Should You Buy UFC 228?
UFC 228 will drop this weekend, headlined by a pair of title fights and fleshed out with some other…stuff. It’s perhaps not the most magnetic offering on the UFC’s calendar, especially considering that Conor McGregor returns in a month and the promotion will head to New York City for a big card not long after that.
UFC 228 does, however, have a few interesting bouts hidden behind the paywall, not the least of which is hungry young upstart Darren Till attempting to wrest the welterweight title from longtime champion Tyron Woodley in the main event.
The bout offers intrigue on any number of levels, from whether or not Till will make weight to whether or not Woodley might just become the greatest champion since Georges St-Pierre with a win.
But is that intrigue enough for you to part with your $60 come Saturday? Is there enough other meat on this bone?
Hard to say.
Perhaps further analysis of this and the rest of the card might give you a better idea.
The Fights
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UFC 228
September 8, 2018
Dallas, TX
Available on pay-per-view and all streaming platforms on which UFC PPV is supported
Tyron Woodley vs. Darren Till: Till is among the most interesting welterweight prospects in years, providing expert Muay Thai and some promotional flare outside the cage. Can he truly top Woodley, though? A wily veteran who has been impossible to solve for most of his career, this one seems like it’s tailormade for him to get the W.
Nicco Montano vs. Valentina Shevchenko: Montano won a reality show and hasn’t been seen since. Though she has the flyweight belt, it’s hard to envision many people truly committing to the idea that she’s the best at the weight class. Shevchenko is likely going to prove as much.
Zabit Magomedsharipov vs. Brandon Davis: This was supposed to be Magomedsharipov fighting Yair Rodriguez, but injury forced the Mexican star to withdraw and now the underrated Davis steps in. Still, Magomedsharipov is probably MMA’s top prospect right now, and Davis is the same type of come-forward, blood-and-guts scrapper that Kyle Bochniak was in Magomedsharipov’s last bout. This one should be violent and eminently watchable.
Jessica Andrade vs. Karolina Kowalkiewicz: Two top strawweights conceivably earning a title shot with a win. Nothing wrong with this in the lower part of a pay-per-view card.
Abdul Razak Alhassan vs. Niko Price: Pretty typical action bout to kick off a night’s work for the UFC. Neither of these guys will ever be a champion or probably even contend for a title, but Price does the occasional wild thing in the octagon and Alhassan is pretty vicious, so it should be alright.
The Storylines
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At What Point Does Woodley’s Run End?
Tyron Woodley has been a top contender and champion for almost as long as he’s been in the UFC. He’s defended the belt twice and retained it in a draw against Stephen Thompson, and has wins over guys like Carlos Condit and Robbie Lawler along the way. He’s also 36 years old and has over 20 fights on his MMA resume, plus a lifetime of competitive wrestling before that. At what point does he show his age and his wear? Is Till the guy to show it?
The True Birth of the Women’s Flyweight Division
Though Montano holds the gold, few would suggest she’s any sort of champion. Valentina Shevchenko has fought and beaten some of the best in the business as a bantamweight, and her UFC flyweight debut was one of the ugliest maulings in promotional history. When the dust settles Saturday, Montano will either be a legitimate champion or Shevchenko will hold the title, and either outcome will finally give the division some cache.
Most Entertaining Fight: Zabit Magomedsharipov vs. Brandon Davis
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Magomedsharipov is positively thrilling. He’s smooth, crafty, quick and rangy, and we have never seen someone like him at the 145-pound weight limit. Without overdoing it, the closest we’ve ever seen is Jon Jones, which should give you some idea what we’re dealing with.
In Davis he’ll find a game competitor who won’t back down from bringing the fight and will probably embrace some showmanship and trash-talk along the way. It won’t end well for him in any event, but it’s going to entertain no matter what.
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Best Fight for the Hardcores: Jessica Andrade vs. Karolina Kowalkiewicz
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This probably could be Magomedsharipov vs. Davis as well, but for the hardcore fan who’s interested in rankings and title shots and the process of those things being earned in the cage as opposed to on Twitter or at the box office, this one is interesting.
Andrade lost badly to Joanna Jedrzejczyk after marauding through the 115-pound class to earn a title shot in 2017, while Kowalkiewicz suffered a similar fate after a win streak got a her a chance at Joanna Champion at UFC 205 in 2016. Both are very good and both have worked their way back to contention legitimately, and with a new champion on top in Rose Namajunas, this fight should produce a fresh matchup for the belt.
What This Card Is Missing: A Star with Proven Drawing Power
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Woodley is a known quantity in MMA circles, but he’s never really sold pay-per-views.
Till is an exciting prospect who’ll have the entirety of England at his back as he looks to become champion.
Montano is a total unknown, despite an interesting story as the UFC’s first Native champion.
Shevchenko is popular among hardcore fans, but to say she’s responsible for moving any number of pay-per-view units in her career would be categorically false.
Nobody else on the card is even getting enough attention to warrant being pushed by the promotion heading into the event.
The show itself is probably a little underrated and it probably won’t do big numbers generally, but with one more fight involving a big name it could have had some more pop.
Should You Buy This Card?
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The moment you’ve all been waiting for: Should you buy UFC 228?
No, you shouldn’t.
As noted previously, the event is actually better than the attention it's gotten would make you believe. It’s got two title fights, each of which has some amount of a story behind it, a solid contender’s bout and one of the best prospects MMA has right now. In the modern UFC, most events can’t match that type of output.
The issue, though, is the price tag.
At $60, it’s simply too much to ask of a fan. Common sense suggests Till will struggle badly with Woodley’s wrestling and top game, Montano will be melted by a much better fighter in Shevchenko, and the other fights all involve fighters you can see on free TV multiple times a year.
Add in the pending McGregor return, which you’ll want to save your money for, and this one is a pass.
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