UFC 214: Things to Watch out for
UFC 214 IS HANDS DOWN one of the most anticipated cards in recent history. Stacked with some exciting fights, the major highlight of the card would be the showdown between Jon Jones and Daniel Cormier.
The Jones-Cormier Rivalry:
The Cormier-Jones rivalry heated up in 2014 when the two fighters engaged in a brawl at a media event leading up to their scheduled UFC 178 title bout. Then-champ Jones injured his leg and the fight was moved to January 2015’s UFC 182, where Jones defeated the wrestler by unanimous decision. Jones was stripped of his title that April following a hit-and-run accident and Cormier later won the vacant belt with a submission of “Rumble.”
The rivals were once again matched up for UFC 197 in April 2016, but Cormier pulled out of the bout citing an injury and Jones went on to defeat Ovince Saint Preux for the interim championship, which would be stripped from him only months later. UFC 200 marked the organization’s next attempt at scheduling the long-awaited rematch, but Jones was removed from the card just days before the landmark event because of a failed drug test. Anderson Silva stepped up on very short notice but lost to Cormier in a three-round non-title fight. With Jones’ suspension over in early July, he and Cormier are set to square off for the second time at Honda Center in Anaheim on July 29.
Cyborg and Evinger for the Gold:
Former Strikeforce Women's Featherweight Champion and Invicta FC Featherweight Champion Cristiane Justino (commonly referred to as Cris Cyborg) vastly expressed her desire to face the inaugural UFC Women's Featherweight Champion Germaine de Randamie at this event.
However, de Randamie indicated that she would not face Cyborg due to her repeated transgressions with PEDs (despite Cyborg only failing a test in 2011). The UFC decided to strip her of the title on June 19 due to her refusal to defend it and then booked Cyborg against promotional newcomer and current Invicta FC Featherweight Champion Megan Anderson for the vacant title. In turn, Anderson pulled out on June 27 due to personal reasons and was replaced by current Invicta FC Bantamweight Champion Tonya Evinger.
Tyron Woodley for his third title defense
On June 28, a UFC Welterweight Championship bout between current champion Tyron Woodley and former UFC Middleweight Championship challenger and multiple-time jiu-jitsu world champion Demian Maia was announced as the third title fight of the event.
The contest will mark the third title defense for Woodley after he retained the gold twice in a pair of fights with Stephen Thompson. After winning the belt with a first-round knockout of Robbie Lawler at UFC 201 in July, Woodley put his belt up for grabs against “Wonderboy” at UFC 205 in November.
The bout went to a controversial majority draw, which went into the books as a title defense for Woodley. The pair ran it back at UFC 209 in March, with Woodley winning a majority decision in a slow-paced affair.
Woodley now moves on to the next challenge, with No. 5-ranked Maia bringing a divisional best seven-fight winning streak into the contest. He most recently picked up a split-decision win over Jorge Masvidal at UFC 211 in May, solidifying his shot at the gold.The Brazilian has challenged for a UFC title once before, losing a decision to Anderson Silva at 185 pounds at UFC 112 in April 2010
Watch UFC 214 Live and Exclusive on SONY ESPN HD, SONY ESPN SD on 30th July 2017- 7:30 AM
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