UFC 227 Preview
Rematches will highlight the latest UFC pay-per-view as two title fights will be decided between fighters that are familiar with each other.
The UFC is always in search of stories and rematches provide those stories while also creating rivalries.
It is the lifeblood of the MMA world as everyone wants to see a rivalry with fans breaking into teams and cheering for their guy or girl in the fight.
At UFC 227 the UFC is looking to build a rivalry in a division in desperate need of something and stoking the fires in one of the most bitter rivalries in the promotion.
The Flyweight division has been by far the most boring division in the UFC and it is a direct result of having the best fighter in the world.
Demetrious Johnson is the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world and he has proven it in every fight.
No matter the size of the name of former champions none have every really cleaned out a division as there has always seemed to be that one person that brought questions.
It always seemed like the champions had that one fighter that could come up and beat them and there was always that one fighter.
The flyweight division doesn’t have that one fighter as everyone who has the talent to be a champion has faced Johnson and all have lost.
There are some young fighters moving up but it has come to the point where it seems like Johnson is unbeatable.
In an attempt to bring something to the division the UFC has scheduled a rematch for one of the many title defences by Johnson.
At UFC 227 Johnson will look to defend his title for the 12th time, Johnson already has the UFC record for title defences.
He will take on Henry Cejudo who counts as Johnson’s 8th straight title defence in his record run.
Cejudo has gotten a second chance, largely because there are no other contenders left to fight, and he has promised a better fight this time around.
The first time they faced off he couldn’t last a round with the champion losing via TKO thanks to some big knees.
After winning two straight he is back for another run at the title and has said that he has changed from that fighter who lost in short order.
Johnson will put that to the test as he has never really been challenged in the flyweight division and looks to continue his run and continuing to be the best in the world.
The UFC is hoping to create some type of rivalry through this fight but Cejudo will need to be a lot more impressive to create that rivalry this time around.
The goal is always to reach the rivalry status of the two men in the main event, although the rivalry could be ended at UFC 227.
The story of T.J. Dillashaw and Cody Garbrandt goes back a long way to the point where Dillashaw decided to leave Team Alpha Male.
The team led by Urijah Faber took it as an insult with Dillashaw essentially learning under them and then getting successful and turning his back on the people who helped him get there.
In reality, it is closer to a story of Team Alpha Male bringing in a coach, Duane Ludwig, who gelled with Dillashaw.
When that coach left Dillashaw left with him hoping to continue his success following the coach that took him to a different level.
The disagreement boiled over into the octagon and the main person carrying the load for Akpah Male was Cody Garbrandt.
He was the rising fighter in the team and had just won the bantamweight title and was on a direct collision course with Dillashaw.
Their first fight was going to be the chance for the Alpha Male team to get their revenge on the fighter who abandoned them while Dillashaw had a chance to shut them up.
Dillashaw came out on top beating Garbrandt in the second round via TKO and earning the first big win.
They will face off again at UFC 227 with the chance for Garbrandt to get some revenge and truly launch this rivalry into one of the best.
For Dillashaw, it is a chance to shut Team Alpha Male up for good and solidify himself as the best in the division.
The UFC will look at UFC 227 a way to establish two rivalries breathing some life into two divisions with a little less to cheer for lately.
Of course, things need to go a different way in order to create those rivalries but the champions are not going to go down easy.
The Sport Addiction 