UFC 230 is shaping up to be a stacked, highly-anticipated card. It has Israel Adesanya looking to continue his climb to the top, a rematch between Luke Rockhold and Chris Weidman, and of course the long-awaited return of Nate Diaz.
However, there is something major lacking from this event. Less than two months out, there still has not been a main event announced. Assuming the UFC 230 main event will be announced soon, there are a few routes that the company could take to fill the void.
UFC 230 Main Event Options
Woodley vs Covington
The UFC 230 main event should be a title fight, as should any main event that doesn’t feature Conor McGregor. This fight is the first one that comes to people’s minds, as the idea has been tossed around by the fighters themselves recently.
Tyron Woodley didn’t take any damage in his title defense against Darren Till. So, a quick turnaround shouldn’t be an issue. Colby Covington, (maybe) recently stripped of his interim strap, says he is ready to go. There’s already a backstory with this one, with seemingly real beef between the fighters. It’s a fight that has to be made (discussed here), and look for it to happen at UFC 230.
Dillashaw vs Cruz
A rematch between current bantamweight champ TJ Dillashaw and former champ Dominick Cruz seems likely to happen at some point. Though Cruz hasn’t fought for two years, and Marlon Moraes could easily be considered the best option, the UFC 230 main event needs big names.
Of the champions without a scheduled fight, Dillashaw-Cruz is probably the biggest drawing title fight that could be made. With much interest being generated by the rest of the card, this would be a good fight to top it all off. These two guys don’t like each other, and it has been figured since their first fight that they would eventually cross paths again.
Shevchenko vs Joanna
After the co-main event of UFC 228 was canceled, the UFC Flyweight Championship became vacant. There is zero argument to be made against Valentina Shevchenko fighting for the strap. However, there is a discussion to be had about who should be her opponent.
The fans seem to want her to fight former strawweight queen Joanna Jedrzejczyk. The two have competed against each other three times in Muay Thai, with Shevchenko winning all three times. The fight makes sense for a main event, as Joanna is by far the biggest names of the potential opponents for Shevchenko, who has already said she would love to take this fight.
Poirier vs Diaz
If the UFC decides to make the UFC 230 main event a non-title fight, this will likely be the one. That is, unless Jon Jones gets a present from USADA. Nate Diaz finally makes his return to the octagon. Dustin Poirier has been looking like an absolute killer lately. It will be an incredible fight.
This fight gets the nod over Rockhold-Weidman because of it being Diaz’s return, though either fight would be good enough to headline a pay-per-view. Diaz-Poirier will be an absolute war, and it would be fitting to finish what seems to be an incredible event.
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