Post-Coronavirus Superfights
Like the rest of the world, the UFC continues to battle the Coronavirus. They have canned three events which were to take place in the last few weeks. In a recent interview, Dana said that all of these fights will be rebooked at a later time.
Dana and his team are still desperately trying to save UFC 249. The location is still not known, but speculation is that it may be Florida. As of now, Khabib is back home. Since Russia is a region which has curbed the spread of the Coronavirus, this is a good place for the champ to stay. Tony for his part continues with his training camp.
But like all dark clouds, this too shall pass. The UFC is well aware of this. In particular, Daniel Cormier has stated on record that there will be a string of super fights once the UFC resumes.
We take a look at some of the possible fights that await us.
Tony Ferguson v Khabib Nurmagomedov
This is the first obvious one. Tony and Khabib facing off may be the biggest in history. At least as far as the fans are concerned. As mentioned above, Dana is pushing hard to make this fight even before relief from the Coronavirus is felt the world over. He has strong reasons to do so. This fight has been in the works for years now and has survived four cancellations. There would be no better way for the UFC to return to action after the hiatus.
Robert Whittaker v Darren Till
Till, the English Gorilla and Whittaker, the Australian Bobby Knuckles are both fan favourites. The two have been exchanging banter with each other on social media.
Darren Till was at one point expected to become the champion in the welterweight division until Woodley finished him with a D’Arce choke. The scouser then went up to middleweight, where he looked significantly bigger. He made his debut against Kelvin Gastelum and earned a victory at one of the biggest events in UFC history.
Robert Whittaker was the reigning middleweight king until last October when he was dethroned by Israel Adesanya. Before that, Bobby Knuckles fought two wars with Yoel Romero. Whittaker has faced the who’s who of the middleweight division.
It will be interesting to see how the two square up against each other.
Daniel Cormier v Stipe Miocic
UFC 241 was one hell of a card. It was the rematch between Cormier and Stipe for the right to be called the baddest man on the planet. At UFC 226, Cormier became only the second double champ in history when to the surprise of many, he knocked out Stipe Miocic. During the rematch at UFC 241, Cormier looked in control. He displayed his elite wrestling skill and it looked like he would walk away with the win. Stipe however made adjustments during the fight. Soon enough, the firefighter found his groove. He struck Cormier hard with a few body shots and followed up with a fight ending flurry.
Cormier has indicated that he wants this fight. It would likely be the last fight of his legendary career.
Justin Gaethje v Conor McGregor
There has been a lot of talk around this one. That is normal when it comes to Conor. This time though, his opponent may be every bit as popular as he is. Especially among the hardcore fan base. When it comes to putting a slug fest, it is hard to argue that any athlete has a better case than Justin Gaethje. Every one of his fights so far has been very entertaining. At least three of them were absolute wars. Gaethje is yet to have a fight in his UFC career where he didn’t win either a performance of the night bonus or a fight of the night bonus.
Conor McGregor for his part has promised a season. He has indicated that he might continue to fight at the welterweight limit, but may also partake in cutting weight to the lightweight limit if need be. If the two do collide, it will be definitely be one for the ages.
Francis Ngannou v Jairzinho Rozenstruik
Ngannou and Rozenstruik are both heavy hitters. They are the last people you’d want to take a punch from among the entire UFC roster. The two monsters were set to face each other, but the Coronavirus put a dent in those plans.
Ngannou has won 8 out of 11 fights in the UFC by knockout. 7 of those knockouts came in the first round. He has broken records with his punching power as per the UFC Performance Institute.
Rozenstruik, also called Bigi, may be the biggest sports star to hail from Suriname. He is unbeaten with a record of 10 wins. Late last year, he put away veteran Andrei Arlovski in quick fashion. He immediately had a quick turnaround when he faced another veteran Alistair Overeem. While the Reem seemed to have the fight in his pocket, Rozenstruik caught him in the last few seconds of the final round to clinch victory from the jaws of defeat. The images of Overeem after fight were gruesome.
Dana has confirmed that this will be rebooked at a different time, so it’s almost a guarantee that we will get to see this one.
Tyron Woodley v Leon Edwards
it has been a while since we saw Woodley last compete. The once dominant welterweight champion lost his title to Kamaru Usman last March. It was a forgettable performance for Woodley fans. Woodley has been itching to get back. He was slated to face Robbie Lawler but pulled out due to injury.
Finally, Woodley and Edwards were booked for London. Leon Edwards has been maintaining a steady climb in the welterweight division. He has a number of impressive victories on his resume, including Donald Cerrone, Vicente Luque, Bryan Barbarena, Gunnar Nelson and Rafael dos Anjos.
Just like the fight between Francis and Bigi, this fight too will be rebooked after the cloud of the Coronavirus has passed.
