5 potential main events for UFC 230

The UFC event on everyone’s mind right now is, of course, UFC 229 – to be headlined by one of the biggest fights in UFC history between Khabib Nurmagomedov and Conor McGregor – but just around the corner from that – a mere 7 weeks away – is UFC 230, taking place in New York’s famous Madison Square Garden.

2016 and 2017 both saw November UFC shows from MSG and on both occasions, they were arguably the biggest show of that year – but uncharacteristically for the UFC, right now UFC 230 doesn’t actually have a confirmed main event.

So what will headline this year’s MSG super-show? Here are five possibilities.

#1 Tyron Woodley vs. Colby Covington

Tyron Woodley defended his Welterweight title just this past weekend

This fight – with Woodley’s UFC Welterweight title on the line – was initially set for last weekend’s UFC 228 before Covington informed the UFC he wouldn’t be healthy enough to take the match on that date due to nasal surgery. He’s since been stripped of his Interim title, but remains the top contender in the division and by November 3rd, he’d almost certainly be ready.

Woodley of course successfully defended his title against Darren Till on Saturday, so it’d be a very quick turnaround for ‘The Chosen One’ should he choose to accept the fight. But he’s outright told the media he’d be ready for a fight at UFC 230 and he clearly took no damage in the fight with Till – ‘The Gorilla’ landed just one significant strike according to some stats.

In one of his latest interviews, Woodley claimed Covington doesn’t deserve a title shot, but that’s clearly not true due to ‘Chaos’ having wins over Demian Maia and Rafael Dos Anjos. More likely it’s just Woodley’s way of firing some trash talk back at the noted loudmouth. If the UFC can put this one together to headline UFC 230 it’d probably be the most hyped title fight of Woodley’s reign.

#2 Valentina Shevchenko vs. Joanna Jedrzejczyk

Valentina Shevchenko has been promised a crack at the Women's Flyweight Title

UFC 228 was set to feature a second title fight – a match between champion Nicco Montano and challenger Valentina Shevchenko for the Women’s Flyweight crown – but the fight was scrapped when Montano couldn’t make weight. Following this, Montano was stripped of the title and Shevchenko promised a fight for the vacant title at a later date.

So why not UFC 230? And as for an opponent, the UFC could do a lot worse than former Strawweight queen Joanna Jedrzejczyk. Joanna is coming off an impressive win over Tecia Torres, she’s struggled for some time to make 115lbs and so a move to 125lbs would suit her, and the two fighters have some history – Shevchenko beat Jedrzejczyk on 3 occasions in Muay Thai competitions.

Sure, the fight wouldn’t necessarily be a monstrous pay-per-view draw like the previous two UFC events in MSG had, but the promotion does have history when it comes to allowing a lesser title fight main event a card with a big drawing fighter on the undercard – see UFC 200 or UFC 178, for instance – and they could rely on Nate Diaz to bring the buyrate up instead. If nothing else, it’d make for a fantastic striking battle.

#3 TJ Dillashaw vs. Henry Cejudo

Could the UFC quickly book a TJ Dillashaw/Henry Cejudo super fight?

Despite some rumours on Facebook this week that the UFC are looking to book a rematch between TJ Dillashaw and Dominick Cruz for the Bantamweight title, MMAJunkie are now reporting that the more likely match is a superfight of sorts between Dillashaw and Flyweight champion Henry Cejudo, with Cejudo’s title surprisingly being the one on the line.

Whether the UFC would consider this booking given Dillashaw has never actually made 125lbs is a question mark, but there’s nothing holding the promotion back from booking a fight between the two for Dillashaw’s Bantamweight title – Cejudo could easily make 135lbs, of course, and both men were only handed a mandatory 7-day medical suspension following their wins at UFC 227 in August as they took relatively no damage.

UFC 230 could come a little too soon for both as Dillashaw, in particular, has become accustomed to longer layoffs than most UFC champions – he went nine months between his two fights with Cody Garbrandt – but if the UFC is in desperate need of a main event, which it appears to be, the right money would probably get both men to sign on the dotted line. And while it’s not a fight that most fans are clamouring for, it’d certainly be interesting.

#4 Jon Jones vs. Alexander Gustafsson

A rematch between Jon Jones and Alexander Gustafsson would be fantastic

If the UFC are simply unable to put together a title fight for UFC 230, the next best thing would be to put together a fight involving one of their biggest stars right now who currently doesn’t hold a title – former Light-Heavyweight champ Jon Jones.

The one drawback, of course, is Jones’ ongoing issues with USADA – he tested positive for the banned substance turanibol after his 2017 fight with Daniel Cormier – but Jones’ manager Malki Kawa has recently suggested a resolution to allow Jones to return could be reached soon.

The maximum penalty that Jones could face from USADA would be a four-year ban, but realistically, given his defense of a “tainted supplement”, that probably isn’t going to happen and the likelihood is that Jones will be reinstated as he’s been out for over a year anyway. And with the number of rumours swirling around Jones’ imminent return, would anyone truly bet against it?

If Jones were to return at MSG, the best opponent for him – barring a sudden move to Heavyweight – would probably be former foe Alexander Gustafsson, who Jones defeated in 2013. ‘The Mauler’ pushed Jones harder than any other opponent and some fans felt the Swede actually deserved the win. A rematch has been talked about plenty of times but never materialised, but it’d definitely be a fight worthy of headlining UFC 230.

#5 Nate Diaz vs. Dustin Poirier

Could Nate Diaz headline UFC 230?

If all else fails, the UFC could probably turn to what would be somewhat of a cop-out solution and simply upgrade the fight between Nate Diaz and Dustin Poirier – currently pegged as a co-headliner – into the main event slot.

It’d be a bit frustrating for fans given everyone expects a little more for a show from Madison Square Garden, but it wouldn’t be the first time the UFC have done something like it – UFC Fight Night 107, for instance, saw Jimi Manuwa vs. Corey Anderson suddenly upgraded to the main event when another fight fell through.

Would the fight be a worthy headliner? It’s debatable. Diaz is one of the UFC’s biggest stars but it’s unknown how well he’d draw without Conor McGregor opposing him, and while Poirier is one of the most exciting fighters on the planet and has headlined free TV shows before – including two on “big” Fox, he’s never main evented a pay-per-view – even if he may as well have been the main event of UFC 178 when he fought McGregor.

Barring something last-minute like one of the previously mentioned fights though, this could be the only option the UFC is left with. And while it’d probably please Diaz massively, it’d probably be a letdown for New York fans expecting one of the year’s biggest fights to main event their card.