UFC 222 Is An Event For The Future Of MMA

In a few hours, tonight’s (Sat., March 3, 2018) UFC 222 will begin from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. It’s not the most star-studded card by any means, and it even lost its main event when featherweight champ Max Holloway was forced out of his anticipated showdown with Frankie Edgar, a bout that was […]

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In a few hours, tonight’s (Sat., March 3, 2018) UFC 222 will begin from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.

It’s not the most star-studded card by any means, and it even lost its main event when featherweight champ Max Holloway was forced out of his anticipated showdown with Frankie Edgar, a bout that was replaced by an impromptu women’s featherweight match-up between champ Cris Cyborg and Yana Yunitskaya.

‘The Answer’ stayed on the card as well, taking a huge risk in facing surging contender Brian Ortega in a co-main event where his reward will be the positioning he already had. It’s a great fight, the legend vs. upstart cliché at the highest level and an under-the-radar candidate for the most compelling match-up of 2018 thus far. Unfortunately, however, that almost certainly won’t add up to a high number of pay-per-view buys alone in the currently fickle, MMA-swamped climate.

But UFC 222 isn’t only about time-honored and battle-tested vets like Cyborg and Edgar – far from it, in fact.

The event from top to bottom is a showcase of hyped-up young talent that could represent the future of the UFC in the form of potential stars in Ortega, bantamweight Sean O’Malley, and women’s strawweight Mackenzie Dern.

And the UFC needs new stars.

Following a banner 2016 where Conor McGregor and Ronda Rousey propelled the promotion to an unheard-of string of million-plus pay-per-view buys, the company was sold to Endeavor (formerly WME-IMG) and has since sunk to a concerning valley of low numbers on both pay and cable television.

I won’t delve into the details, some in Endeavor’s control and some out of, of why that has happened – much of the MMA world, including myself, has been guilty of harping too much on the supposed demise of the UFC and MMA as a whole to the point we may not appreciate the crop of insanely amazing, hard-working, and talented fighters we have competing right before our very eyes.

UFC 222 is a showcase of just that, one the likes of which fans rarely get treated to because it’s so difficult to have go off without a hitch.

Photo: Kyle Terada for USA TODAY Sports

Ortega has won five straight bouts after a no contest due to a failed drug test in his first Octagon appearance; the Gracie jiu-jitsu product steadily dispatched an improving caliber of talent by way of submission and T/KO in a manner we rarely find.

True, he’s hittable as we’ve seen in a few of his recent bouts, namely his scintillating submission over top-ranked veteran Cub Swanson in his last fight. He can also snatch a fight-ending hold on the best literally out of thin air, as we saw in his scintillating submission over Swanson. Ortega is fully deserving of his Top 3 ranking.

He’s also a man with a focus on philanthropy after having risen above a potential life of gangs, so the California-based Ortega is a refreshing, unique personality who could become a champion unlike we’ve ever seen.

Stephen R. Sylvanie for USA TODAY Sports

O’Malley, a lithe bantamweight who first made his debut with a first-round knockout on ‘Dana White’s Tuesday Night Contender Series,’ is a much different kind of prospect.

The brash young knockout artist then won his official debut by unanimous decision over Terrion Ware at The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 26 Finale in December.

He’ll now face Andre Soukhamthath in his second UFC match-up, and he has future star written all over him. He’s confident, even cocky, and his accurate striking style makes ‘Suga’ just the kind of fighter fans will pay to see compete.

Dern needs nary an introduction.

The daughter of Brazilian jiu-jitsu legend Wellington “Megaton” Dias, Dern is one of few grapplers to defeat Gabi Garcia in the gi, and has transitioned well into MMA so far with an undefeated 5-0 record. She’ll now fight in the big leagues when she meets Ashley Yoder in the featured preliminary bout at UFC 222.

She’s long been billed as “the next Ronda Rousey” for somewhat obvious reasons, yet Dern has repeatedly stressed she wants to separate herself and make her own impact.

That could start tonight, and the entirety of MMA will be watching to see if the Dern hype train will truly kick into high gear in 2018.

All of it adds up to UFC 222 being a rare, exciting card where the potential future stars of MMA are competing, even if it doesn’t break the bank in terms of PPV buys. These three competitors have so much talent and charisma that it could be said Ortega, O’Malley, and Dern will still become future stars in the UFC no matter if they win or lose at UFC 222.

After such a down period, the sport needs them and fighters just like them, and that’s why this card is so special.

Take a break from the oft-discussed downfall of MMA, look at the card, sit back, and enjoy a night that could possibly be referenced as the starting point of something special.

I’ll take my own advice.

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UFC 222 Ceremonial Weigh-In Video

The stage is nearly set for tomorrow’s (Sat., March 3, 2018) UFC 222 from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. Fighters participating in the pay-per-view event weighed in an today’s official early weigh-ins, and each fighter made weight without instance for this card. The event features a late-notice women’s featherweight title fight between Cris Cyborg […]

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The stage is nearly set for tomorrow’s (Sat., March 3, 2018) UFC 222 from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Fighters participating in the pay-per-view event weighed in an today’s official early weigh-ins, and each fighter made weight without instance for this card.

The event features a late-notice women’s featherweight title fight between Cris Cyborg and Invicta FC bantamweight champion Yana Kunitskaya, and the event also has the potential to be a huge leaping point for future stars like Brian Ortega, who will meet stalwart contender Frankie Edgar in the co-main event, Mackenzie Dern, who will face Ashley Yoder in her UFC debut, and exciting bantamweight Sean O’Malley.

All that’s left before they square off in Sin City tomorrow night is to step on the scales and face off, so watch the UFC 222 ceremonial weigh-in video streaming live at 7 p.m. EST/4 p.m. PST right here:

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Cris Cyborg Steps Up To Save UFC 222

The all-out mess that is March 3’s UFC 222 pay-per-view from Las Vegas finally has a replacement headliner. News broke from MMA Fighting’s Ariel Helwani that women’s featherweight champion Cris Cyborg was rumored to be fighting Invicta FC bantamweight champion Yana Kunitskaya in place of the originally booked Max Holloway vs. Frankie Edgar featherweight championship. Edgar […]

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The all-out mess that is March 3’s UFC 222 pay-per-view from Las Vegas finally has a replacement headliner.

News broke from MMA Fighting’s Ariel Helwani that women’s featherweight champion Cris Cyborg was rumored to be fighting Invicta FC bantamweight champion Yana Kunitskaya in place of the originally booked Max Holloway vs. Frankie Edgar featherweight championship.

Edgar is reported to be taking on Brian Ortega in the co-headliner as has been talked about ever since Holloway was forced off the event last weekend:

The fights were soon confirmed, good news for the UFC as they attempt to crawl out of an early-year funk that’s seen two consecutive pay-per-view main events fall apart after middleweight champion Robert Whittaker was also unable to fight at this weekend’s UFC 221.

TJ Dillashaw vs. Cody Garbrandt in a rematch of their UFC 217 bout was talked about but ultimately shot down by Dillashaw, who had a litany of reasons for not giving his former Team Alpha Male teammate-turned-rival an immediate rematch.

Some will deride the UFC’s decision to have Cyborg continue facing bantamweights she outweighs by gross margins, but at this point in time, there wasn’t much else they could do.

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Cyborg Announces She’s Agreed To Fight Amanda Nunes

After dominant UFC women’s featherweight champion Cris Cyborg made her first official title defense against former women’s bantamweight champion Holly Holm at December 30’s UFC 219, talk about just whom could be considered a legitimate contender for the bulldozing Brazilian great. Facing an absence of any real women’s featherweight fighters in the UFC, the only […]

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After dominant UFC women’s featherweight champion Cris Cyborg made her first official title defense against former women’s bantamweight champion Holly Holm at December 30’s UFC 219, talk about just whom could be considered a legitimate contender for the bulldozing Brazilian great.

Facing an absence of any real women’s featherweight fighters in the UFC, the only name anyone could really come up with for Cyborg was women’s bantamweight champion Amanda Nunes, who appeared somewhat lukewarm on the bout.

But there is not a clear contender for The Lioness,” either, making Cyborg vs. Nunes by far the biggest women’s title fight the UFC could make at the current time. While it’s uncertain to happen for one reason or another, Cyborg revealed on her Instagram account tonight that she had agreed to fight Nunes at July’s UFC 226:

“I have agreed to fight @amanda_leoa July 7th in Las Vegas as part of #UFC226 and #InternationalFightWeek. I am now waiting for my manager to work with the @ufc on a bout agreement so we can make #CyborgVNunes #TheSuperFight official. #CyborgNation us versus them!”

It would appear that the ball is in Nunes’ court now, as a superfight with Cyborg would undoubtedly be the most lucrative fight she could sign to participate in.

However, it’s by far the most dangerous as well, and with a peerless run at 135 pounds in tow, “The Lioness” may not want to spoil a good thing and risk her rep facing a fighter most would pick to demolish her inside the distance.

If Cyborg and her management can get Nunes to agree to the first-ever champion vs. champion bout in UFC women’s history, the July 7 pay-per-view card from Las Vegas would receive a significant boost.

Will the UFC be able to pull it off?

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Donald Cerrone Reacts To Cyborg Incident At JacksonWink

After UFC women’s featherweight champion Cris Cyborg’s hard-fought win over Holly Holm in the main event of UFC 219 last Saturday, the MMA world was thrust into controversy when a social media staff member and photographer at Holm’s longtime gym JacksonWink MMA posted a seething series of gender-based insults towards Cyborg. The photographer, whose name […]

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After UFC women’s featherweight champion Cris Cyborg’s hard-fought win over Holly Holm in the main event of UFC 219 last Saturday, the MMA world was thrust into controversy when a social media staff member and photographer at Holm’s longtime gym JacksonWink MMA posted a seething series of gender-based insults towards Cyborg.

The photographer, whose name is Marc Aragon, has since had his credentials revoked by the promotion despite an apology Cyborg accepted. With the normally elite JacksonWink team on a downward slide in the cage as of late, the bad look was simply a mess the team didn’t need at the time – or ever.

And apparently at least one fighter isn’t happy about the bad publicity it lent the respected camp. On a three-fight losing streak himself, longtime JacksonWink face Donald Cerrone recently weighed in on the controversy on “UFC Unfiltered,” claiming that Aragon simply should not have posted what he did as a representative of the gym:

“I know (Cyborg), but regardless of who it was – like if somebody wants to go say that, do it on your own time,” Cerrone said. “You’re not the (expletive) media person for one of the largest MMA schools in the country and then (expletive) start talking like a total (expletive) jackass, you know what I mean? That was my take off that.”

There’s no doubt that Aragon made the team look bad, and it was to the point where no amount of non-apologizing was going to make them look good in this spot even if Aragon and the team’s Facebook claimed Cyborg called Holm a derogatory term after the fight herself, prompting the immature and hasty response.

As for ‘Cowboy,’ he’ll look to get off his recent slide against surging welterweight Yancy Medeiros in the main event of February 18’s UFC Fight Night 126.

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UFC 219 Prelims Draw Big Viewership Numbers

The final UFC event of 2017 is in the books. Now, it’s time to look at how the viewership for UFC 219 did on network television. The ratings have come out, and the prelims for the show pulled in 914,000 viewers. By looking at the viewership numbers for prelims of pay-per-view events in 2017, it […]

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The final UFC event of 2017 is in the books. Now, it’s time to look at how the viewership for UFC 219 did on network television.

The ratings have come out, and the prelims for the show pulled in 914,000 viewers. By looking at the viewership numbers for prelims of pay-per-view events in 2017, it was the fourth-best number.

It’s a solid number if you look at the competition that the promotion had to go up against. It went head-to-head with the Orange Bowl, that did 11,727,000 viewers.

The prelims peaked with 998,000 viewers for the Michal Oleksiejczuk win over Khall Rountree. The prelims also averaged 10,928 viewers who were streaming the event live on FOX Sports Go and FOX Now.

The pre-fight show drew 209,000 viewers while the post-fight show did 119,000 viewers. Also, the weigh-ins on Friday pulled in 138,000 viewers.

The main card featured a main event that saw Cris Cyborg retaining her women’s featherweight title over Holly Holm by decision.

The three events that topped UFC 219 in viewership for 2017 were 1,033,000 for the prelims of the Tyson Woodley vs. Stephen Thompson fight in March, 1,148,000 for the prelims of the Daniel Cormier vs. Jon Jones fight in July, and 1,276,000 for Georges St-Pierre vs. Michael Bisping.

Here are the average viewership numbers for UFC PPV preliminary cards in 2017:

UFC 208 – 874,000

UFC 209 – 1,033,000

UFC 210 – 723,000

UFC 211 – 1,148,000

UFC 212 – 732,000

UFC 213 – 657,000

UFC 214 – 886,000

UFC 215 – 418,000

UFC 216 – 653,000

UFC 217 – 1,276,000

UFC 218 – 694,000

UFC 219 – 914,000

Fight fans will have to wait to see more UFC action. The next event is UFC St. Louis (Fight Night 124), which takes place on January 14, 2018 at Scottrade Center in St. Louis, Missouri. The event will mark the promotion’s first visit to the city.

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