Poll: What Will Be The Best Fight Of 2015’s Packed UFC Schedule?
The UFC may be going through some tough times involving injuries and performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs), but that doesn’t mean that 2015 is without its fair share of high-profile championship and marquee-level bouts (at least for now).
We’ll have to cross our fingers and hope that the majority, if not all, of the bouts actually come to fruition, but on paper, there’s a lot to be excited about.
For example, dominant UFC women’s bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey will finally get her chance to square off with longtime top contender Cat Zingano in the main event of next weekend’s (Sat., February 28, 2015) UFC 184 from the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California.
Dazzling lightweight champ Anthony Pettis will put his belt on the line against Rafael dos Anjos two weeks after that in the feature bout of UFC 184 from Dallas, Texas, and the card will also feature a crucial welterweight affair between hometown favorite Johny Hendricks and No. 5 Matt Brown.
A pair of middleweight affairs with dire title implications in Lyoto Machida vs. Luke Rockhold and Ronaldo ‘Jacare’ Souza vs. Yoel Romero will highlight April 18’s UFC on FOX 15 from the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey.
April 25’s UFC 186 from the Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec features two title fights in the lower weight divisions when dominant flyweight champ Demetrious ‘Mighty Mouse’ Johnson fights Kyoji Horiguchi and bantamweight champ TJ Dillashaw meets Renan Barao in the overdue rematch of a shocking first match-up at UFC 173.
In May, an exciting slugfest between heavyweights Mark Hunt and Stipe Miocic will headline UFC Fight Night 65 from Adelaide, Australia a week before the anticipated ‘super fight’ between Frankie Edgar and Urijah Faber headlines UFC Fight Night 66, the UFC’s first-ever show from the Philippines.
The action will truly heat up a week later when light heavyweight champion Jon Jones meets surging No. 1 contender No. 1 contender Anthony ‘Rumble’ Johnson in the main event of UFC 187 from Las Vegas, a huge fight that will follow the often-scheduled middleweight title bout between Chris Weidman and Vitor Belfort. To top it all off, Khabib Nurmagomedov and Donald Cerrone will meet to decide the next title contender at 155 pounds.
Finally, a third UFC card with two title fights will take place in July when featherweight champion Jose Aldo throws down with Conor McGregor in the blockbuster main event of UFC 189 and Robbie Lawler defends his belt for the first time by facing Rory MacDonald in his long-anticipated title shot.
With so many elite level bouts on the schedule in the coming months, which fight are you looking forward to most?
Photo Credit: Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY
