The UFC returns to lovely Newark, N.J., for the first time in three-and-a-half years Saturday when the Prudential Center plays hosts to UFC on ESPN 5.
It’s not the deepest card the UFC has put on — I know, we’re saying that a lot as the UFC’s conveyor belt spits out card after card on weekend after weekend — and yet, there are still plenty of interesting storylines on this card if you want to find them.
This includes the main event, Colby Covington vs. Robbie Lawler, which has major implications for the welterweight title picture and is simply an interesting style matchup, to boot.
With that, on to five Burning Questions for UFC on ESPN 5, which we’ll remind you has a joyfully early 3 p.m. ET/noon PT main card start time:
Does a victory get Colby Covington a welterweight title shot?
It’s only been 14 months since Covington (14-1 MMA, 9-1 UFC) earned a one-sided win over Rafael dos Anjos to claim an interim welterweight title at UFC 225. And yet so much has changed in the meantime that it feels like it’s been a lot longer.
The RDA victory was Covington’s sixth straight win and ninth in his 10 UFC bouts, and was supposed to come with a shot at Tyron Woodley’s belt. But then the division went on with out him while he was out due toinjury. Then Woodley lost the belt to Kamaru Usman. Then Ben Askren talked his way into the title picture, then beat Robbie Lawler (28-13 MMA, 13-7 UFC), then was just as quickly removed from the picture via a five-second knockout by Jorge Masvidal. Masvidal says he’ll only accept a title fight or a Conor McGregor fight. Oh, and Leon Edwards is creeping up the rankings, too.
All that said, this is Covington’s chance to prove he still belongs next in line to fight Usman. That fight would be big for all the right reasons Covington have seven straight wins and 10 of 11) and wrong (MAGA vs. an African immigrant will attract a lot of the worst attention the sport can possibly get). All he has to do is get past former welterweight champion Lawler. Speaking of which …
What’s Robbie Lawler got left?
If you don’t appreciate what Robbie Lawler brings to the table, you’re probably watching the wrong sport. That appropriately nicknamed “Ruthless” delivered Fights of the Year in 2014 (Johny Hendricks), Rory MacDonald (2015) and Carlos Condit (2016). That’s 14+ rounds of blood, guts, skill, and general mayhem.
No one else can boast that track record. But those fights come with a price. And though we appreciate Lawler as much as the rest of you, the fact remains he’s now 37. And he’s dropped three of four fights since the Condit bout, and been inactive for long stretches during that time.
On the flip side? Lawler vs. Askren was highly entertaining, back and forth, and if you want to argue the fight was stopped too soon, you won’t get much of an argument here. While Covington is the top storyline of UFC on ESPN 5, this fight should also tell us whether Lawler is still a contended in the stacked welterweight division.
How long can Jim Miller and Clay Guida keep doing their thing?
No, you didn’t see things wrong. Yes, that’s Jim Miller and Clay Guida in the co-main event of a UFC card in 2019.
Part of this, no doubt, is the roster being spread thin. But it’s also something of a lifetime achievement nod to a duo who have represented heart, versatility, endurance, and resilience in a sport which tends to chew athletes up and spit them out.
In the case Miller (30-13 MMA, 19-12 UFC) and Guida (35-18 MMA, 15-12 UFC), you’ve take one look at the matchup and wonder how they’ve never crossed paths before now. Miller has been with the company since UFC 89 in 2008, This 33rd octagon appearance will put him ahead (for now) of Donald Cerrone for most in company history, and his 19 wins are most in UFC lightweight history. Guida, meanwhile, has been doing this in the UFC since 2007.
And it’s not like these guys have on losing streaks, either. Miller has two wins in his past three. Guida has win three of his past four. We’re not saying the winner is going to be back in lightweight contention by any means, but let’s just take a moment to appreciate what both of these guys have managed to accomplish and celebrate their careers.
Can Joaquin Silva make a statement at lightweight?
Joaquim Silva is a Brazilian fighter with an 11-1 record, finishes in all but two of his victories, and is coming off a Fight of the Night performance with his KO of Jared Gordon on Dec. 15.
So why hasn’t he gained more traction? Well, for one thing, the UFC’s lightweight division is absolutely loaded, so you have to do more to stand out. And, other than his company debut at UFC 191, he hasn’t exactly been placed on platforms that would maximize his shine. And, okay, a loss to Vinc Pichel two fights out doesn’t help either.
Still, Silva is (11-1 MMA, 4-1 UFC) finally getting his chance to show what he can do in front of a national basic cable television audience. He’ll take on Nasrat Haqparast (10-2 MMA, 2-1 UFC), a TriStar product by way of Germany who has won two straight and is also coming off a Fight of the Night, his decision over Thibault Gouti at UFC Moncton last October.
The opportunity to build some momentum is there for the taking for both of these competitors, as is the chance to deliver an under-the-radar exciting fight.
What’s Mickey Gall made of?
Yeah, I know: We need to grade Mickey Gall on a curve. The young New Jersey welterweight is a “Dana White: Lookin’ for a Fight” project, and has being coddled appropriately.
Gall’s (5-2 MMA, 4-2 UFC) resume to this point includes wins over Mike Jackson, CM Punk, and Sage Northcutt. All he’s missing here is a win over B.J. Penn to hit the grand slam of most meaningless victories in the UFC.
Still, you have to sink or swim at some point, and Gall has dropped two of his last three bouts, most recently a TKO loss to Diego Sanchez at UFC 235 which Gall has pinned on a bad weight cut.
Now, Gall gets as close to another layup as the UFC could possibly give him: He fights on Jersey turf against a competitor Salim Touahri (10-3 MMA, 0-2 UFC), who is 0-2 in the UFC and flying over from Poland to do this. Gall’s undeniably got upside and his ground game is no joke. If he’s going to make it in the big leagues, this is as good of a starting point as he’ll get.
