UFC 230 Preview - 'Cormier vs. Lewis': Main Card Preview

Daniel Cormier and Derrick Lewis are set to headline a huge card in the form of UFC 230. The pay-per-view event is sure to make a huge impact on the upcoming few months, as what happens with Daniel Cormier also determines how a few other fighters will fair, including the likes of Brock Lesnar and Jon Jones.

UFC 230 as a whole is a huge event, with the main card filled to the brim with exciting matches. The main card is dominated by fights set up between middleweights, with only the main event being even slightly different.

The entire event has been subject to a lot of change in the buildup. Originally, the likes of Nate Diaz and Dustin Poirier were supposed to square off as the co-main event, but that fight was scrapped after Poirier had to pull out due to an injury.

Another fight everyone was looking forward to was the much-anticipated rematch between Luke Rockhold and Chris Weidman. The two fighters were set to go head to head, until injury issues cropped up again, rendering Rockhold unable to fight. Instead of him, Weidman is set to take in Jacare Souza.

In this article, we will be doing a preview of each fight on the main card. For previews of the Early Preliminary Card and the Preliminary Card click here.

Without any further ado, let's take a look at the main card for the night.

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#1. Derek Brunson vs. Israel Adesanya:

UFC Fight Night: Jacare v Brunson 2

Two fighters who have been in and out of the Middleweight top ten rankings in the past couple of years, Israel Adesanya and Derek Brunson are set to face off in the first fight of the night at UFC 230.

Brunson is coming into this fight after his last fight saw him take a loss against Jacare Souza. He will have to collect himself fast to be ready for his encounter with Israel Adesanya.

Adesanya is still undefeated since starting his professional Mixed Martial Arts career. After three fights, he stands with two decision and one knockout victory in UFC, bringing his record to 14 and 0.

He will hope a win here will catapult him towards a future shot for the title.

#2. Karl Roberson vs. Jack Marshman:

Karl Roberson has been met with failure in the Octagon before

After he won at Dana White's Tuesday Night Contender series, there seemed to be nothing that could stop the youngster, Karl Roberson. This was proved even further when he picked up another victory at UFC Fight Night.

Like most dreams, however, he was jerked awake by his last bout at UFC 224, where he lost to Cezar Ferreira via a Technical Submission.

Jack Marshman, on the other hand, has been shaky since the beginning in UFC. He has two wins and two losses to his name, which does not really say much.

On the other hand, he is a professional fighter with a lot of experience, having fought in 29 different fights, even if he lost 7 of them.

This fight is well-matched, despite the fighters being almost complete opposites. It will be interesting to see who triumphs

#3. David Branch vs. Jared Cannonier:

UFC 208: Teixeira v Cannonier

The third fight of the main card is set to take place between David Branch and Jared Cannonier. While Branch is comparatively inexperienced in the promotion, Cannonier has been in the UFC for a while.

Despite not always getting the win, he has been a part of some of the most high profile matches in the company. He took on the likes of Glover Teixeira as well as Ian Cutelaba. More recently he faced Jan Blachowicz.

He will be hoping to get a win against David Branch, who has made a mediocre impact, with two wins and a loss to his name. Branch's only loss came to a top fighter, Luke Rockhold, but coming into this fight he will be confident, as he was able to defeat the likes of Thiago Santos in his last fight.

A win here will mean a triumphant arrival for him, as well as a good declaration of his expectations here.

#4. Chris Weidman vs. Jacare Souza:

UFC Fight Night: Weidman v Gastelum

Once upon a time, Chris Weidman was a UFC Champion. Well, that time may not be far away again, if Weidman manages to win this fight against the ever difficult, Jacare Souza.

Weidman had a bad run of fights back-to-back. He lost against the likes of Luke Rockhold, who took his title, Yoel Romero, who sent him down a notch, and Gegard Mousasi, who almost put the final nail in his coffin. But he returned in the only way he can. He knocked out Kevin Gastelum and was set to fight against Rockhold before he had to pull out of the fight.

His opponent, Jacare Souza, is not a pushover. He has, however, lost his own share of big matches and is looking for a win, to catapult him into contention. Ironically, he is coming into this match after losing his last fight against Kevin Gastelum. This should be an interesting fight to say the least.

#5. Daniel Cormier vs. Derrick Lewis:

UFC 229: Lewis v Volkov

A fight no one saw coming, but now that it's here, everyone is looking forward to, Daniel Cormier is set to face Derrick Lewis in the main event of the UFC 230 pay-per-view.

Lewis is coming into this fight after his last fight took place less than a month ago. He narrowly got a win over Alexander Volkov at UFC 229, after a last-second comeback knockout punch.

Cormier, on the other hand, has had a few months' rest, as he last fought when he won the UFC Championship belt, taking it away from Stipe Miocic.

Since then, Cormier has been vocal about a fight with Brock Lesnar, who again, might be present during the main event of the show. Until Lesnar can officially fight, however, who better than Lewis to fight Cormier? The two have similar methods they use in their fights at their disposal, and as such are likely to put on an entertaining show.