10 Things I Like at UFC 274
Keeping to the specified number in the series title was especially difficult this week, as Saturday's event has plenty to appreciate
This is one of those weeks where having a lot on the go is actually making things more manageable and less “hurry up and get here already” for me.
My wife is on her second week of vacation, which means we’re hanging out more, eating good food, doing date nights and enjoying breakfast together most days. We’re also still house hunting, so prepping for the weekend Open House runs, neurotically seeing what new listings have come up, and coordinating showings with our realtor factor in there too.
Plus, you know, I have work to do, all of which keeps me from sitting here counting down the hours until UFC 274, which still can’t get here soon enough.
Much like last month’s pay-per-view offering, this one has a “we’re going to get something special” feel to me; there is just something ineffable about the combination of fights, what’s at stake in the different matchups, and the answers this weekend’s action should provide that makes my Spidey-Sense tingle. Or that might just be my body reacting to the new morning stretching routine I’ve started…
Either way, I’m excited, and these are the things I like most about this weekend’s UFC 274 fight card.
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The Maturation of Charles Oliveira
Watching Oliveira grow into the fighter he is today has been one of the most enjoyable things about being a fight fan over the last dozen-plus years. From a gangly prospect to a confident lightweight champion, “Do Bronx” has figured out who he is, how to best deploy his weapons, and how to navigate the dangers that are ever-present inside the Octagon.
The persistent knock against the champion is that he wilts in the face of adversity, and I understand what challenger Justin Gaethje is trying to get at with his “once a coward, always a coward” comments on Wednesday, because there was a time when Oliveira did, in fact, look for a way out once things got rough.
But we’ve literally watched him debunk that claim in his last two fights, where he got roughed up out of the chute, steadied himself, and then finished two elite lightweight contenders, Michael Chandler and Dustin Poirier. He’s addressed the issue — and spoke about it being a constant refrain from opponents and critics when I interviewed him ahead of this fight (see above) — and it’s honestly the most impressive part of his maturation, because learning to deal with adversity is an incredible human characteristic, never mind being essential for fighters.
Oliveira carries himself with a different level of assuredness these days — like he finally believes in himself to a point where nothing that has happened in the past, nor anything others may say about him could possible impact his performance — and it has made him even more dangerous.
Justin Gaethje is Fighting
Look — if you don’t get pumped up whenever this lightweight lunatic is on the card, I don’t know what to say to you.
Win or lose, Gaethje is pure entertainment, even if you’re like me and don’t always love the way he approaches fights. Yes, I’m one of those “I wish he would be a little more technical and wrestle more and not just brawl” types that wants to see the former World Series of Fighting champion dial it back 10 percent, but that doesn’t mean I don’t grin like his coach Trevor Wittman whenever Gaethje gets booked.
This is a pivotal fight for the Safford, Arizona native — a second chance at UFC gold and an opportunity to shake up the lightweight rankings — and it’s basically a home game for him, so I’m tremendously curious to see what Gaethje does out of the gate and how well he’s able to maintain his aggressive attack once things really get rolling on Saturday night.
The Intrigue of Namajunas-Esparza II
I love this fight so much.
Rose Namajunas returned to the top of the strawweight division last year with consecutive wins over Zhang Weili, while Carla Esparza handled her business in emphatic fashion, putting a hurting on Yan Xiaonan to solidify her place as the top contender int he 115-pound weight class. Now, more than seven years after they met in the UFC strawweight title fight ever, they run it back for gold once more.
Both women see this as a legacy-defining moment — Namajunas believing she can cement herself as the best strawweight of all time with a win, and Esparza aiming to further bolster her Hall of Fame case by returning to the top of the mountain for a second time — and it should bring out the best of them this weekend.
It’s also an intriguing stylistic battle as well, as Esparza is a phenomenal top position grappler, while Namajunas has become a diverse and dangerous striker with a solid submission game tucked away for safe keeping. Everything about this fight is going to come down to whether Esparza can do damage and avoid damage on the feet while working to get the champion to the deck, and the tug-of-war between the two to determine where the fight takes place is going to be captivating.
This was absolutely the fight to make and I’m glad we’re finally going to get to see it on Saturday.
Getting Answers About Tony Ferguson
All my experience covering this sport, detailing the careers of these athletes tells me that Tony Ferguson has hit that point of his career where his days as a contender are a thing of the past, and that every time he steps into the Octagon could be the moment where everyone finally sees that Father Time has not only caught up to him, but placed him in a headlock and is trying to drag him out of the cage for good.
Ferguson, as you would expect, scoffs at anyone that suggests he’s at a crossroads or that the best days are behind him. Those three losses? Speed bumps, not signs of decline after years (and years) of gnarly battles against elite competition. His comeback is right around the corner; just you watch.
He sounds like the cash-strapped gamblers I used to associate with back in my days hanging around race tracks and casino floors. The big score is always coming, but it never comes.
Saturday’s fight with Michael Chandler feels like it will tell us unequivocally where Ferguson is at in his career, because Chandler is the type of fighter that will make you look real bad if you’re past your prime and no longer capable of hanging at his level, while also being someone you have to be talented and sharp to hang with inside the cage.
Everything comes down to these next three rounds (or less) for Ferguson, and I have to say, I feel a little uneasy about how Saturday night is going to play out.
A Proper Pairing for Cerrone, Lauzon
This is the right way to book veterans like Donald Cerrone and Joe Lauzon that still want to step into the Octagon on occasion and get the blood flowing.
Rather than using the tenured lightweight as cannon fodder for emerging talents in need of a marquee name on their resume, “Cowboy” and the TUF 5 graduate have been paired off together this weekend in what very well could be the last dance for each of them, though if I were a betting man, I would expect we see each of them at least once more, regardless of the results. Both are past their prime, but still want to mix it up, and pitting them against one another is a great way to get an entertaining fight without potentially sacrificing either one of them (or both) to younger names looking to elevate their profiles at the expense of athletes that paved the way for them.
I know that is how things go in sports — the new generation has to replace the old, and torches need to be passed — but Cerrone and Lauzon have enough cache, enough clout that they should get to finish things out on their own terms, the same way Clay Guida and Jim Miller and Andrei Arlovski are being afforded the opportunity to navigate these last few years of their careers as they see fit.
Active, contending veterans are the ones that you run out there against the new crop of names you’re looking to highlight; not a couple guys in their late 30s that spilled a lot of blood inside the Octagon and haven’t been “in the mix” in a number of years.
This is how you book those guys.
Welterweight Clarification Fights
I really love when there are clusters of fights within the same division on the same or surrounding fight cards, like there is on Saturday with three welterweight scraps.
First, it’s an easy way to get a sense of how all the fighters line up amongst one another and the rest of the weight class, because three fights mean six athletes with track records and recent performances that help determine where they fall in the hierarchy. Second, it makes matchmaking easier going forward because, barring injury, you get a couple few victorious fighters (and vanquished competitors) moving forward on the same timeline.
Lastly, I just like when the spotlight gets put on a division because it builds anticipation for future bouts in that weight class, and even with welterweight champ Kamaru Usman still in recovery mode following hand surgery, the 170-pound weight class has gotten a great deal of attention lately. Key fights have clarified things at the top of the rankings a little more, and Saturday’s tetra-pack of tilts — Andre Fialho versus Cameron VanCamp, Randy Brown versus Khaos Williams, and Francisco Trinaldo versus Danny Roberts — will help suss things out just outside the Top 15.
Answers to questions and insights into how fighters and divisions progress; these are the things I care about most come fight night, and these bouts will provide me with both.
I Still Want to Know More About Norma Dumont
Dumont was the first fighter to land in the “I Want to Know More About…” subhead when I wrote 10 Things for the first time on this Substack. She was coming off her debut knockout loss to Megan Anderson, dropping down to bantamweight, and I was curious to see what more I could learn about the Brazilian newcomer.
Three fights and 18 months later, I’m still in the “information gathering” phase with Dumont, who enters Saturday’s bout with Macy Chiasson on a three-fight winning streak and coming off consecutive solid wins over Felicia Spencer and Aspen Ladd.
Part of the challenge is that featherweight just barely exists as a division, so opportunities for Dumont and others looking to compete at 145 pounds are limited, which means determining whether she’s a legitimate threat or just the best of an extremely shallow pool of contenders is difficult. She’s shown flashes and beating Spencer and Ladd aren’t easy feats (though Ladd is a mess right now), so I’m hoping this weekend’s contest answers a few more questions and gives me a little more to work with when it comes to figuring out where the 31-year-old Brazilian fits in the UFC’s future plans.
Flyweight Appreciation
The televised prelims open with a Top 10 matchup in the flyweight division between Brandon Royval and Matt Schnell.
This is one of those fights that I really wish was positioned as the second or third fight from the top on one of the upcoming Fight Night events, because it’s a critical matchup in a terrific division, and instead of getting showcased and talked about the way it deserves to be showcased and talked about, it’s dropped in here as one of 10 preliminary card fights that very few people are discussing.
Royval has only fought Top 10 opponents throughout his first five UFC appearances and keeps that streak intact here, looking to build on his narrow victory over Rogerio Bontorin in January with a win over Schnell on Saturday. As for the 32-year-old former MTV Caged star, he’s 5-1 with one No Contest in his last seven fights and always been dangerous, giving me real “Louisiana Joe Lauzon” vibes as someone that is always a tough out, but also kind of has an established ceiling.
As I said yesterday, I still maintain that where fights land on the card doesn’t change the importance of the bout or the skill of the athletes involved, but I’m starting to come around to the idea that the UFC really needs to do a better job situating these kinds of matchups in places that maximize their exposure and give folks the best chance to connect with these Top 10 competitors.
Tandem Litmus Tests
You’re going to think I’m laying, but the fight between Tracy Cortez and Melissa Gatto is honestly the fight I’m most looking forward to on Saturday night.
I’m pumped for everything that is set to transpire inside the Octagon, but I’m so curious to figure out where each of these women stand in the ultra-competitive, super-intriguing flyweight division that I’ve been fixating on this matchup since I started diving in on this card a couple weeks ago.
Cortez is on a nine-fight winning streak with three of those victories coming inside the Octagon. Gatto is 8-0-2 in her career and has earned stoppages in each of her first two UFC appearances. Both want to move forward, and they need to get through the other in order to do it, and just typing that sentence got me even more hyped.
This is the right type of matchup for each woman at this point, and how things shake out on Saturday is going to tell us a lot about each of them.
First- & Second-Year Fighters Showcase
The first handful of fights on Saturday’s UFC 274 prelims feature a trio of Contender Series grads and one of last year’s top rookies.
Kleydson Rodrigues, CJ Vergara, and Fernie Garcia all earned their way onto the UFC roster with DWCS wins last fall. Rodrigues and Vergara face each other this weekend, while Garcia opens the show opposite Journey Newson in what should be a banger to get things started. In between those two matchups, Lupita “Loopy” Godinez locks up with Ariane Carnelossi, making the first start of her sophomore campaign in a tough assignment against an equally intriguing strawweight grappler.
A lot of people want to bitch and moan about the number of DWCS grads there are on the roster and how many of the current fighters they’re unfamiliar with, but there are some genuinely talents amongst this crop of first- and second-year fighters stepping into the fray on Saturday, and nothing is stopping those who are unfamiliar with them from familiarizing themselves with them this weekend.
At least one of these competitors will be a Top 15 fighter in the next two years — that’s my prediction — so why not pay attention to them this weekend so that you can watch them develop and flourish going forward?