The UFC invades Barclays Center in Brooklyn for the first time on Saturday night with a card headlined by a historic bout between Holly Holm and Germaine de Randamie for the inaugural featherweight title.

The battle for the belt between two of the most decorated female strikers in history should be an extremely exciting fight for fans, but Cristiane “Cyborg” Justino’s absence casts an indelible shadow over the bout. “Cyborg” is the best featherweight in the world, a beyond-dominant champion in Invicta FC. She also turned down the opportunity to headline UFC 208 against either Holm or de Randamie before getting popped by USADA for taking a diuretic.

Whoever wins Saturday night technically will be the champ, but really will just be first in line to fight “Cyborg” — or perhaps Invicta FC interim champ Megan Anderson — for the undisputed title in the future.

The Post recently broke down the undercard. Here is what each fighter needs to do win the main event:

Holm is the most decorated female boxer in history — she’s a 19-time world champion in three different weight divisions. She’s also the former UFC women’s bantamweight champion and started her MMA career with 10 straight wins, culminating in her legendary head kick win over Ronda Rousey.

Holm’s early success was built on her ability to dictate the range of her fights through a variety of techniques. First, Holm’s traditional boxing skills give her the ability to unleash an almost endless series of pitter-patter 1-2 punch combinations that force her opponents to pause before they try to move forward. Holm’s punches aren’t powerful, but they score well on the judges’ scorecards and create a bubble of safe space for Holm to unleash her deadly kicks.

When the bubble is popped, Holm is always ready to move. She’s great at pivoting off the centerline as she’s moving backward and then punching her way out of trouble. Grinders such as Raquel Pennington and Miesha Tate, and even Rousey, tried to get on the inside against Holm, and she easily would move out of range while throwing enough punches to stay safe.

Holm’s quick punches and ability to counter are both in service to her fight-ending kicks. Despite being a traditional boxer, Holm is also an accomplished kickboxer, and you’ll often see her left heel rise off the mat as she prepares to throw her huge high kick. The high kick isn’t her only weapon; she also has quick oblique kicks and thumping side kicks that she uses to push her opponents off.

Against de Randamie, Holm’s natural tendency to retreat should serve her well. With her wide stance that is half traditional karate and half traditional boxing, Holm will let de Randamie take the lead and then look to counter. Slipping and ripping her left hand as she moves away from a charging de Randamie, Holm should be free to throw any strikes she wants because — for just the second time in her UFC career  — she’s facing a striker like herself.

Unfortunately, that fight, against Valentina Shevchenko, did not go well. Holm couldn’t deal with Shevchenko’s technical superiority and discipline, but there is a huge difference between Shevchenko and de Randamie: In theory, Holm could try to take her UFC 208 opponent down if things get really bad. It isn’t her first, second, or even third options, but if Holm can’t dominate on the feet, she can use her superior strength to grind out a victory by getting de Randamie on her back, where she is almost defenseless.

De Randamie is one of the most decorated Muay Thai fighters in history — she’s 46-0 in her pro career with 30 knockouts. Her transition to MMA has not been as seamless as Holm’s, however. She’s 6-3 in MMA, but has won her past two fights since she lost to bantamweight champion Amanda Nunes in 2013. In that fight, de Randamie lost the initiative, was forced to retreat and ultimately ended up on her back, where Nunes ground-and-pounded her until the ref stepped in.

De Randamie shouldn’t have that problem against Holm. The Dutch striker will take the center of the Octagon, from where her mobility and range is most effective. Standing 5-foot-9 with light feet and good movement, de Randamie will look to punch from distance just like Holm. Unlike Holm, however, de Randamie’s punches aren’t defensive, they are devastating. Her jab has power behind it, and she rotates her hips to uncork crosses and hooks that are powerful enough to end any fight.

Amazingly, de Randamie’s punches might not be her most effective long-distance strikes. That honor belongs to her kicks, which she hasn’t been able to show off in the UFC because they leave her vulnerable to a takedown. Against a fellow striker like Holm, that won’t be as much of a worry, so she’ll be able to throw wood-chopping low kicks should Holm lean too far forward on her lead leg.

While her outside striking game is technical and smooth, de Randamie’s work from within the clinch is downright nasty. If she can close the distance with Holm, de Randamie will look to lock in a Muay Thai clinch around Holm’s neck and then brutalize her midsection with knees. It might not be as pretty as Holm’s head kicks, but de Randamie’s knees are just as destructive. Just ask Anna Elmose, de Randamie’s last opponent in the UFC, who bent in half after a particularly hard right knee to the stomach.

De Randamie is actually a matchup nightmare for Holm if the fight becomes a kickboxing match as everyone expects. The only way de Randamie could get into trouble is if Holm’s far superior overall MMA skills take the day.

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