Despite the epic main event between Jon Jones and Daniel Cormier being removed from Saturday’s UFC 178 card, UFC president Dana White and other company officials have ensured a great show by moving Demetrious Johnson vs. Chris Cariaso for the flyweight title to this event.
The main event is intriguing, but this is one of the deepest pay-per-view cards of the year for UFC. With Donald Cerrone vs. Eddie Alvarez, Dustin Poirier vs. Conor McGregor and the return of Dominick Cruz added to the card, this is a show MMA fans won’t want to miss.
Here is the vital viewing information, the full PPV card with predictions and a complete breakdown of the main event.
Where: MGM Grand Garden Arena, Las Vegas, Nevada
When: Saturday, Sept. 27
Start Time: 10 p.m. ET
Watch: PPV (local service providers)
Breaking Down the Main Event
The UFC 178 card is stacked, but there is a serious focus on the main event featuring Demetrious Johnson fighting Chris Cariaso for the UFC Flyweight Championship.
Johnson has won six straight fights since a draw against Ian McCall in 2012 and has successfully retained the title four times since becoming the inaugural winner of the belt. As well as Cariaso has fought over the last year (three straight wins), he is not on the same level as Johnson.
After beating Ali Bagautinov in a five-round war, Johnson has supreme confidence in his reign as champion. A rare knockout victory in the flyweight division over Joseph Benavidez in December 2013 has also helped build the defending champion’s confidence.
When asked about the lack of knockouts in his weight class, Johnson told Mike Straka of UFC.com about what it takes to achieve a KO and why it doesn’t take place more often:
I’m not knocking out everyone left and right. In the lighter divisions guys move around a lot. When I knocked out Joseph Benavidez we were both standing still and not moving, and we both threw at the same time and whoever was going to land first was going to get the knockout, and mine just happened to land first. Don’t forget, every time I fight I’m fighting the best guy in the world who earned his shot at the belt, so knocking guys out is the furthest thing from my mind. I’m worried about what I’m going to do to win, to execute what I worked on in camp with my coaches, stuff like that. Cariaso knocked out Iliarde Santos, so it happens in the flyweight division, just not as much as in the heavyweight division.
According to a tweet from UFC Tonight, Johnson has no plans of moving up a weight class:
The UFC Tonight crew also picked Johnson as the unanimous victor:
Johnson is the favorite in this fight for good reason. While Cariaso has beaten the challengers put in front of him, his victories have come against lackluster competition. The 33-year-old fighter has never faced a challenger as well-rounded as Johnson.
What makes Johnson so dangerous is his ability to do everything well. As an elite wrestler, the defending champion is comfortable taking the fight to the ground and winning by pounding his opponent over the course of a five-round fight. On the other hand, Johnson is more than willing to stand in the center of the Octagon and exchange punches and kicks with his opponent.
Add in his elite speed and overall reactionary quickness, and there is little doubt that Johnson should be able to pull out the victory on Saturday night. Unlike many other flyweight fights, though, this main event will end early.
Predicted Winner: Johnson via fourth-round TKO
*Stats via UFC.com.
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