This evening’s (Sat., March 3, 2018) UFC 222 from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, delivered in every sense of the term, with three hyped potential future stars picking up victories capped off by a classic win from an all-time great champion. In the main event, women’s featherweight champ Cris Cyborg stopped Yana Kunitskaya after […]
This evening’s (Sat., March 3, 2018) UFC 222 from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, delivered in every sense of the term, with three hyped potential future stars picking up victories capped off by a classic win from an all-time great champion.
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 […]
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.
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.
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 […]
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:
Max Holloway is back with another jab at absent UFC lightweight champion Conor McGregor. Last week “The Notorious” posted on Instagram that he was definitely returning to MMA, and had even offered to replace Holloway and fight Frankie Edgar in the main event of this weekend’s (Sat., March 3, 2018) UFC 222 from the T-Mobile Arena […]
Max Holloway is back with another jab at absent UFC lightweight champion Conor McGregor.
Last week “The Notorious” posted on Instagram that he was definitely returning to MMA, and had even offered to replace Holloway and fight Frankie Edgar in the main event of this weekend’s (Sat., March 3, 2018) UFC 222 from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
However, the bout never materialized due to the UFC supposedly not having enough time to promote the event, and that left Edgar’s manager Ali Abdel-Aziz and coach Mark Henry blasting the claims in their own respective social media tirades.
Andel-Aziz claimed McGregor did truly offer to fight at UFC 222 but only if he could compete for a newly-created 165-pound belt, a division that has never been in the UFC.
Edgar soon revealed that McGregor’s post was the first he had heard about it, offering his own doubts that it was ever a realistic possibility considering he hadn’t heard from his employers about the potentially massive fight. But McGregor’s longtime training partner and friend Artem Lobov insisted that their camp was preparing to train and that the fight was “very, very close.”
“The Russian Hammer” reiterated that stance on The MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani on Monday, but the featherweight champ isn’t buying it whatsoever. After recently trolling McGregor with a photo of him being stopped by Floyd Mayweather after “The Notorious” had posted a photo of their 2013 match-up where he defeated a young Holloway, “Blessed” fired back with another comedic response.
Although he’s injured and unable to compete this weekend, Holloway blasted McGregor’s claims that he would fill in on the card by offering a laughable scenario where he would amputate his leg in order to fight 125-pound champion Demetrious ‘Mighty Mouse’ Johnson for a newly-created 115-pound belt:
One more update @arielhelwani. After I was pulled from 222, I offered to amputate my leg and fight for a 115lb belt against DJ. It was very very close. Plans were in place. But I was told there wasn’t enough time. Stay blessed, The DEFENDING Champ (no need TM what he can't claim) https://t.co/iFCB2NcHFA
Solid work from “Blessed,” who was many fans and media members’ pick for 2017’s “Fighter of the Year” after two impressive third-round stoppages of all-time great Jose Aldo.
He no doubt wants a rematch with McGregor, and with stinging social media barbs like this, he could have an outside shot at getting one.
Of course, the infamous Irishman will have to commit to returning first, and even though he appeared to do just that on social media, nothing is close to confirmed.
UFC 222, meanwhile, will go forward with a short-notice women’s featherweight title fight between Cris Cyborg and Yana Kunitskaya from Las Vegas this weekend.
Last week, absent UFC lightweight champ Conor McGregor ‘confirmed’ his MMA return with the mere flick of an Instagram post before taking it a step further and claiming he even offered to fill in for featherweight champ Max Holloway against Frankie Edgar at this weekend’s (Sat., March 3, 2018) UFC 222 from Las Vegas. Even […]
Last week, absent UFC lightweight champ Conor McGregor ‘confirmed’ his MMA return with the mere flick of an Instagram post before taking it a step further and claiming he even offered to fill in for featherweight champ Max Holloway against Frankie Edgar at this weekend’s (Sat., March 3, 2018) UFC 222 from Las Vegas.
Even though the potentially monstrous comeback fight never came close to materializing due to the UFC saying they didn’t have enough time to capitalize, the claim understandably set a big news-starved MMA world (with much of it due to ‘The Notorious” hiatus) afire for at least one night.
Both Edgar’s manager Ali Abdel-Aziz and boxing coach Mark Henry were quick to fire back at McGregor with seething responses to the outlandish news, but “The Answer” stayed relatively mum on the dream match-up. Until now, that is, as the former lightweight champ spoke up about the never-to-be fight to Ariel Helwani on today’s episode of The MMA Hour. The New Jersey ironman said he awoke to see rumors of it online, but that was the fist he had heard of it:
“I woke up from a nap and I saw it on Twitter. That’s the first I heard of it.”
Apparently, word later arrived that McGregor did offer to fight at UFC 222, but wanted it to be for a never-before-contested 165-pound belt, something Edgar called ridiculous considering McGregor was yet to defend either his lightweight or featherweight belt:
“I mean, come on, there is no 165-pound belt. You know what I’m saying? I want to fight on the moon. You know what I mean? Come on.
“He doesn’t want to defend his own belt. What, he wants to fight me? I mean, hey, that’d be great. That’d be great for me. Let’s be real. I’m not scared to fight anybody. Come on, I’ve been doing this too long to be scared to fight anybody. I mean, if anything, that would be very good for me, to fight Conor McGregor.”
Mandatory Credit: Steve Flynn-USA TODAY Sports
And while Edgar would love to face McGregor and the payday he brings in the Octagon, he didn’t believe it was close to true because Dana White didn’t call him – even if he would fight McGregor at any weight:
“I would’ve fought him in any weight class, to be honest with you.
“I think if it was real, Dana would’ve called me personally. He’s done it before. With something like that, Dana would’ve called me personally, and he didn’t, so I have to think that it wasn’t real.”
To “The Answer” – and many others – McGregor was simply keeping his name in the news, something he does perhaps better than any fighter other than his forever-rival Floyd Mayweather.
With that taken into consideration, Edgar said he wouldn’t let the Irishman get him sidetracked. He has his hands full with Ortega – a hungry, rising contender who is active in the UFC unlike ‘The Notorious’:
“I don’t know, I think Conor’s just being Conor, man. He’s the best at it, right? He’s the best at making news and staying relevant. I don’t mean relevant, he’s the most popular guy in our sport, this and that, but staying in the news cycle. He does it better than anybody, except maybe Floyd Mayweather.
“I’m not surprised by it, and I’m not getting sidetracked by it because it doesn’t matter,” Edgar added. “It’s non-news to me. Because the news is I’m fighting a guy who fights in the UFC right now, Brian Ortega.”
Despite the drama, Edgar doesn’t believe he and McGregor will ever fight because of the opportunities they’ve had to do so when McGregor was actually at featherweight and it didn’t happen.
So ‘The Answer’ put the talk about the unlikely payday with McGregor aside because he is aware of the dangerous challenge he has waiting in only five days:
“If we’re going to fight, we’ll fight. But I doubt it,” Edgar said. “I really don’t think we’ll ever cross paths. I really don’t. … We’ve had many times it could’ve been real, and it just never materialized. And if it didn’t materialize then, I just don’t see why would it happen now.
“I’m putting it totally aside, because it’s easy with this whole Conor news and Max, it’s easy to get sidetracked and think about Max, think about Conor,” Edgar said. “I’ve got to focus on Ortega, man. It’s a dangerous fight. Everyone says, ‘Oh, it’s a risky fight,’ and they’re right. I’m putting a lot of the line and that’s my focus.”
Earlier this week, March 3’s UFC 222 from Las Vegas got a late-notice main event when news came that women’s featherweight champion Cris Cyborg would be meeting Invicta FC bantamweight champ Yana Kunitskaya. Back when the event was scheduled to be headlined by an anticipated featherweight title clash between champion Max Holloway and Frankie Edgar, […]
Earlier this week, March 3’s UFC 222 from Las Vegas got a late-notice main event when news came that women’s featherweight champion Cris Cyborg would be meeting Invicta FC bantamweight champ Yana Kunitskaya.
Back when the event was scheduled to be headlined by an anticipated featherweight title clash between champion Max Holloway and Frankie Edgar, the promotion drew a large amount of criticism for the original poster online for what was viewed as having a very weak fight between heavyweights Andrei Arlovski and Stefan Struve as the co-main event.
Well, they released an all-new, revamped poster today, and it’s safe to say it does look at least a little bit better now that Edgar moved into the co-headliner versus surging young contender Brian Ortega. Check it out right here:
With Cyborg a justifiable -1000 betting favorite heading into her bout with Kunitskaya, who will make her UFC debut, the general opinion is that she’s going to run through the Invicta bantamweight champ like she’s run through the rest of her opponents.
That’s really all there is in the UFC’s women’s featherweight division right now, however, so in that sense, it’s business as usual.
But the co-main between Edgar and Ortega is a great fight, one where Edgar is taking all of the risk in fighting a highly dangerous opponent to essentially save his spot as the No. 1 contender. That itself has made the new UFC 222 poster much better than the first.
