Tuesday, the UFC made several championship bouts official.
From its largest weight class to one of its smallest, the UFC announced the four title bouts – some were expected, some maybe not so much.
The list of championship fights included the following: A highly anticipated trilogy bout between UFC heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic and Daniel Cormier, an immediate featherweight title rematch between Alexander Volkanovski and Max Holloway, Kamaru Usman’s second title defense against Gilbert Burns, and Jose Aldo vs. Petr Yan for the vacant 135-pound title.
All of these title fights will happen this summer with three happening on one card: UFC 251 on Yas Island, Abu Dhabi.
With so much gold on the line in a short amount of time, I was given the tough task to make some sense of these bookings but also put them in order of which fights I’m looking forward to the most.
(Disclaimer: All these fights are great, but some better than others)
So let’s get started…
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4. Kamaru Usman vs. Gilbert Burns
I could’ve sworn Jorge Masvidal was going to fight Usman, but that fight fell through when negotiations went sour. Now, we have this. It’s not what I originally hoped for the welterweight division – but it’s a solid plan B.
If Usman vs. Burns was pitched a few weeks backs, it would’ve been somewhat of a poor booking. It’s not that Burns wasn’t good, but not long ago he was simply rising to contention at 170. But after watching the way he dismantled former champion, Tyron Woodley, a couple of weeks ago, Burns is now 100 percent deserving of a title shot.
Burns’ quick rise in 2020 has been a fun storyline to follow and this bout with Usman is the culmination of his success. He’s a true testament to fighters hoping to abandon archaic weight cuts and look for new life in heavier weight classes.
Much of MMA is momentum. There’s no doubt Masvidal is still someone I’d like to see fight for the belt soon, but he also hasn’t competed since November. In this pandemic, that seems like ages ago. Burns has kept quite busy in 2020, so why not keep that going?
Usman vs. Burns is a fun fight and one I’m looking forward to. That said, I do have to admit, it wasn’t my first option.
Next page: No. 3
3. Alexander Volkanovski vs. Max Holloway 2
Call me crazy.
I know that this bout is high up in many people’s list, but hear me out.
The first fight at UFC 245 was far from controversial. It was definitely not a one-sided decision. It was certainly a decisive win for Alexander Volkanovski. The Australian fighter proved to have figured out a very complex puzzle in Max Holloway. He managed to shut down Holloway’s offense while establishing understanding.
I’m not a fan of immediate rematches unless there’s a controversial ending – or there’s simply no other contenders in line, which rarely happens. In a division where you have a good mix of vets and young guns aiming at the title, there were other options for Volkanovski.
A different route would’ve given Holloway a chance to build some momentum, figure out the adjustments needed to make to beat Volkanovski, and come back in a much bigger, more anticipated rematch.
Often immediate rematches play out similar to the first fight. Just months stand between the fights. More time (and more fights) gives fighters the opportunity for re-invention.
Regardless, it’s still a high-level fight with world-class athletes. I just wish this one would’ve cooked a little longer.
Next page: No. 2
2. Jose Aldo vs. Petr Yan
To many, this bantamweight title fight should’ve been No. 5.
Again, hear me out.
Yes, it’s for the vacant belt and it doesn’t involve a champion. Yes, Aljamain Sterling is more deserving than Aldo and should’ve been fighting Yan. Yes, Aldo has yet to win a fight at bantamweight (officially).
Yet, with all those asterisks and controversies surrounding the matchup for the belt Cejudo left behind, there’s another side to this that makes this fight so, so good.
The bantamweight division is on fire at the moment. It has a good mix of everything you want in a weight class. From big-name veterans such as Urijah Faber and Dominick Cruz, to legends from a weight class above testing new waters like Aldo and Frankie Edgar, to established contenders such as Sterling, Garbrandt and Marlon Moraes, to rising contenders such as Cory Sandhagen and Cody Stamann, and to exciting prospects in Sean O’Malley and Marlon Vera – you name it and 135 has it.
Cejudo’s absence has brought an exciting uncertainty to the division. I mean who the hell knows who’s going to hold the belt a year from now? I’m looking forward to the future at 135-pounds and that future starts with Aldo vs. Yan.
Aldo might not be the most deserving but let’s remember he’s the greatest featherweight in the history of the sport. He probably should’ve won against Moraes. And above all, he’s still a damn good fighter. I think Aldo has a good chance here to make history, and if he were to lose, it would just make Yan and whatever fight he’s in next even bigger.
Next page: No. 1
1. Stipe Miocic vs. Daniel Cormier 3
Yeah, it doesn’t get bigger than this – literally.
I’ve been waiting for this fight since the moment Miocic stopped Cormier on Aug. 17, 2019. Miocic’s knockout set the score at one apiece and stamped the ticket for an inevitable trilogy fight.
There’s just a certain magic that world-class heavyweights can create that other smaller world-class athletes can’t. I’m not sure what it is, to be honest. But when you see a heavyweight with the UFC world title wrapped around his waist, you know that’s the baddest man on the planet.
I think when this is all over we’re going to look at this trilogy as a historic series in MMA. It’s one of the best pound-for-pound fighters on the planet, a former UFC light heavyweight and heavyweight champion, taking on the current heavyweight champion, who also happens to be the most successful heavyweight in UFC history.
Whatever happens on Aug. 15 will define the heavyweight division and the legacy of both men. This fight is huge. On paper, it has everything you want from a pending trilogy contest. From a fighting and sporting stand point, it’s just as awesome.
In their first fight, Cormier did the unthinkable and knocked out Miocic in the first round. Tons of drama and politics later, we got the rematch.
Cormier never looked better in the rematch. It was truly one of his best career performances. Oddly enough, it was also one of his toughest defeats. Cormier fell short to the incredible durability but also the brilliance of Miocic. The punishment Miocic had to endure to get to round four was out of this world – and so were the game plan adjustments he made in real time.
Unlike the previous fights I discussed, this fight has to happen. There are no alternatives or variations this one could’ve gone. Miocic vs. Cormier 3 was not created by circumstance. It was born from the highest levels of competition.
