On Saturday night, May 14, at UFC 198, the promotion makes its first trip to Curitiba, Brazil, the eighth-largest city, with a stacked card featuring the cream of its Brazilian stars.
From top to bottom, UFC pay-per-view events don’t get any better than this.
In the main event, heavyweight champion Fabricio Werdum makes the first defense of the title he won against Cain Velasquez last June. He faces American wrestler Stipe Miocic in one of the best matchups in the division.
For Werdum, a win here would cement his legacy as an all-time great heavyweight and, with wins over Fedor Emelianenko, Velasquez and a defense of the UFC title, perhaps even the greatest of them all.
The co-main event features a middleweight clash between Brazilian veterans Vitor Belfort and Jacare Souza. Both are nearing the end of their long careers and desperately need wins to stick around the elite of the division. With a rematch between Luke Rockhold and Chris Weidman set for UFC 199 next month, the winner will likely stake his claim as the next contender.
The card remains compelling even after the co-main. Cris Cyborg, the best female fighter on the planet, makes her UFC debut against Leslie Smith at a 140-pound catchweight. A light heavyweight scrap between the rising Corey Anderson and former champion Mauricio “Shogun” Rua opens the main card.
Anderson Silva’s gallbladder issue scrapped a scheduled fight between him and Uriah Hall at the last minute, which would have made this card even more outstanding. A barnburner of a prospect matchup takes its place as Warlley Alves meets Bryan Barberena.
The prelims are stacked as well. Demian Maia makes his case for a title shot against Matt Brown in the Fox Sports 1 headliner, while Antonio Rogerio Nogueira meets Patrick Cummins in the Fight Pass main event. John Lineker takes on Rob Font in a bantamweight barnburner that has to be the favorite for Fight of the Night.
Every fight on this card is worth the viewer’s time. Let’s take a look at each of them.