5 best UFC pay-per-views of 2018

#3 UFC 230: Cormier vs. Lewis

Jacare Souza and Chris Weidman put on a stone cold classic at UFC 230

The UFC struggled to put together a main event for their yearly trip to New York’s Madison Square Garden in November, but eventually, they set upon a Heavyweight title match between Daniel Cormier and Derrick Lewis. But it was the Middleweight division that was truly spotlighted at UFC 230, and the 4 fights at 185lbs all delivered in spades.

We began with an incredible showing from one of the hottest up-and-comers in the sport – Israel Adesanya – as he used his slick striking skills to take out Derek Brunson in the first round – setting up a mouth-watering encounter with Anderson Silva in early 2019. Next, Karl Roberson outgrappled Jack Marshman in the night’s only slower fight.

The pace soon picked up again though as David Branch was upset by Jared Cannonier – dropping down to 185lbs for the first time to devastating effect – and then we were treated to a stone-cold classic brawl between Chris Weidman and Jacare Souza that ended in one of the year’s most violent knockouts, Jacare leaving the hometown boy unconscious after a huge right hand.

The crowd might not have been treated to the underdog fairytale that they hoped for in the main event, as Lewis had no answer for Cormier’s takedowns and was submitted easily in the second round, but that couldn’t take away from what was a fantastic show. The UFC has always put on great showings in MSG and this one was no exception.