Rematches raise stakes at UFC 227
Bantamweight battle between bitter rivals the best bet on an unspectacular card
Twin championship rematches headline Saturday night’s UFC 227 card at the Staples Center in Los Angeles.
Flyweight juggernaut Demetrious ‘Mighty Mouse’ Johnson defends his title against Olympic gold medallist Henry ‘The Messenger’ Cejudo before teammates turned rivals T.J. Dillashaw and Cody ‘No Love’ Garbrandt battle for the bantamweight strap for the second time in nine months.
The remainder of the card is solid, but probably unfamiliar to anyone outside of hardcore fans, as injuries killed a fight between light heavyweights Alexander Gustafsson and Volkan Oezdemir and a middleweight clash between ascending contender Antonio Carlos Junior and Top 10 fixture Derek Brunson.
Thiago Silva is a devastating striker who always delivers entertaining performances, but he’s facing a promotional newcomer in what feels like a lopsided matchup, while the strawweight contest between Polyana ‘Dama de Ferro’ Viana of Brazil and American JJ Aldrich is intriguing, but without any real significance at the moment.
The most recognizable name on the main card outside of the title fight participants is likely veteran American featherweight Cub Swanson, who looks to halt a twofight skid against Brazil’s Renato Moicano in the payper-view opener.
It’s a contest that has legitimate Fight of the Night potential and importance in the title picture. Moicano is 4-1 in the UFC including a win over Jeremy Stephens, who has managed to race past him in the rankings, and an excellent showing in a losing effort against top contender Brian Ortega.
But the 29-year-old upstart is someone only avid followers of the sport are pumped to see put on the four-ounce gloves this weekend, which makes this a two-fight card for most.
And with both of those contests being rematches, it feels like UFC 227 will be a tough sell.
Some two-fight cards aren’t worth the price of admission if you’re not a voracious consumer of UFC action.
As much as I loved the top two fights at UFC 225 — Robert Whittaker vs. Yoel Romero for the middleweight title and Colby Covington against Rafael dos Anjos for the interim welterweight title — it was one of those events that I could totally understand people watching at their local watering hole, tracking through highlights posted on Twitter, or passing on entirely.
The same goes for events such as UFC 216 or UFC 218, the former featuring Johnson defending his belt against Ray Borg and an interim lightweight title fight in the main event, while the latter was headlined by a featherweight title rematch between Max Holloway and Jose Aldo with Francis Ngannou taking on Alistair Overeem in a non-title bout in the co-main event.
But this isn’t one of those cards.
Dillashaw and Garbrandt legitimately despise each other and that enmity is sure to spill over into their rematch, the way it did in their first encounter.
While their bout at UFC 217 last November lasted just under eight minutes, they were eight tense, entertaining, action-packed minutes that included three knockdowns, a couple of near misses, and an emotional eruption from Dillashaw after he rallied from getting dropped at the end of the first to put Garbrandt away in the second.
It has legitimate Fight of the Year potential and is guaranteed to produce fireworks, because in addition to their rivalry, Dillashaw is one of the most dynamic offensive talents in the sport and Garbrandt is a power hitter and a performer inside the cage.
Don’t forget how Garbrandt started poppin’ and lockin’ in the middle of his dismantling of Dominick Cruz at UFC 207.
And then there’s the flyweight pairing that features one of the most complete talents to ever grace the Octagon seeking his 12th consecutive successful title defence against a truly world-class athlete who has made considerable strides in the two-plus years since their initial meeting.
Where the first bout between Dillashaw and Garbrandt was close right up until the point it ended, Johnson blew out Cejudo in their first encounter, quickly getting back to his feet after the freestyle wrestler put him on the canvas, before felling him with a series of serious knees to the body.
But Cejudo has looked great since, showing marked improvement in his striking and ring generalship in victories over Sergio Pettis and Wilson Reis, and a debated split-decision loss to Joseph Benavidez.
It may not have any impact on the outcome of the fight, because Johnson is just that good, but any and all of the ways this fight potentially plays out are compelling.
A Cejudo victory would be one of the biggest upsets in UFC history, akin to Michael Bisping knocking out Luke Rockhold to win the middleweight title at UFC 199.
A close, competitive fight would be a welcome departure from the string of onesided maulings that Johnson has doled out in his last 10 fights.
But, that said, even those lopsided contests have produced some truly shocking moments.
His first-round knockout of Benavidez in their championship rematch, the last-second finish of Kyoji Horiguchi in Montreal, the suplex-into-anarmbar he crafted against Ray Borg at UFC 215 in Edmonton — they were all exhibitions of this sport performed at its highest level, by one of its most decorated and dynamic talents.
I understand if you’re not convinced and you need some time to think things over, so hang on to this bit of information, read it over a time or two, and do what feels right to you.
Just know that I’ll be watching and I will judge you — at least a little — if you don’t.