Whew.
The first six months of 2015 were a bit of an upheaval for MMA, in good and bad ways. Ronda Rousey continues to permeate the mainstream sports consciousness. UFC and parent company Zuffa unveiled its comprehensive and formidable new drug-testing program, not to mention that little sponsorship deal with Reebok.
Even more recently, you had UFC 189, only one of the best MMA cards ever held. At the top of that card, Conor McGregor cemented himself as the sport’s biggest non-Rousey star by defeating Chad Mendes for the interim featherweight title. And that’s to say nothing of Robbie Lawler vs. Rory MacDonald, the stirring-to-the-point-of-disturbing Fight of the Year, at least in the clubhouse.
Then there was Jon Jones’ arrest, Jose Aldo’s rib and Kimbo Slice. We didn’t forget about those guys. In fact, they could lie at the center of the action in the second half of 2015, which, if it’s anything like the first half, could be pretty freaking crazy.
So what are those big storylines as we round the halfway pole? That’s what we’re here to identify. A gallant band of writers assembled herein—Jonathan Snowden, Jeremy Botter, Chad Dundas and myself—have each found and described what we think will be a key plot point for the coming months.
As people who drive cars like to say, buckle your seat belts.