UFC 184 has a different feel to it.
Not only do the co-main events feature women’s bouts in the wake of Chris Weidman’s injury, but they promise to be two of the more hotly contested—if not important—fights of the year, both for the promotion and the women involved.
Holly Holm vs. Raquel Pennington is about the future of the division, while the seemingly immortal Ronda Rousey faces her stiffest competition to date against the very mortal Cat Zingano, whose ability to come back from any sort of deficit makes her the perfect contrast to Rousey‘s dominance.
Saturday’s historic occasion is superb in the most basic principle of an event—the fights are pivotal, and more importantly, they’ll be even.
UFC 184 PPV Schedule
Date: Saturday, Feb. 28
Fight Times (ET): Fight Pass at 7 p.m.; Fox Sports 1 prelims 8 p.m.; pay-per-view at 10 p.m.
Location: Staples Center in Los Angeles, California
Live Stream: UFC.tv
UCF 184 Full Card and Picks
Breaking Down Co-Main Events
Raquel Pennington vs. Holly Holm
The two fighters in the co-main event complement each other perfectly in the Octagon, much as Rousey and Zingano do from a philosophical standpoint.
Pennington, 26, is one of the promotion’s most dangerous up-and-coming talents who prefers fights go to the mat and stay there—until the bell rings and her hand is raised.
At 33 years old, Holm counters with a professional boxing background and strikes that can make the best of the best black out before hitting the mat.
Pennington is a tough first task for Holm, as the Colorado native leans heavily on toughness and a strong chin to will her way into things and eventually take her opponents to the mat.
Of course, this sort of tactic is quite dangerous against Holm, who’s 32-2-3 as a boxer over the course of 13 years and a New Mexico Boxing Hall of Fame member. These are the reasons Holm has frequently been mentioned as the one to take down Rousey since her arrival, regardless of whether she likes them or not.
“I’ve never said no to a fight or picked an opponent so if they said that had to be my next fight, I would just have to change my whole chain of thought and just say ‘OK, let’s do it.’ But if it were up to me, I’d like to have more experience,” said Holm, via Fox Sports’ Damon Martin.
Call Saturday a nice warm-up for Holm. Her ability to keep Pennington at bay and eventually win things while remaining upright make for a rather predictable affair, no matter how much of an underdog with nothing to lose Pennington truly is at this point.
Next up for Holm is Rousey—provided both win Saturday night, of course.
Prediction: Holm by decision.
Ronda Rousey vs. Cat Zingano
For the first time in a long time, a Rousey fight will keep fans on the edge of their seats throughout.
Zingano is not in the main event in a fluky manner. She’s not cannon fodder to give Rousey something to do. She’s someone who stacks up quite well in most areas:
Offensively speaking, Zingano may be able to match Rousey in a blow-for-blow manner considering she lands 74 percent of her strikes and rests at 100 percent in grappling success, according to UFC.com.
It’s easy to dismiss all names who enter the Octagon with Rousey. She’s won nine fights in the first round. Rarely do her fights last longer than four minutes. She submitted Olympic medalist Sara McMann in all of a minute and change.
Dismissing Zingano is a mistake she can’t afford, though, something the challenger wants to make sure the globe is fully aware of going into Saturday night.
“I don’t feel like she’s been challenged the way she will with me,” Zingano told Michael Martinez of UFC.com. “I feel like I’m a different, complete pedigree than anyone she’s ever been against, and I think she knows that as well.”
Saturday won’t be another case of McMann attempting to match her strength against that of Rousey‘s. It will be Zingano going in the opposite direction, using devastating kicks and knees to keep the champion at bay.
Even then, it is hard to imagine a reality in which Rousey goes down. Careful observers will notice one hole in the overarching narrative: Zingano is an outstanding comeback kid when it matters, but that requires she survives an initial onslaught.
If things drag on to the third round, conditioning is where Rousey will be tested, in a way she only has been once before.
Odds are the fight won’t last that long.
Prediction: Rousey by submission.
Stats and info courtesy of UFC.com unless otherwise specified.
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