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This weekend sees the UFC return to our screens with UFC Vegas 18. While the show looks pretty solid, UFC 258 – which follows on February 13th – is comfortably this month’s most exciting card.
UFC 258 doesn’t have the marquee feel of the Conor McGregor-fuelled UFC 257, but there are still plenty of reasons why it’s a must-see show. On that note, here are five reasons why you can’t miss UFC 258.
#1 The UFC’s most dominant champion is fighting in the main event
UFC Welterweight champion Kamaru Usman doesn’t have the drawing power of Conor McGregor, Khabib Nurmagomedov and Jon Jones just yet. But based on what he has done inside the Octagon during his UFC career, any fight involving him should be a must-see for any UFC fan.
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That’s because ‘The Nigerian Nightmare’ has a very real argument to being considered the UFC’s most dominant champion right now.
Usman has already defended the title he took from Tyron Woodley in March 2019 on two occasions, defeating top contenders Colby Covington and Jorge Masvidal.
But Usman doesn’t just defeat his challengers. He practically makes them look like they don’t even belong in the same Octagon as him. Covington left with a broken jaw after a fifth-round TKO loss, while Masvidal, despite all his striking talents, was never let out of first gear.
Usman’s challenger at UFC 258, Gilbert Burns, will offer a different challenge, however. Built like a fireplug, ‘Durinho’ mixes heavy-handed striking with an excellent submission game, particularly from the top.
But realistically, there’s nothing to suggest he is the man to defeat Usman, who has never lost in the UFC in 12 fights.
That doesn’t mean the fight is worth skipping, though. Like other dominant greats like Nurmagomedov, Anderson Silva and Georges St. Pierre, it’s always worth watching greatness in action like Usman. And we can expect more of that at UFC 258.
#2 Two of the UFC’s hottest young prospects face off
The UFC Women’s Flyweight division is hardly the most talent-packed in the promotion right now.
Champion Valentina Shevchenko has simply dominated anyone who has stepped into the Octagon with her, and her next two likely challengers – Jessica Andrade and Joanna Calderwood – don’t exactly inspire much confidence or excitement either.
However, the developing division does have a handful of young, talented prospects; two of them will be in action at UFC 258 on February 13th.
The main card will see a Flyweight bout between Maycee Barber and Alexa Grasso. While one woman will inevitably lose, knocking her down the ladder somewhat, this is still going to be a massively exciting fight.
Nicknamed ‘The Future’, Barber has been with the UFC since 2018, and after reeling off three TKO wins, she looks like a definite future title contender.
A loss to Roxanne Modafferi – that also saw her tear her ACL – derailed her momentum, but she is reportedly back to full strength leading into this fight.
Mexican Grasso, meanwhile, put together a 3-3 record in the UFC as a Strawweight. But her slick boxing game and underrated takedown defense looks like it might be far more suited to 125lbs than 115lbs.
With both women being highly aggressive fighters, this should also be a really fun fight to watch and should hopefully show UFC fans that the future in the women’s Flyweight division is bright.
#3 Arguably the UFC’s best grappler is in action
It would be difficult to decide who the UFC’s best grappler is right now. Even if you consider Khabib Nurmagomedov as retired, fellow wrestling monsters like Kamaru Usman, Khamzat Chimaev and Islam Makhachev would have to be in contention.
Meanwhile, submission experts such as Charles Oliveira and Ronaldo Souza would also have a claim to the title. However, in terms of sheer credentials, it’s hard to top Middleweight Rodolfo Vieira.
Nicknamed ‘The Black Belt Hunter’ for his exploits in the world of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Vieira is a four-time BJJ World Champion and a seven-time BJJ World Cup winner. He has also won the prestigious no-gi Abu Dhabi grappling tournament in the 99kg class.
Overall, the Brazilian’s grappling record stands at 100 wins and just nine losses, which is simply insane.
Vieira made the transition to MMA in 2017 and debuted in the UFC in 2019. Since then, he has gone 2-0 with two submission wins to his name but hasn’t competed since UFC 248 last March due to an injury.
UFC 258 sees him face the unheralded Anthony Hernandez. Given that he has gone 1-2 in the UFC thus far, it seems likely that there could be more ground wizardry from Vieira on February 13th.
It should – theoretically – be a one-sided fight, but when it involves someone as skilled as Vieira, it’s hard to complain.
#4 Kelvin Gastelum will attempt to get his mojo back
It seems hard to believe it, but when Kelvin Gastelum faces Ian Heinisch at UFC 258, the TUF 17 winner will be looking to win his first UFC fight in nearly three years.
The last time Gastelum had his hand raised was after his win over Jacare Souza at UFC 224,way back in May 2018. Since then, he has suffered three straight losses, each one worse than the previous one.
UFC 236 saw Gastelum push Israel Adesanya closer than any other fighter has in the UFC, but in the end, he came up just short and failed to win the interim UFC Middleweight title.
But rather than bounce back from the loss, Gastelum was edged out by Darren Till in a stunningly dull meeting at UFC 244. He was then submitted by Jack Hermansson in little more than a minute last July.
With the UFC now cutting fighters from their roster, Gastelum really needs to beat Heinisch next weekend to keep his head above water. Thankfully, it’s a fight that should be stylistically good for him.
Heinisch, with his strong wrestling and solid boxing games, could well be considered a poor man’s Gastelum. He won’t make it easy for the TUF winner, but this should theoretically be a good fight for Gastelum to get back in the saddle with.
And if that’s the case, the Middleweight division would have one of its most interesting contenders back.
#5 Munhoz and Rivera face in a battle of forgotten contenders
In a parallel universe, where some of the UFC’s closest decisions went in a different way, both Pedro Munhoz and Jimmie Rivera may well have fought for the UFC Bantamweight title by this point.
The two men are amongst the very best 135lbers that the UFC has to offer. However, due to a string of tight losses – Rivera to Aljamain Sterling and Petr Yan, Munhoz to Sterling, John Dodson and Frankie Edgar, neither man is truly in title contention right now.
However, with the likes of Edgar, Marlon Moraes and Jose Aldo on the downswing, there’s still a chance for either of these two fighters to fight their way into contention in the near future.
Of course, that’s all contingent on the winner of their clash at UFC 258 being able to impress the UFC’s powers-that-be, namely UFC President Dana White.
Both men tend to have exciting fights, but this time, it feels like a finish is probably required for them to make some real noise.
That means we could be in for some major fireworks when they throw down, thanks to Rivera’s combination-based style and Pedro Munhoz’s more straightforward power striking.
Of all of the fights at UFC 258, this one feels like a potential ‘Fight of the Night’ winner.
