UFC 228 Early Preview: What Are the Biggest and Best Fights Set for Dallas?
The UFC is building towards a dramatic end to 2018 and the next big stop along the way is UFC 228. The full card currently stands as follows:
UFC 228 Full Card (Bout Order TBA)
Tyron Woodley vs. Darren Till
Nicco Montano vs. Valentina Shevchenko
Jessica Andrade vs. Karolina Kowalkiewicz
Carla Esparza vs. Tatiana Suarez
Yair Rodriguez vs. Zabit Magomedsharipov
Aljamain Sterling vs. Cody Stamann
Jimmie Rivera vs. John Dodson
Ryan Benoit vs. Roberto Sanchez
Charles Byrd vs. Darren Stewart
Geoff Neal vs. Frank Camacho
Jim Miller vs. Alex White
Sitting atop the bill is a pair of interesting title fights. Tyron Woodley returns from a lengthy layoff to face hot challenger Darren Till in the main event. Nicco Montano, meanwhile, looks to cement her place at the top of the flyweight heap by battling former bantamweight contender Valentina Shevchenko.
Past that is a strong lineup of fun action fights and solid contenders-in-the-making.
But which are the biggest and best fights on the UFC 228 card? Read on and find out!
The Main Event: Tyron Woodley vs. Darren Till
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The UFC is a mess right now and the welterweight division, for some reason, has been the hardest hit by that fact.
The promotion has scrambled to find a cure for its declining pay-per-view numbers and free-falling television ratings, and its ineffective solution to this point has been to have title fights as frequently as possible. When welterweight champion Tyron Woodley wouldn't commit to a June return from shoulder surgery, the UFC inexplicably decided to anoint an interim champion on that date instead, with Colby Covington and Rafael dos Anjos facing off for the "boo boo belt" at UFC 225.
On its own this was a silly thing. Due to a minor scheduling conflict, the UFC was magically creating a title that was inherently designed to be dissolved within just a few months. It got even sillier, though, when the UFC essentially did the same exact thing to boo boo beltholder Covington when he couldn't commit to fighting Woodley in September.
It went from silly to utterly ridiculous, however, when it was announced that instead of Covington, Woodley will would face Darren Till at UFC 228.
Despite being a great fight on paper, Till's coronation to elite status in May was mired by a dubious, homecooked decision win over Stephen Thompson where he walked into the cage overweight. Worse, the fight's aftermath saw a series of reports surface that Till's failed weight cut was so bad that the fighter literally went blind beforehand, a fact which had the head of the Association of Boxing Commissions calling for Till's coaches and cornermen to be suspended.
It's unclear whether Till can even make it down to the welterweight division any more. Even if he manages to do so, can anyone expect him to compete at a championship level?
This has disaster written all over it and all that fans and pundits can do is pray that it ends up going smoothly.
The Co-Main Event: Nicco Montano vs. Valentina Shevchenko
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Nicco Montano's rise to the top came out of nowhere...and not in a good way.
Entering the Octagon as an anonymous body on the 26th season of The Ultimate Fighter, she pulled off one of the biggest upsets in UFC history by winning the inaugural women's flyweight title tournament. Despite her humble record and light experience, Montano thrived in the House, besting accomplished foes like Lauren Murphy and Barb Honchak before taking the throne with a win over women's MMA pioneer Roxanne Modafferi.
It was an undeniably impressive run but unfortunately, it played out in front of a remarkably small audience. TUF26 as a whole was a ratings dud, and the finale that saw Montano coronated drew just half the eyeballs of the previous season. Worse, any opportunity to gain momentum from the show was killed when a series of illnesses and injuries put her on the shelf for months.
Her reign was essentially the unheard sound made by a tree that falls in an empty forest. In the meantime, though, Valentina Shevchenko was making a lot of noise.
Long a contender at 135 pounds—with some labeling her the uncrowned queen of the division after a razor-close fight with champ Amanda Nunes—Shevchenko decided to return to the flyweight division late last year. Though there were some questions about whether she could make the drop after competing at a higher weight for so long, she gave a definitive answer at UFC Fight Night 125 by looking good on the scale and great in the cage with a vicious win over Priscila Cachoeira.
That successful return, coupled with her previous body of work, has many labeling Shevchenko the best female flyweight in the world, despite Montano currently holding the belt.
As such, this is a must-win contest for the champ. A victory instantly legitimizes her reign and cements her as an elite-level talent. Defeat, meanwhile, leaves her time at the top looking illegitimate.
Shevchenko should be looked at as the favorite in this contest, but Montano has thrived in that underdog role. It will be interesting to see if she can keep pulling off upsets.
Fight to Watch: Yair Rodriguez vs. Zabit Magomedsharipov
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On May 10, 2018, news broke across the MMA sphere that Yair Rodriguez had been released by the UFC. To say the news was a surprise would be a huge understatement.
Less than a year prior, Rodriguez was a key figure in the UFC's courting of the Latin American market. One of the few high-level, Mexico-born talents, he was a potential star in the making. Despite coming up short against Frankie Edgar at UFC 211, his high-flying style and pure athleticism made him one of the easiest fighters to promote on the roster.
The reason for the move, according to Lance Pugmire of the Los Angeles Times, was that Rodriguez had turned down a fight at UFC 227 opposite hot up-and-comer Zabit Magomedsharipov. Rodriguez himself seemed to theorize that the issue was that he demanded more money to face Magomedsharipov due to the risky nature of the contest. UFC President Dana White clapped back that Rodriguez was being overly choosy when being offered opponents.
In all likelihood, the reality was that the UFC was looking to send a message to Rodriguez and similarly positioned fighters that were slowing down its matchmaking efforts. Regardless, when the dust settled Rodriguez vs. Magomedsharipov was booked for UFC 228 and it stands as the clear-cut favorite to take Fight of the Night honors.
Rodriguez, as discussed, is an extremely exciting fighter to watch. Seemingly pulled straight out of the EA Sports UFC video game, everything he throws is both dangerous and dazzling as he lunges, spins and flies his way towards knockout after knockout.
Magomedsharipov is no slouch, either. One of the top stars and best finishers of the Russian circuit, the Dagestani has found similar success since jumping into the Octagon in 2017, winning all three of his fights to this point and earning a post-fight bonus each time. Though he is still early on in his UFC career, there is cause to be incredibly optimistic regarding his future.
Despite coming together under questionable circumstances, this fight should be an absolute treat to watch and whoever comes out on top likely has big things ahead of them.
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The Best of the Rest
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Jessica Andrade vs. Karolina Kowalkiewicz
In all likelihood, Jessica Andrade and Karolina Kowalkiewicz are facing off for the opportunity to challenge Rose Namajunas for the UFC women's strawweight title. Both are coming off back-to-back wins, both are proven contenders in the division and both pose a real threat to the champion. The cherry on top of all that? This is just a darn fun fight!
Andrade is an absolute bruiser with a highly physical style that provides an interesting contrast to the cleaner, more technical Kowalkiewicz. The odds are in the Brazilian's favor, but if Kowalkiewicz can stay nimble, she might be able to get herself a rematch with Thug Rose.
Jimmie Rivera vs. John Dodson
Jimmie Rivera's rapid rise towards title contention was stopped dead back in June and the company isn't doing him any favors as he looks to bounce back, pitting him against John Dodson.
Despite being 3-3 in his last six fights, Dodson has established himself as a top-tier bantamweight since moving to the division in 2016. Though his punching power hasn't translated to the heavier weight class, his quickness and high fight IQ have led him to victory against some of the division's high-end talent. He's acquitted himself well in fights against the truly elite of the division, too, coming just a hair shy of beating top-10 talents John Lineker and Marlon Moraes.
Oddsmakers will likely give Rivera the edge based on his cleaner record. But make no mistake, this is a toss-up here and if Rivera can't use his size and wrestling to bottle up Dodson, he could be in for a long night.
Aljamain Sterling vs. Cody Stamann
Cody Stamann looks legit on paper, but that hasn't really panned out in practice. Officially, he's 3-0 in the UFC with wins over solid talents in Tom Duquesnoy and Bryan Caraway but both of those wins came via questionable split decisions.
Is he a potential top guy? His fight with Aljamain Sterling will go a long way towards determining that.
Sterling has been up and down since his high-profile holdout in 2016, scoring solid wins and tough losses in equal measure. Despite that, he has still shaken out as a high-end talent, and should be looked at a favorite against anyone outside the cream of the bantamweight crop.
We don't know whether Stamann fits that bill quite yet...but we will after UFC 228!
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