UFC 231: Holloway vs. Ortega preview and predictions

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL - JUNE 03: Max Holloway celebrates after his TKO victory over Jose Aldo of Brazil in their UFC featherweight championship bout during the UFC 212 event at Jeunesse Arena on June 3, 2017 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images) /

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UFC 231 features an undefeated contender against the man who slayed the GOAT twice, the highest level women’s fight ever, and an excellent card surrounding them.

2018 has had no shortage of grand events; UFC 220 featured two title fights and the most anticipated heavyweight bout ever, UFC 226 had the super fight between the heavyweight and light heavyweight champions, and UFC 229 had the return of Conor McGregor. However, in raw skill depth, UFC 231 may beat out all of them; Toronto’s December 8 card isn’t necessarily a box-office hit but is a definite cult classic.

In the main event is a title fight in the deepest UFC division; Max Holloway and Brian Ortega have represented a very real changing of the guard at featherweight, as young lions that have quickly and decisively displaced the existing elite. Holloway dominated Cub Swanson, shut out Ricardo Lamas, became the first man to finish Anthony Pettis, and beat Jose Aldo twice; Ortega submitted Swanson before becoming the first man to finish former lightweight king Frankie Edgar. They now face each other, Holloway to keep his status as perhaps the best fighter in the world today and Ortega to win the title and culminate the oddest title run in the UFC. The technical depth in this fight rivals any fight in the history of mixed martial arts.

The co-main event features two contenders who could easily be argued to be the two best women to ever fight. Valentina Shevchenko’s 2018 has been an exercise in frustration; after a dominant debut win at women’s flyweight, her scheduled title fight against Nicco Montano at 228 fell through, and a title fight against Sijara Eubanks turned out to have never really existed in the first place. She finally gets her opportunity at UFC 231 against Joanna Jedrzejczyk, the former strawweight queen; Jedrzejczyk lost the belt in 2017 but gets an opportunity to become the very first two-division women’s champion at UFC 231.

Also including knockout artists Jimi Manuwa, Thiago Santos, and Alex Oliveira on the card, UFC 231 is unlikely to be anything less than a cracking event. This article will attempt to break down the PPV and come away with the likely winners.

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