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UFC 231 is finally here, and along with it is all the expectation a fight brings when it has been postponed.
Max Holloway was supposed to face Brian Ortega earlier this year, but due to issues he faced with his health, the fight was inevitably delayed until further notice. Now, finally, the two are set to square off in the main event of UFC 231, with Holloway putting his Championship on the line against Ortega.
Meanwhile, in the co-main event of the night, Valentina Shevchenko faced Joanna Jedrzejczyk.
After Nicco Montano was stripped of the title earlier this year due to her failure to compete, the Women's Flyweight Championship has been vacant and will be fought for between these two incredible athletes.
The fight between Ranto Moicano and Mirsad Bektic had to be cancelled earlier, because of Bektic pulling out due to an undisclosed injury he suffered.
In this article, we will be taking a look at the entire main card for the show and each of the five fights on the main card in detail.
Without any further ado let's get into it.
#1 Jimi Manuwa vs. Thiago Santos
Manuwa is coming into this fight on the back of two back to back losses which he will have to work to recover from. The losses to Blachowicz and Oezdemir shook him, and now he will have to prepare himself better if he hopes to face his opponent.
His opponent, Thiago Santos, is no pushover. He has defeated his last two opponents in Kevin Holland and Eryk Anders, both very recently, and is in top form heading into this fight.
The two were supposed to face each other at UFC Fight Night 137 when Santos replaced Glover Texeira, but unfortunately, an injury to Manuwa meant they had to pull out. Now the two will face each other to settle things once and for all.
#2 Hakeem Dawodu vs. Kyle Bochniak
Haleem Dawodu was on a tear through his professional Mixed Martial Arts career. Over the course of eight fights, he had managed to pick up 7 wins and 1 draw.
Unfortunately for him, the moment he debuted in the UFC, he lost his first fight to none other than Danny Henry.
Since then he righted the catastrophic debut loss with a win over his next opponent, Austin Arnett.
Now he looking to double up on his luck when he goes against his next opponent Kyle Bochniak.
Bochniak has been on a different sort of tear through the UFC. He has not really managed to make his mark.
He also lost his debut fight, which was quite the blow for him, but he has since lost two of his next four fights.
With three losses in five fights, Bochniak seriously needs a win in his column at the moment.
#3 Alex Oliveira vs. Gunnar Nelson
In the third fight of the main card, Alex Oliveira faces Gunnar Nelson in a fight which is about pride.
Nelson has not had the best run of late, coming into this fight with two losses in five of his last fights to show for all the effort that he put in.
His last loss against Santiago Ponzinibbio shook him, and now he is in severe need of a boost of confidence.
If it is confidence that he is looking for, then it is not the best thing he could be hoping for going into a fight against Alex Oliveira.
Oliveira is coming off the boost of a lifetime himself. In his last fight against Carlo Pedersoli Jr., Oliveira knocked his opponent out in the first round itself.
That's not all, the knockout came in 39 seconds.
#4 Valentina Shevchenko vs. Joanna Jedrzejczyk
Joanna Jedrzejczyk is finally set to make her long-awaited debut in the Flyweight Division.
Valentina Shevchenko was set to have faced Champion Montano late in September, but Montano could not participate.
Due to her lack of participation, she was stripped of the Flyweight Title, which has been made vacant.
The winner of this fight has a lot to gain, with the Women's Flyweight title up for grabs. No. 1 ranked in the UFC Strawweight Division, Joanna Jedrzejczyk is hoping for a big win.
The two are set to square off against each other in the co-main event of the night. Shevchenko herself has a stellar 15-3 record and backed by the fact that she has been training with the fierce fighter, Cris Cyborg, she is looking to go for the win.
Jedrzejczyk herself does not have the best record at the moment, as she has only three wins in her last five fights.
However, the fact that she is making a return to Flyweight may be a huge boost for her.
#5 Max Holloway vs. Brian Ortega
One of the most-awaited fights for a while, Max Holloway and Brian Ortega were supposed to have faced each other a long time ago.
However, situation intervened, and it was not possible.
Now, though, all that is behind them.
All that is in front of them is their main event fight this Sunday for the UFC Featherweight Championship. Holloway has found himself and his fitness being doubted going into this fight after a year of not being able to fight.
He can put all of that behind him with a win here. A win here would see his streak go to 20-3 and an incredible 13 fights in the UFC undefeated.
Ortega is no stranger to undefeated streaks himself, yet to be beaten in his entire career. There is nothing he wants more at the moment than to dethrone Max Holloway, and that is exactly what he is now looking to do.
You can read what Holloway and Ortega had to say prior to UFC 231 in these exclusive interviews.
