On first glance at the incredible card that's been put together for UFC 226 this weekend, it's fairly easy to get lost in the hoopla that is the heavyweight championship superfight featuring Stipe Miocic aiming to defend the heavyweight crown for a record-setting fourth consecutive time when he squares off with reigning light heavyweight king Daniel Cormier. It's fresh, it's tantalizing, it's sexy -- it brings mass appeal to the promotion and the sport as a whole. But one thing it should not do is derive any attention away from the featherweight championship co-main event, which has the potential to be remembered as the best on the card when all is said and done.
Prior to the heavyweight attraction, Max Holloway will put his featherweight title up for grabs against rapidly rising contender Brian Ortega. This bout pits not only two of the more dangerous men in the promotion against one another, but also two of the most successful fighters in the sport right now.
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Holloway (19-3) is currently riding a 12-fight winning streak. This includes two consecutive TKO victories over the greatest featherweight of all time in Jose Aldo coming into the event on Saturday, as well as a TKO win over another notable name --Anthony Pettis. Aside from the fact that he possesses incredible knockout power in his hands, Holloway is one of the more fearless fighters working under the UFC banner. Back at UFC 223 when then-interim lightweight champion Tony Ferguson was removed from the main event with a freak injury, Holloway was quick to step up to the plate to challenge another unbeaten UFC sensation in Khabib Nurmagomedov. Had it not been for the New York State Athletic Commission pulling him at the last minute as he tried to make weight, the man affectionately known as "Blessed" was more than ready to get in there to throw down above his weight class -- simply because he adores the competition.
While Holloway has quickly become one of the more recognizable names in the UFC, Ortega (14-0) had been flying under the radar so to speak. His debut with the UFC in July 2014 did not get off to a promising start, with his rear-naked choke submission victory over Mike De La Torre being overturned after Ortega tested positive for a banned substance. He returned to the Octagon in June 2015 with a TKO win over Thiago Tavares, and he hasn't slowed down since. With his versatile mix of striking power and jiu jitsu, Ortega has rattled off six consecutive victories in the UFC -- all of them coming via stoppage; Ortega doesn't seem to enjoy leaving outcomes in the hands of the judges. His profile was growing in popularity among many, but Ortega opened everyone's eyes earlier this year at UFC 222 when he decimated former lightweight champion and perennial featherweight contender Frankie Edgar. Once the vicious uppercut connected with Edgar to finish him off for the first time in his illustrious career, there was no other choice than to reward the 27-year-old with a shot at championship gold for the first time in his UFC career.
Not to be outdone, Ortega had also offered his services to step in on a week's notice to fight Nurmagomedov at UFC 223, but UFC president Dana White decided to go with Holloway instead.
With a record-setting heavyweight champion defending his title against a reigning light heavyweight champion -- who many try to insert into greatest of all time conversations -- in the main event of International Fight Week, it would be almost obvious to think it's best fight on the card. Add in the promotion for the showdown, and it's easy to call Miocic vs. Cormier the most anticipated battle on the entire card, and maybe of the year.
Overall, though, the fight that everyone should be eagerly looking forward to on Saturday night in all aspects should be this scrap for the undisputed featherweight championship.
The fact is, for as heavily-hyped as the heavyweight title tilt may be leading into this weekend, there's a good chance that the bout between the two friends may not turn out to be a barn burner. The superfight to end the night will see a clash of styles, with Miocic aiming for the power shot to finish the challenger while Cormier will feel out ways to topple the heavyweight champ with his excellent wrestling acumen. The battle for the heavyweight championship is likely to see a chess match featuring an extended feeling-out period and grappling on the ground should Cormier earn a few successful takedowns. When a fight plays out in that manner, few tend to call back to it as one to be remembered fondly.
Take Miocic's last fight against Francis Ngannou as an example. Many expected the heavy-hitting Frenchmen to roll through Miocic or for the champion to catch him with a heavy shot. But Miocic fought smart, let Ngannou gas out in the first couple rounds and turned it into a wrestling match over 25 arduous minutes.
Now the Holloway vs. Ortega showdown, on the other hand, will almost surely present the action and intrigue that fans -- both casual and die-hard -- look for from a championship bout on the biggest card of the year. Both of these men will come right out of the gate looking to dish out whatever the other can possibly handle. Both Holloway and Ortega aim to finish the battle before the judges cageside get the chance to weigh in. Holloway does it with his impeccable striking ability, while Ortega lets you pick your poison.
During his current 12-fight winning streak, seven of Holloway's wins have come via either knockout or TKO.
Ortega, on his 6-0 run in the UFC, has sent three of his opponents packing via knockout or TKO, while the other three competitors were suffocated into submission via choke.
When these two incredible warriors still in their primes -- Holloway is 26 years of age, while Ortega is 27 -- enter into the Octagon for the right to be called featherweight king on Saturday night in Las Vegas, they will share the similar objective of ending the other how they see fit. Both Holloway and Ortega are known for charging the fight to the opponents across from them, and now at UFC 226, we're going to see these two young bulls across from one another. With that formula, you're creating an indelible environment that in all likelihood will set the T-Mobile Arena ablaze when they begin to trade shots with one another.
It's silly to completely discount the magnitude of the heavyweight championship main event this weekend, but it's equally as disrespectful to completely gloss over what Max Holloway and Brian Ortega will bring to the table at UFC 226.
And what the featherweight championship match on Saturday night will bring, should both Holloway and Ortega be clicking on all cylinders, is a fight that, in the end, will steal most of the thunder from Cormier and Miocic -- while being looked back on as one of the fights of the year when we begin to exit 2018.
