UFC 222 on Saturday features two of the more intriguing fights of the year -- Cris Cyborg vs. Yana Kunitskaya and Frankie Edgar vs. Brian Ortega -- and others that have long-term implications.
What storylines should you focus on this weekend? We asked our panel -- ESPN MMA reporter Brett Okamoto, ESPN MMA editor Greg Rosenstein, SportsCenter host Phil Murphy and digital contributor Eric Tamiso -- for their take.
Okamoto: It's the co-main event for me. In case you haven't heard, the UFC is in need of new stars in 2018. Ortega, 27, has potential to become one. But one problem (if you want to call it that) the UFC has is that it really doesn't pad its up-and-coming title contenders' résumés with unproven opponents -- at least not long term.
Once you've proven yourself in this sport, the path to elite competition is often very short. Ortega is just five fights into his UFC career, and the promotion is now asking him to take on the likes of Cub Swanson and Edgar back-to-back, the latter on short notice.
So Saturday will either be a huge step in Ortega's bid for stardom, or it will be another case of too-much, too-soon, and Edgar (one of the best fighters in the sport's history) will humble another young prospect.
Murphy: Among the largest of the looming questions facing the UFC in 2018 is "who will usher in the next wave of superstars?" Conor McGregor and Jon Jones have been characterized lately by their absence more than anything. No active fighters behind them drive material demand. Brazilian-American BJJ prodigy Mackenzie Dern (5-0) has been pegged as someone, potentially, who could do it. Once ranked the top female BJJ competitor in the world, Dern's in-cage credentials and camera-friendly looks could generate some noise. (We can pretend the latter doesn't matter in the marketability of female fighters. But it does.)
Dern, 24, makes her UFC debut opposite Ashley Yoder (5-3) to close out the cable prelims. It's great matchmaking for Dern -- facing a lesser grappler -- in a solid slot on the show. She has had difficulty making the 116-pound strawweight limit. But a smart weight cut leading to a strong showing will get a lot of casual fans interested in seeing her next fight.
Rosenstein: Cris Cyborg is always must-watch, but Saturday's matchup with the relatively unknown Kunitskaya for the featherweight belt isn't getting my blood flowing. The only storyline here is how badly the Brazilian wins.
The two areas I'll be directing my focus to will be fighters with star potential down the road: Ortega and Dern. Ortega, undefeated in 13 professional fights, is quite possibly the top Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioner in the UFC. He most recently submitted Swanson by a brutal guillotine choke last December. Swanson said afterward, "I felt like I was going to die." Ortega has five straight finishes, none more impressive than that. He will fight for a title if able to upset Edgar, a former champion.
Dern, long on the radar of MMA fans, finally makes her UFC debut against Yoder. The former world BJJ champion has had little trouble through five professional fights, though it has been against lackluster competition. I'm excited to see how she fares against Yoder, and whether she displays a skill set other than just her normal submission game.
Tamiso: My first thought was, "There's a PPV this weekend?" Why were there cards in the last two weekends since UFC 221? Why not just combine the best fights and make UFC 222 an even more convincing buy to the consumer?
Looking top to bottom through the full UFC 222 card, the most intriguing storyline isn't even on the PPV portion. It's the UFC debut of Dern. At age 24, Dern has amazing Jiu-Jitsu credentials (black belt, ADCC gold medalist) and trains with the MMA LAB in Arizona. In five pro fights, she has won them all, including three by submission.
It's no secret the UFC is in need of stars. With no disrespect to Cyborg, the biggest women's star the promotion ever had is currently mean-mugging Stephanie McMahon and tossing Triple-H on tables. For someone like Dern, who before debuting in the UFC already has more than 500,000 followers on Instagram, an impressive debut could easily set her on the road to being a crossover star.