UFC will be making its return to Madison Square Garden in New York City on Nov. 3 when the UFC 230 fight card takes place. The UFC schedule as the year comes to a close is an exciting one, and the main event of UFC 230 featuring the heavyweight championship being defended by one of the pound-for-pound best in the world is proof of that.
After months and months of speculation and questioning, UFC finally found its main event for the return to New York. Heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier will take on Derrick Lewis in a title fight nobody saw coming. Cormier earned the heavyweight strap after knocking out Stipe Miocic in the first round at UFC 226, but a hand injury was expected to keep him out of action until 2019.
Lewis, on the other hand, is coming off a shocking third-round TKO over Alexander Volkov at UFC 229 where he won the fight with almost no time on the clock. This will be a three-week turnaround for "The Black Beast."
This all comes after recent reports had Valentina Shevchenko taking on Sijara Eubanks in a contest for the vacant women's flyweight championship.
UFC 230 was slated to have a co-main event fight fans were very much looking forward to, but unfortunately, that had to be scrapped on the same day the heavyweight championship main event was announced. A returning Nate Diaz and Dustin Poirier were set to square off in a lightweight division matchup, but Poirier was forced to pull out due to an undisclosed injury suffered while training. At this time, reports state that no replacement will be sought out for Diaz, and he's off the card as well.
As if that news wasn't bad enough, the fight that made the jump to the co-main event slot has also been taken off the table. Luke Rockhold and Chris Weidman were set to finally have their long-awaited rematch on the UFC 230 card, but multiple injuries to Rockhold have put a stop to those plans as the curse of this New York City card continues on. Weidman will not be off the card, however. In the co-main event now, Weidman will be squaring off with Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza in a middleweight bout. Souza was originally scheduled to face David Branch.
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Below, you can have a look at the entire UFC 230 as it's shaped out to this point.
UFC 230 fight card
Fight | Weight Class |
---|---|
Daniel Cormier (c) vs. Derrick Lewis | UFC heavyweight title |
Chris Weidman vs. Ronaldo Souza | Middleweight |
Karl Roberson vs. Jack Marshman | Middleweight |
Derek Brunson vs. Israel Adesanya | Middleweight |
Jason Knight vs. Jordan Rinaldi | Featherweight |
Sijara Eubanks vs. Roxanne Modafferi | Women's flyweight |
Julio Arce vs. Sheymon Moraes | Featherweight |
Lyman Good vs. Sultan Aliev | Welterweight |
Matt Frevola vs. Lando Vannata | Lightweight |
Shane Burgos vs. Kurt Holobaugh | Featherweight |
Brian Kelleher vs. Domingo Pilarte | Bantamweight |