UFC 170: Who Stands to Lose the Most

There’s more on the line in UFC 170 than just titles.

One of the most pervasive narratives in the UFC is “athleticism.” Fans and promotion both value Ronda Rousey, Rory MacDonald and Daniel Cormier for their pure athleticism; and all three could damage the basis of those reputations if they lose at UFC 170.

Ronda is the “it” thing for 2014 without GSP and Anderson Silva—who are still on the edges of the action but not in it. Her fame rests on total control of the class and the license she gets to act out as a result. As the UFC refuses to let us forget, she has Olympic pedigree.

She’s the new shining star; a volatile, immensely talented brand of her own. The UFC invests so much time and energy inflating and praising her status that her first loss could be tougher than necessary. If she loses to fellow Olympian Sara McMann, she’ll be exposed as less of a champ and more of a supreme athlete controlling a thin division.

We all remember Rousey’s barb against Meisha Tate’s high school wrestling. That both confirmed Rousey’s own supremacy and undermined it. Ronda glorifies her own advanced success while admitting its relationship to her advanced training.

Rousey is the queen of a division that hasn’t established itself at the same rate as its male counterpart. While thousands of UFC fighting men came up through the professional ranks over the last 20 years, the women’s division is only now getting the attention it deserves; and the resulting training necessities.

If Rousey loses, she destroys the narrative the UFC has built around her. She loses her right to continue her persona with impunity and she loses her status as a lone elite among lesser athletes.

Similar to Rousey is Rory MacDonald. MacDonald has lots to prove after being hailed the next big thing in mixed martial arts—the inheritor to mentor Georges St-Pierre’s athleticism and ambassadorship.

After MacDonald’s uncharacteristically lackluster loss to Robbie Lawler, the hype died as Lawler got the shot for the vacant welterweight title against Johny Hendricks. If the Canadian loses now, he could deal a deathblow to the credibility he partially damaged losing to Lawler. He needs a win now to reestablish himself as the potential great we thought he was, which is no easy task against Demian Maia’s jiu-jitsu.

Daniel Cormier faces a challenge of not only credibility, but character. Patrick Cummins’ bean-spilling about Cormier’s in-gym tears created an ugly hatred between the two. Cormier’s inaugural light heavyweight match, originally set against now-injured Rashad Evans, took a nosedive.

Plenty of press built up Daniel Cormier as an especially athletic figure in a non-athletic weight class. As the only other heavyweight with the same kind of sportsmanship, he denied a chance to test his mettle. He protected champion Cain Velasquez, refusing to fight his friend and leaving doubts about his ability. If Cormier loses, we can begin to believe the murmurs of him being a fight dodger or, at the very least, a lesser fighter than we’d hoped he was going to be.