ Renan Barao make his debut at 145 pounds.

Here's a deeper look at the narratives unfolding Sunday in Las Vegas:

Bantamweight blitz

Unless Conor McGregor or BJ Penn are involved, the lighter weight classes of the UFC have always struggled to draw.

That's a shame considering the lightweight, featherweight, and bantamweight divisions also happen to be three of the deepest and most entertaining in the sport.

Nowhere is that more evident than in a pair of bantamweight bouts featuring Almeida and Garbrandt, and Aljamain Sterling and Bryan Caraway.

Related: Meet Thomas Almeida: The 5 best KOs from the UFC's hottest prospect

Almeida and Garbrandt don't turn 25 until July, and both have exhibited utter disregard for the judges' scorecards in their young careers. In 21 fights, Almeida has finished 19 of his opponents. Garbrandt's resume isn't as robust, but he's shown the same killer instinct with seven knockouts in eight appearances.

Neither man has tasted defeat yet, and someone's "O" is going to go this weekend.

Another undefeated fighter facing a stiff test is Sterling. "The Funk Master" has spent considerable time and energy chasing down Caraway, and if he lays an egg on fight night, it could badly damage his reputation.

The UFC has also been pushing Sterling heavily in his role as a Fight Pass headliner, so he'll have to win - and win spectacularly - to justify their backing.

Check out the video below for a preview of Sterling and Caraway showing off their submission skills:

Barao takes the plunge into featherweight waters

All one needs to do to get an impression of how far Barao has fallen since his championship days is listen to the hyperbolic words of Joe Rogan:

That was two years ago, and Barao has fought only three times since then, losing twice to T.J. Dillashaw in that span. The low point of the stretch might have been outside the cage when Barao collapsed and struck his head after a disastrous weight cut.

That incident played a part in his decision to move up to 145 pounds, a division where he actually had enormous success prior to joining the UFC. His teammate Jose Aldo carried the featherweight belt during that time, necessitating a move for Barao.

Now that he's back at a more comfortable weight, Barao has all the tools to go on another championship run. The first step is getting past the hard-headed Jeremy Stephens.

2 top female fighters in jeopardy

The women's bantamweight division is often maligned for being a three-horse race between Miesha Tate, Ronda Rousey, and Holly Holm, and it's hard to argue when the other contenders seem stuck in the mud.

Sara McMann was once considered a legitimate threat to upset Rousey, and Jessica Eye joined the UFC with plenty of momentum given her 3-0 record competing for Bellator, highlighted by a memorable submission of Zoila Frausto:

But both now find themselves with only one win in their past four appearances. Eye's misfortune is particularly difficult to swallow given that she had a previous win over Sarah Kaufman negated by a positive test for marijuana.

McMann and Eye sit at No. 6 and No. 7 respectively in the UFC's official rankings, but the loser of this fight risks falling from top 10 to not mentioned at all.