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What’s the story?
It seems like President Dana White and his team has finally come up with a solution and might just have saved the UFC 222 card, as they have announced two new main events for the upcoming pay-per-view in March as the Women’s Featherweight Champion Cris Cyborg has decided to step into the main event spot for an injured Max Holloway.
In case you didn’t know…
Featherweight Champion Max Holloway was originally slated to defend the men’s 145-pound championship against Frankie Edgar come 3rd March 2018 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, however, following an injury to “The Chosen One”, there were several concerns regarding the main event of UFC 222.
With fighters like Cody Garbrandt and co. willing to step up to the plate, President Dana White and his team were clearly struggling to find a new main event and challenger for “The Answer” Frankie Edgar.
The heart of the matter
After spending days in negotiating for a new main event, the UFC has finally come up with a solution and a new main event as the Women’s Featherweight Champion Cris Cyborg gets all set to defend her Featherweight Title against newcomer Yana Kunitskaya, who will be making her UFC debut at UFC 222.
Additionally, UFC has also confirmed a brand new challenger for Frankie Edgar, who is now scheduled to face-off against Brian Ortega in a non-title fight in the co-main event. Edgar’s recent performances in the Featherweight division has seen him raise up the rankings in the 145-pound class and ever since scoring a submission win against Cub Swanson, the former Lightweight Champion has been in contention of a shot at Max Holloway’s Featherweight Championship.
What’s next?
The past few months have certainly been really interesting for Cris Cyborg, who successfully defended her Featherweight Title against Holy Holm this past December at UFC 219 and this upcoming fight against Yana Kunitskaya will definitely be a huge test for the 32-year-old.
Meanwhile, the winner of the fight between Frankie Edgar and the undefeated Brian Ortega is expected to be in line for a title shot next.
Author’s Take
The UFC management has certainly saved the day once again by booking two star-studded matches and I am pretty sure fans will now be looking forward to Cyborg defending her title once again within the span of four months.
