One of the reasons why MMA is slowly but surely inching out boxing as the premier combat sport in the world has to do largely with the fact that most of the best fighters in the world fight under the unified banner of the UFC.
And 2016 has been a flagship year for the company; ranging from getting sold for a mind-boggling $4.2 billion dollars to playing host to a cluster of landmark pay-per-view cards that have aided greatly in embedding MMA into the fold of mainstream sport.
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Drawing inspiration from an irrepressible Irishman whose gift of gab and skill inside the Octagon are almost comparable to the audacity of his dreams, 2016 has seen many fighters break through the ranks of mainstream anonymity and take the effort to be recognised as personalities.
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What also shines through, however, is the quality of fights that have been put on. MMA as a sport is given to continuous evolution and never has that ever-changing dynamic come to the fore as impressionably as it has this past year.
And In order to sustain this growth and build on it even, 2017 has to be an equally gratifying year in terms of the entertainment value provided by the fights that the UFC make. They have to be as compelling in narrative as the Diaz-McGregor fights were and – in equal measure – as technically intriguing as was the Dillashaw – Cruz contest.
On that note, here are 5 fights that the UFC absolutely has to pen down for the year to come.
#5 Ronda Rousey vs Cristiane Justino Cyborg
The phenom that was ruling the Women’s Bantamweight Division – Ronda Rousey – was dethroned in the most brutal fashion towards the end of 2015 when Holly Holm dismantled her in a showcase fight at UFC 193.
A year away from the spotlight, barring an occasional appearance, she is ready to make her comeback against current champion Amanda Nunes at UFC 197 on December 31st. Assuming she wins, 2017 can be the year where Rousey asserts herself once again as the postergirl of the company alongside Conor McGregor.
However, there will always be an ignominious asterisk hanging over her resume when she retires unless she dispels this notion that she can’t deal with an elite striker. A Holly Holm rematch would have been mint for the UFC should she have held out for Ronda Rousey to return, but that ship sailed when she lost the title to Miesha Tate at UFC 196.
Enter Cris Cyborg. Fearsome, hardened, elite, unbeaten and now, fighting in the UFC. For the longest time when Rousey kept collecting arms, Cyborg was running roughshod over the Invicta Featherweight roster.
It was always destined that they would face-off against each other but Rousey’s devastating loss to Holly Holm threw a spanner in the works. Although in the time that the former UFC Bantamweight Champion spent recuperating, Cyborg has fought in the UFC twice at a catchweight of 140 pounds.
It looks more likely than ever that the fight will happen in 2017.
#4 Dominick Cruz vs Demetrious Johnson 2
Some fights in the UFC make waves due to the larger-than-life personas of the fighters involved in them, but the ones that truly nurdle a purist’s fancy are those that are technically intriguing and impossible to predict.
A rematch between Dominick Cruz and Demetrious Johnson presents exactly that. Two of the most advanced minds with next-gen skill sets in MMA and champions of successive weightclasses, it is a fight that would capture every hardcore fight fan’s imagination – again.
Their first fight wasn’t a landslide victory for Cruz by any stretch of imagination, and Johnson’s speed and skill in striking did pose a problem for him. Since then however, Johnson has gone on to capture the UFC Flyweight Title and rack up a disbelief beggaring 10 victories on the trot.
Cruz on the other hand, spent most of the time nursing himself back into the Octagon after being riddled with one serious injury after another.
Just as comparisons between Johnson and the great Anderson Silva – at least in terms of the number of their successive title defences – were beginning to crop up, Cruz made his latest comeback against TJ Dillashaw and regained the title he never lost.
If Demetrious Johnson breaks Anderson Silva’s record of 12 consecutive title defences, there is nothing stopping him from making the step up in weight to avenge his loss to Cruz. If you are a fight fan, this is a fight you have to see!
#3 Georges St. Pierre vs Tyron Woodley
GSP has been telling anyone who would listen, and that is a considerable number, that he wants to come back and fight in the UFC. Dana White however, has shot down the possibility of the former Welterweight king making a comeback by questioning his desire to fight again.
Clearly there is some discrepancy in the business side of things and neither GSP nor the UFC seem willing to yield, which is a pity considering how consummate an ambassador of the sport he is.
Should the two parties resolve their differences amicably, however, there is quite an strong case to be made for St.Pierre to be thrust to the front of the queue and receive a title shot against the current Welterweight incumbant, Tyron Woodley.
After all, he was utterly dominant in his reign as the Champion and was one of the premier pay-per-view draws for the company before Ronda Rousey and Conor McGregor blew up. Whether Tyron Woodley holds the belt, or drops it to Stephen Wonderboy Thompson in their rematch (if it happens), Georges St. Pierre’s return would be certainly be a shot up the arm for the Welterweight division.
And if a certain Irishman decides to drop one of his belts and be adventurous, another blockbuster superfight beckons!
#2 Jon Jones vs Daniel Cormier/Anthony Rumble Johnson
No dream-fight list is complete without the bad boy of MMA gracing it. While some of you may fall back upon a sigh of resignation at the thought, all of you know that there is no denying that Jon Jones is probably the greatest fighter to ever step into the Octagon.
Jon Jones may be facing a retrospective 1-year ban from the Nevada State Athletic Commission that puts him out of action until July of 2017, but you can rest assured that the chip on his shoulder will be more overbearing than ever when he comes back to reclaim the UFC Light Heavyweight Belt that he never lost.
Imperious with his skills inside the Octagon and indifferent to his responsibilities outside of it, no other fighter polarizes opinion in the UFC like Jonny Bones does. When he does come back to stake his claim on the Light Heavyweight crown however, he can expect either his arch nemesis Daniel Cormier or knockout artist Anthony Rumble Johnson waiting for him.
Jones has a score to settle with Cormier, and Johnson has always been earmarked as the one fighter who could possibly defeat him. While his opponent would be determined by who emerges victorious at UFC 196, his return to the Octagon should light up 2017.
#1 Conor McGregor vs Nate Diaz 3
The score lies at one apiece. Neither McGregor’s ultra competitiveness nor Nate Diaz’s bullish mentality will allow it to stay that way.
Regardless of Khabib Nurmagomedov’s threats that he will leave the UFC should he be passed over for the next title shot, or Jose Aldo’s stagnant quest for redemption, it is highly likely that McGregor and Nate Diaz will go at it one final time for the Lightweight Title.
McGregor is on a self-imposed hiatus from the sport owing to the impending birth of his child, but absence may not allow the heart to grow fonder should he cherry pick Nate Diaz over two highly deserving fighters in Khabib and Tony Ferguson. Jose Aldo isn’t even in the picture, it would seem.
The bottom line, however, is this. No matter how much fans crib that he is holding two divisions hostage, McGregor fights are must-watch television. No matter how inactive he is in the meantime, Nate Diaz fights are must-watch television too.
When they come together for the third and final time to do battle, there is little doubt that it will be the highlight fight for the UFC in 2017
