The UFC will be returning to Boston January 20 2018 with UFC 220. The TD Garden will be host to the first PPV of the year. Some fights are starting to get announced, including the a bout for the light heavyweight title. A battle is coming between champion Daniel Cormier and number one contender and knockout artist Volkan Oezdemir. Other fights are still TBD.
This will be the first PPV in Boston since 2010 (the first time UFC had ever been to Boston). When it was announced I jumped out of skin! I lose it every time a fight is announced for Boston, because it means I’m going to see another UFC event in person. When I saw it’s going to be a PPV I almost fainted. Boston cards have always been strong, but they haven’t come up with one as strong as the first PPV here. I’m expecting big things out of Dana White bringing a PPV back to his hometown.
Daniel Cormier is one of the greatest fighters of all-time, and Boston is lucky to have him fighting in our city. Although, his opponent is an unknown fighter, even among UFC fans. Volkan has had only three fights since he entered the UFC, finishing two by KO in under a minute. In his last fight, he knocked out Jimi Manuwa, a top level 205 fighter, in just 48 seconds. He may be unknown, but people can not sleep on this man. It’s hard to see him beating Cormier, but my god can he punch. His punching power gives him a chance to beat anyone at anytime with just one punch. Cormier has shown he’s not the type of fighter to get caught with one big punch, but it’s a fight, anything can happen.
The problem with Volkan is that he doesn’t move the needle ratings wise, so can he really be a main event on a PPV? I would say the answer has to be no. So that means that it should be the co-main event, meaning that the main event is still vacant. That is extremely exciting to think about, because most likely, there will be two title fights that night.
There have been rumors already about Stipe Miocic defending his title in Boston, and after last night I hope it is. Now that Francis Ngannou has the title shot, how awesome would it be to see Stipe vs Ngannou in Beantown?
Most of the card has yet to be named, so a lot of fight announcements are coming soon for Boston fight fans. Let’s hope to see some epic fights! If you live in MA, CT, RI, and are a big UFC fan, I recommend dishing out the dough to buy a ticket and see a fight in person. It’s an amazing atmosphere at a UFC fight, different from any other sporting event out there. The emotional roller-coaster that live fights bring you through during a night is like nothing in sports. Now we wait for fight announcements with fingers crossed for another amazing night of fights in the greatest city in the USA, Boston, MA baby!