Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) asked mixed martial arts (MMA) fans to be content with a flyweight main event between Valentina Shevchenko and the unheralded Sijara Eubanks, a rather unusual (and somewhat desperate) choice for a marquee pay-per-view (PPV) show at “The World’s Most Famous Arena.”
Not surprisingly, fans were lukewarm to the idea.
So, the promotion brought the UFC 230 fight card back into the shop for repairs and emerged with a heavyweight title fight pitting Daniel Cormier (champion) opposite Derrick Lewis (challenger) for Sat., Nov. 3, 2018 in New York City, assuming the latter gets medically cleared by a physician.
BREAKING: Per Dana White, “the fight is done” between Daniel Cormier and Derrick Lewis at UFC 230 on Nov. 3 in New York.
— Brett Okamoto (@bokamotoESPN) October 9, 2018
While Cormier has been on the sidelines since July, UFC 230 marks a fairly quick turnaround for the “Black Beast,” who was knocked around for the better part of three rounds at last weekend’s UFC 229 event in Las Vegas, a bout that saw him absorb 121 significant strikes, including 78 to the head.
Nothing “scary” about that, amirite?