UFC 218, the second of five events held by the promotion in the month of December, will take place Saturday with a new (yet very familiar) main event and a fairly stacked card at the brand-new Little Caesars Arena in Detroit.
Before the main participants touch gloves in the Motor City and commence to fighting, let's take a closer look at the biggest storylines entering the card.
1. Jose Aldo's unforeseen shot at redemption. You remember prime Aldo, right? The guy who won the first UFC featherweight title and dominated the 145-pound weight class for nearly a full decade? That guy was supposed to be gone from the elite, but despite a quick knockout loss to Conor McGregor in 2015, which teased his demise, and a convincing stoppage loss to Max Holloway in June, which appeared to cement it, Aldo has a second chance at avoiding being written off.
After top contender Frankie Edgar, who was thoroughly handled by Aldo in their 2016 rematch, pulled out of his title opportunity against Holloway in November due to injury, Aldo was hurried in as a replacement. He was bumped up from his own scheduled date against Ricardo Lamas later this month to do so and now his sudden rematch with Holloway gives Aldo the chance, at age 31, to prove his coach's comments after UFC 212 that an undisclosed leg injury was to blame against the Hawaiian.
The fact that Aldo never used his trademark kicks in their first fight, which control distance and chop down his opponents' legs, does lend some level of credence to his excuse. And whether you like Aldo or not, a victory in the rematch would instantly repair whatever was lost to his legacy after the pair of defeats. In an odd way, one can consider this the shot at redemption that Aldo never received against McGregor following the fluky nature of his 13-second defeat.
2. Can Max Holloway become the star UFC really needs? Ever since his 2013 loss to McGregor at the still green age of 21, all Holloway has done is win. Eleven straight times he has, to be exact, including the third-round TKO of Aldo in June to win the featherweight title. But it's no secret that UFC needs more than just successful fighters these days -- it needs crossovers stars. Quite badly, in fact.
Holloway, a native of Hawaii, boasts a flashy and aggressive style. He's also no stranger to trash talk or sharing hard truth when handed a microphone. Both, however, haven't done much to make him a bankable star as of yet. In fact, Holloway's last three fights, which saw him twice in the main event and once in the co-main, each sold around 200,000 pay-per-view buys.
There's little question Holloway could benefit from the rub that comes from sharing the cage a second time with McGregor, which isn't expected to happen soon. Yet with McGregor idle, the return of Jon Jones and Ronda Rousey uncertain and Cody Garbrandt fresh off of a loss, Holloway still has an opening to further establish his name on Saturday against Aldo. He can do so in the most organic ways stars are still created -- by winning in exciting fashion and commandeering the microphone to call out a name bigger than their own.
3. Is Francis Ngannou the next heavyweight king in waiting? This was the question we hoped to have had answered in September, until former champion Junior dos Santos was pulled from his bout against Ngannou at UFC 215 following a potential USADA violation. Three months later, experts and fans alike are still incredibly high on the 6-foot-5 slugger from France (by way of Cameroon). In a disturbingly thin heavyweight field, there are plenty of reasons to.
Ngannou has finished all five opponents since his 2015 UFC debut, typically by smashing them with his crushing power. There's a raw, almost Mike Tyson-like element to his bouts in the sense that it can end at any moment. What we haven't seen, however, is Ngannou in against a top-flight opponent. We also haven't seen him forced to rally, particularly from his back. Alistair Overeem could help us find answers on Saturday (unless his chin folds early), where a victory likely places Ngannou on the doorstep of Stipe Miocic's title.
4. Eddie Alvarez vs. Justin Gaethje: buckle your seat belts! Expect violence, and lots of it, in this lightweight contest. The fact that it's an important fight for the crowded division's title picture is almost secondary in this case to the potential for entertainment. Alvarez, a former Bellator and UFC champion at 155 pounds, is by no means a stranger to producing fireworks. But he'll be quickly coaxed into one when he faces Gaethje.
The unbeaten former World Series of Fighting champion has just one UFC appearance under his belt. That one appearance, however, produced two of the most exciting rounds of action in 2017 as Gaethje twice rallied in savage fashion from the brink of defeat to break finally Michael Johnson. The performance earned Gaethje a spot opposite Alvarez as coaches on "The Ultimate Fighter."
5. Sneaky good strawweight action to open the main card. Tecia Torres and Michelle Waterson share more than a few similarities entering Saturday's 115-pound showdown. Both are fun to watch in the cage and each have tasted defeat over the past two years against current champion Rose Namajunas. Both realize, just the same, how important a victory would be in terms of inching closer to a title shot in a competitive division.
Torres is 5-1 overall in UFC and owns a 2013 decision win over Namajunas under the Invicta FC banner. Waterson, meanwhile, will be hungry to rebound from her thorough submission defeat to the new champ in April. Like Alvarez-Gaethje, this one promises excitement, but not for the same primal reasons. This is an evenly matched fight between two opponents with high motors and competing styles. Expect drama and plenty of momentum shifts.
