The grudge match has arrived! These two BFFs turned bitter rivals will settle the score on PPV in a non-title fight this Saturday.

It is very rare to have a non-title fight in a PPV main event. And it is even more rare when you exclude Conor McGregor! The other recent example involves half our 272 main event, Jorge Masvidal. And he was opposite Nate Diaz! And they even created some fake BMF title to parade around. And before that, you have to go all the way back to UFC 183! And that still included a Diaz!

Really – the last time the UFC put on a big event without Conor McGregor, a Diaz, or some sort of title on the line, was UFC 114! All the way back in 2010.

And the talk around this fight is pretty interesting among the hardcores. There is talk of a lack of buzz. That maybe this feud is all a work. And of course – there is a big dark Nigerian cloud hanging over this fight. What is even on the line for these two? Is the winner gonna fight Usman a third time??

The real question we need to be asking, and the reason this fight is in fact a big deal – what is next for the loser? Because both these guys carry themselves like they are the best in the world. Like they are the “A side”, the draw. The big deal! But that is hard to claim when you’re not wearing the UFC strap. And it basically becomes impossible for whoever loses this fight.

The loser is facing the worst possible outcome for a prize fighter – becoming irrelevant.
Of course, to some extent, the loser will still be around. Talking trash, fighting whoever. But it would be tough to sell the idea they are a threat to the biggest names in the world. They won’t be in a UFC PPV main event anytime soon.

And – we can be skeptical of how real this beef is, but it is hard to say at this point that this fight isn’t extremely personal. There has been a lot of real-world fallout from this beef. They were both kicked out of ATT at one point, they have talked a bunch of crap publicly for years now. A loss will be devastating for the career and ego for either of these fighters.

Don’t sleep on the rest of the card! The main card is full of compelling and potentially violent matchups. And we got some good young talent on the undercard that should also make for some exciting matchups. Should be fun.

if you do not know, now you do know