UFC 230 Preview

UFC 230 Preview

By Leigh Dent 

A recent, but much welcomed tradition in UFC is the November Madison Square Garden, NY card. Steeped in historical moments in the world of combat sports, MMA had previously been the outsider looking in. That all changed for the better, when in November 2016, the UFC made its stamp on not just NYC, but the world.

The card boasted three title fights, including the now infamous Conor McGregor/ Eddie Alvarez bout, which birthed the era of the ‘double champ.’ Fast forward 12 months to November 4th, 2017, which again, boasted three title fights, each with their own story to tell and hosted the much-anticipated return of GSP. On paper, these two cards were phenomenal, and neither failed to deliver on their promise.

Another fairly recent, but certainly unwelcome, tradition is cards that are quite simply… ‘cursed.’ Every fan has experienced that moment where they wake up to hear that an event that could have been up there with the ‘greatest’ has fallen through for [insert one of many reasons here.] This year’s MSG card is sadly, no different.

Two warriors of the sport, Nate Diaz and Dustin Poirier announced that they would be brawling on this Saturday’s card on the world’s biggest stage, Madison Square Garden. But with Poirier’s injury announced shortly after, promoter’s somewhat scrambled to put together an event ‘worthy’ of said platform.

Have the UFC come up with an appropriate solution? Possibly not, but before this card is totally dismissed (it saddened me to see the multitude of available seats on ticketmaster only yesterday), it’s worth appreciating the greatness that could be present, rather than mourning what could have been.

First up on the main card is Israel Adesanya v. Derek Brunson.

Personally, I always find undefeated fighters intriguing, as unless your name is Khabib Nurmagomedov, your 0 is at some point…likely to go. Brunson’s most recent losses come from Jacare, Silva and Whittaker, none of which carries any shame.

Israel has never landed any takedowns in any of his 14 fights, and Brunson’s last 6 wins have come in the form of KO/TKO via punches, therefore it’s safe to stay that I think this fight will be a stand up brawl. Israel is coming off two fairly unremarkable decision wins, so hopefully Brunson and his aggression will force Israel into more of an offensive approach, which grabbed the MMA world’s attention in the first place.

Next up is Karl Roberson v. Jack Marshman.

Karl Roberson, with a 6-1 record, established his name on DWTNCS and cemented his future career opportunities with a 15 second KO of his opponent, Ryan Spann. Roberson looked to show promise until his most recent loss at UFC 224, where he was stopped in his tracks by an arm-triangle choke. His opponent this Saturday is former Cage Warriors alumni and former CW champion, Jack Marshman.

Since making his UFC debut in 2016, Marshman has flitted between wins and losses and seems to have struggled to find his place in the big leagues. It is slightly bemusing to see this fight on a main card, let alone at MSG, but sometimes the fights that we overlook are those that leap out to us on the night. Still it’s a hard one to get too excited by…

David Branch v. Jared Cannonier

When an event is changed or cancelled, it leaves behind a trail of collateral damage. Due to face Jacare, the #7 contender in the middleweight division, David Branch, is now facing Cannonier, who is himself coming off back to back losses for the first time in his career.

Since 2012, Branch’s only loss has fallen at the hands of Luke Rockhold, another name pencilled and then scratched from Saturday’s bill, with some notable wins in his repertoire. Without sounding like a ‘Moaning Myrtle,’ the question must be posed as to whether this is a ‘Madison Square Garden worthy’ fight. I’ll leave that up to the reader…

Chris Weidman v Ronaldo Souza

OK, now I can get somewhat excited. Yes, we all hoped for a Weidman/ Rockhold rematch, but this fight has somewhat been salvaged. Weidman looked to be a rising star in the Middleweight division until his unfortunately timed losing streak. A fighter’s record only tells half the story however, and anybody who has followed Weidman’s career knows that in part, these losses were just as much unfortunate as they were as they were indicative to Weidman’s capabilities.

Seeing Weidman get back in the W column on the Long Island card last year was one of my highlights in my (relatively) short time as a fan of the sport. With a record of 14-3, Weidman has a lot to offer the division, and a win over Jacare would further support his journey back to that MW belt.

That being said, Jacare is a serious threat to Weidman’s title shot. Watching Ronaldo Souza in his prime is still a sight to behold and fear, and he has some serious wins under his belt. Is Jacare about to embark on the twilight years of his career, or will he get a second wind and be just as devastating as he was in his earlier UFC fights. ‘Madison Square Garden worthy’; check.

And now, for the main event of the evening…

Daniel Cormier v Derrick Lewis

I think it’s safe to say that this fight strikes fear in the hearts of DC fans worldwide, myself included. To anybody criticising DC for taking an ‘easy fight; this is NOT an easy fight, it’s risky beyond belief and I can only hope that DC was offered a truckload of money to accept this fight and ultimately save this card from a dying death.

DC shocked the world when he brutally took away the HW belt from Stipe. Not only was it a win against one of arguably, the greatest HWs of all time, it was quick, relatively painless and in the form of a knockout. I would imagine very few accurate predictions were made that evening.

Similarly, at UFC 229, anybody with a bet riding on a win from Lewis would have been up making a cup of tea/ sorting out the next round of snacks midway through his bout against Alexander Volkov, ‘knowing’ that the fate of the fight was signed, sealed and delivered. With 11 seconds of the fight to go, Lewis knocked him out cold, with little to nothing left in his own gas tank.

And herein lies the danger.

With Jones v Gustafsson ready to see out the year, could Cormier’s legacy be hanging on a knife-edge? Could he go from a (much deserved) two-time champ to retiring as neither?

The answer is probably no. DC is in my opinion, the greatest fighter of all time, and I am not even attempting to make this piece unbiased; my love for Daniel and his career will shine through regardless of the stance I try to take. His wrestling is superior to his counterparts, he has yet to lose a round at HW, let alone a fight, his cardio should outrun Lewis’ and he has superb knockout power to boot.

But the question of ‘what if…?’ still ignites the butterflies in my stomach and I would be utterly heartbroken if Cormier lost this opportunity at such a pivotal, poignant moment in his career.

No, this is not the event that we were promised. No, this card probably does not live up to the standards which we have come to expect from an MSG card. But it will definitely be worth watching for the 2 co-main events alone. And who knows, hopefully there will be some hidden gems to look out for too.