mma

UFC 209 Card is More Stacked Than You Realize

February 21, 2017 | Posted by AJ Grey
UFC 223 Tony Ferguson Khabib Nurmagomedov

UFC 208 recently wrapped up and fans are already looking forward to the next big competition. The upcoming pay-per-view event will be UFC 209, which is scheduled for March 4, 2017 in Paradise, Nevada at the T-Mobile Arena (future home of the NHL’s Vegas Golden Knights). While it might not pack many of the names that mainstream audiences will recognize, 209 has a few bouts that should show off some of the best of what the sport has to offer.

The headlining event for UFC 209 will be a Welterweight Championship rematch between Tyron Woodley and Stephen Thompson. Woodley and Thompson are respectively numbers one and two in the welterweight rankings, and this fight should settle any questions about who’s the best. Woodley, the current champ, is considered to have the potential to be a huge star, and a win here would cement his place at the top of the division. Woodley became Welterweight Champion when he won the title from Robbie Lawler at UFC 201 back in July 2016. So far, he has managed to successfully defend it despite a close call in November’s first match against Thompson at UFC 205. He’s a well-rounded fighter with great cardio, and is a slight favorite over Thompson this time around.

During their first fight, Thompson was given a good chance against Woodley but was unable to pull out a victory. The fight actually ended in a majority draw with one judge giving a slight edge to Woodley, and he was able to retain his belt. Given how down to the wire the fight was, fans are pumped for another bout between these two evenly matched competitors. Thompson still feels that there was no real winner the first time and is looking to give Woodley a run for his money in the rematch. With the bout expected to be incredibly close, fans looking to learn more about the fighters can check out a number of markets online with odds for a broad swath of events available from many different sites. While Thompson might have been a safe bet during the first match-up, there’s a good chance he’ll be a much longer shot when he takes on Woodley for the second time.

UFC 209 will also include an interim UFC Lightweight Championship fight between Khabib Nurmagomedov and Tony Ferguson. Conor McGregor is, of course, the official UFC Lightweight Champion. He won the title with a TKO of Eddie Alvarez during the aforementioned UFC 205. This makes Nurmagomedov and Ferguson a particularly interesting battle, because it could set up who will potentially take on McGregor next. Nurmagomedov is currently undefeated and Ferguson is also riding an impressive winning streak of his own. He won The Ultimate Fighter 13 and has since made quite a name for himself in the sport. This fight has been called “MMA at its best” and should prove one heck of a contest for fans.

The event is less than a month away and with those two fights being too close to call, this should be an incredible night. It’s also a great opportunity to see who could potentially become the future big names of the sport. While it might not have the same name recognition of past competitions with fighters like Conor McGregor, Ronda Rousey, or Brock Lesnar, UFC 209 could end up catapulting a few athletes into becoming household names.

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AJ Grey