UFC 184 comes with some questions attached.
For instance, just how strong is the drawing power of Ronda Rousey? The women’s bantamweight champion—and one of the UFC’s most recognizable stars—will headline the event. But with the co-main event featuring a sub-.500 fighter (Raquel Pennington) and a woman making her UFC debut (Holly Holm), the organization is really depending on Rousey to bring in the buys on this one.
The booking not only has to do with UFC President Dana White‘s belief in Rousey as someone with drawing power, but the caliber of Cat Zingano as a challenger.
“She’s the headliner,” White told Kevin Iole of Yahoo Sports regarding the expected celebrity-heavy crowd at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. “She’s the one who’s getting pushed. She’s the champion. She’s the star. She’s at such a high level that other celebrities recognize that, but it also has to do with the fight. It’s a tough, legit fight. Cat Zingano is probably the greatest threat to Ronda there is.“
But whether Zingano really has what it takes to push Rousey isn’t the only question on the card. There’s plenty of intrigue surrounding Saturday’s slate of fights. Here’s a look at all the information you’ll need to take in the fights along with predictions for the entire card.
When: Saturday, Feb. 28
Start Time: Fight Pass prelims at 7 p.m. ET; Fox Sports 1 prelims at 8 p.m. ET; main card pay-per-view at 10 p.m. ET
Where: Staples Center, Los Angeles
Live Stream: UFC.tv
Top Storylines to Watch
Where Does Tony Ferguson Rank in Stacked Lightweight Division?
It isn’t easy to get noticed at 155 pounds these days. The division currently ruled by Anthony Pettis has no shortage of fighters who are deserving of title-shot consideration or just one win away from joining the upper echelon.
Rafael dos Anjos, Khabib Nurmagomedov and Donald Cerrone currently sit atop the UFC rankings, and names like Eddie Alvarez, Jim Miller and Al Iaquinta round out the Top 15.
Attempting to break into those rankings will be 31-year-old Tony Ferguson. El Cucuy has been on a four-fight win streak since suffering his only UFC loss to Michael Johnson in May 2012. However, none of the victims involved in that streak were as accomplished as Gleison Tibau.
Tibau has become the epitome of a gatekeeper for the lightweight division. Beat the American Top Team fighter and you’re likely on to bigger and better things (like Johnson, who handed Tibau his last loss). Lose to him, and it proves you aren’t ready for the big time.
A finish for Ferguson should set him up with a legitimate Top 15 opponent next time out.
Who Has More Left: Josh Koscheck or Jake Ellenberger?
There was a time when Josh Koscheck and Jake Ellenberger could have made for a decent pay-per-view main event, but that time is long gone.
Koscheck is no longer the fighter who beat Anthony Johnson. At 37 years old, just how many fights he has left in his body is a legitimate question.
Things don’t get much better on the other side of the cage, either. Ellenberger may only be 29 years old, but he doesn’t look like the guy who once put together a six-fight win streak and appeared destined for a title shot.
These two are a combined 0-6 in their last six fights and looking for redemption. While that record looks ugly, it did come against a high level of competition for both guys. They both lost to current champion Robbie Lawler, while Kos also lost to Johny Hendricks and Tyron Woodley. Ellenberger fell to Rory MacDonald and Kelvin Gastelum.
Who has the wherewithal to bounce back from his losing ways?
In some ways, this could mirror the Frank Mir vs. Antonio Silva fight that fans saw last week. Silva came into the bout as a heavy favorite due to Mir’s recent struggles, but the former champion was able to spring the upset in part because he took time off to heal.
With Koscheck making his return to the Octagon after more than a year away from fighting, he’s just dangerous enough as an underdog to get the job done.
Is Holly Holm the Real Deal?
Before Rousey and Zingano take center stage in the night’s main event, Holly Holm will finally get her chance to show what she can do in the UFC.
In a division bereft of many marketable contenders, the organization is setting the stage for Holm to immediately become a household name if she can rise to the occasion. The New Mexico-based fighter established a name for herself in boxing and has looked good thus far in her transition to the world of MMA.
The 33-year-old has struck her way to a 7-0 record in her new sport, but as Jonathan Snowden of Bleacher Report points out, her opposition has been questionable at best:
In actuality, the quality of competition isn’t getting much better in her co-main event bout. Pennington is just 5-4 in her MMA career with her two UFC wins coming against Roxanne Modafferi and Ashlee Evans-Smith. That’s not exactly a murderers’ row.
Still, Pennington has flashed some potential and is the best opponent that Holm has seen. The expectation is that the UFC brought in Holm as an eventual opponent for Rousey, but the newcomer still needs to take a few steps before that’s a viable main event.
Scoring an impressive finish as the lead-in to a Rousey title defense would be a big step in that direction.
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