Four Reasons UFC 198 Is One Of The Biggest MMA Events Ever
UFC 198 is slated to go down this evening (Sat., May 14, 2016) live on pay-per-view (PPV) in front of a crowd of 45,000 fight-crazed fans from the Arena de Baixada in Curitiba, Brazil.
The UFC has stacked the deck for this event, and the card has rightfully received a ton of hype and promotion.
Now just hours away from the action, let’s take a look at why UFC 198 ranks amongst the biggest events ever.
The Lineup
Simply put, UFC 198’s fight card lines up with the best of all-time on paper, and some have even compared it to the upcoming UFC 200 card on July 9, 2016, which will also be massive.
Taking a quick look, UFC 198 features an intriguing heavyweight title tilt in the main event as defending champion Fabricio Werdum meets Stipe Miocic.
Aside from that, top Brazilian middleweights Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza and Vitor “The Phenom” Belfort will do battle in the co-main event in a bout that could produce the division’s next title challenger.
Fellow Brazilian legends Mauricio “Shogun” Rua, Demian Maia, and Antonio Rogerio Nogueira have also been scattered throughout the card, making this one of the most appealing lineups not only in recent memory, but of all-time.
And of course we can’t forget about one huge name…
Cyborg’s Debut
After years of speculation and rumors, Invicta FC featherweight champion Cris “Cyborg” Justino will finally make her long-awaited debut in the Octagon on the main card of UFC 198 in a catch weight bout against Leslie Smith.
Justino has long taken part in a rivalry with former UFC queen Ronda Rousey, but the bout never seemed to come to fruition.
Despite Rousey’s recent downfall, “Cyborg” remains one of the biggest names in mixed martial arts, and one of the most idolized female fighters in the world.
She’s consistently shown her brutalizing knockout power, and it’s finally time to see if she can hang with the best in the world.
Location
Heading back to the passionate Brazilian market, the UFC was smart to book some of the most legendary Brazilian fighters of all-time for this card.
It almost feels like a homecoming for some of our favorite fighters, and the promotion couldn’t have picked a better venue for it to take place at.
UFC 198 will go down live from the Arena da Baixada in Curitiba, Brazil, an arena that holds of upwards of 40,000 fans.
The Brazilian fans will likely pack the house to support their heroes and of course their champion in the main event, making the event not only one of the most intriguing, but also one of the largest simply in terms of attendance.
Weigh-in Numbers
While we can speculate forever on how big the event will turn out to be based on the lineup and the arena size, we actually do indeed have hard, solid proof as to why UFC 198 will wind up ranking amongst the most prolific events of all-time.
In MMA, weigh-ins have transformed over the years from a required pre-fight event to a spectacle in and of itself.
Irish superstar and reigning featherweight champion Conor McGregor may have revolutionized this, setting the attendance record for a weigh-in last summer at UFC 189, but he no longer holds that record thanks to Fabricio Werdum and the UFC 198 fight card.
15,000 fans came out for the weigh-ins yesterday (May 13, 2016), the largest showing in promotional history, foreshadowing that a massive event will follow.
The Brazilian fans are ready. Are you?
