So yesterday, I wrote 85% of a UFC 226 preview piece. When I write a post, I tend to write the majority in one day and then come back the next day to apply the finishing touches. I find it helps to look at my work with fresh eyes and edit the piece so it’s more concise and an all-around better read.
It just so happens, the majority of my preview was about the Max Holloway Vs Brian Ortega fight. I haven’t been this excited for a fight since Tony Ferguson booked himself some one-on-one Khabib Time, and we all know what happened there…
I woke up this morning excited to finish off my preview and publish it on The Battle Camp so the world could revel in the glory that is my perspective on an amazing fight. I had even earmarked a one-hour slot in my day that I was going to use to finish my preview (this one-hour slot is also known as my lunch break). Anyway, as I was lying in bed thinking of ways I could beautifully craft the closing sentence of my preview to leave you with that excited feeling filled with anticipation and mystery in the pit of your stomach, similar to how I’ve been feeling all fight-week, I decided to take a break and look at my phone.
I opened Instagram (@TheBattleCamp365 😉) and started scrolling down my timeline. Wait. Pause. Read it again…and again. The second post I saw on my timeline was from MMAJunkie. Breaking: Max Holloway has withdrawn from #UFC226 after showing ‘concussion like symptoms’.
Well, the feeling I had in the pit of my stomach changed from excitement and anticipation to the heavy sinking feeling I got when Ferguson was unable to make his Khabib Time appointment. To add insult to injury, the preview piece I had originally written was no longer relevant.
I thought better of writing about my thoughts of Holloway’s withdrawal just yet. Of course, the priority should always be the fighter’s health. With so much at stake, I’m glad those around him made the decision to prioritise safety. Until we know more about the circumstances around Holloway’s withdrawal, all we can do is wish him a full and speedy recovery.
So here I am, feeling quite shitty about how shitty the MMA Gods are treating us, looking at my laptop trying to think of ways to write another preview piece without being unjustly pessimistic about UFC 226 because let’s face it, although my personal main event has fallen through, the card itself is still super stacked with the actual main event still intact.
Let’s not get it twisted, the term “Super Fight” is bandied about way too often these days. Just because a fighter chooses to move weight-class and challenge the champion, it doesn’t make it a “Super-Fight”. For example, I intend no offence when I say this, but if Tyron Woodley moved up to face Robert Whittikar, I’d be damn excited to see it, but I wouldn’t file it in the “Super Fight” section in the area of my mind consumed by combat sports.
So what’s the recipe for a “Super Fight”? Well, in my opinion, Stipe Micoc Vs Daniel Cormier most definitely contains the right ingredients.
Firstly, and perhaps most importantly, both champions have to have dominated their respective divisions by beating all available and deserving challengers. I’ve intentionally used the word “available” as I’m perfectly aware of Cormier’s losses to Jon Jones. The fact Jon Jones is serving a suspension with no sign of a return date, for me, his name must be removed from this equation.
Secondly, there needs to be a genuine air of uncertainty about this fight. It’s all well and good for a fighter to move up a weight class to challenge for the strap, but if said fighter is an overwhelming underdog with experts and analysts then I’m sorry, it isn’t a “Super Fight”. In the case of Miocic Vs Cormier, one can argue a strong and coherent case for either fighter winning.
Finally, the fight itself needs to have an “X Factor”, a certain jena se qua. For me, this fight has it in droves. Cormier has never lost a fight at heavyweight. In fact, I can’t recall him ever losing a single round when he operated in that division. He looked formidable. Ironically, the mystery in this fight is actually in the fact we’ve already seen Cormier dominate at heavyweight. So, the question isn’t ‘Can Cormier compete?’ because we know he can. The question here is ‘Can Cormier win?’ which is a realistic outcome but it’s extremely difficult to predict because…well…because Miocic.
Miocic is a guy who I always believed is a well-rounded, solid heavyweight. When he called for a title shot after defeating Arlovski in 2016, I’m not going to lie, I wasn’t convinced. Even after he blasted through Fabricio Werdum in Brazil to win the title I thought “He got lucky with that punch he landed”. I’m happy to admit, Miocic has shut me up, proved me wrong and then shut me up again with every victory since. He’s a deserving champion who has the opportunity to cement his legacy in a…yes, you’ve guessed it, a legitimate super fight.
Prediction? I can’t. Not because I enjoy removing splinters from my bum after a satisfying session of fence-sitting, but because I genuinely can’t decide who I think has a better chance of winning. What I will say is, Cormier is a 7/4 underdog on the betting app I use so I put a cheeky bet on him to win. I think the bookies have got it wrong by placing Miocic as a 4/9 favourite. The fight is a lot closer in my opinion.
Speaking of wagers, I also placed an accumulator on the weekend’s fights.
To call this optimistic, it would be an understatement. I look at these kinds of bets as more of a lottery where we get to apply some prior knowledge and logic to predict the outcome as opposed to a total game of chance.
I always try to pick at least one underdog. On this occasion, it’s Anthony Pettis. Although he’s been a shadow of his former self over the last few years and Chiesa has a style he struggles against on paper, I feel like Chiesa is a bit predictable in his offence. He’s also been inactive for a year and I get the feeling both of these factors will be an advantage for Pettis. I believe this is Pettis’ last chance to prove himself at this level and he knows it. If he’s able to avoid the takedown and pick Chiesa off with low kicks and strikes, I think he may just have enough to cause an upset.
That’s it from me. I’m looking forward to this weekend despite the loss of the co-main event. Let’s hope it’s the only one!!
The Battle Camp 
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