5 UFC Superfights we'd love to see in 2018
Whether it's between two men or twenty, on grass or concrete, with balls or balled fists, a sport is a competition. But to compete at the highest level, where one is paid millions of dollars to draw millions of eyes entails a grueling lifestyle that is nigh incomprehensible to the common man.
Countless hours of punishing training are condensed into momentary flashes of brilliance and plays that take our breath away. Considering the high-pressure atmosphere that they're in, it's not surprising when tempers flare during contests. But once the final bell sounds, all is forgiven and it is rare that any bad blood makes its way out of the boundaries of the arena.
But there are those contests that supersede the nature of the sport. Not only are they a test of skills, wills, and character, they are much more. We've seen Batman vs Superman, King Kong vs Godzilla and Donald Trump vs Himself, and though they aren't that close to home, they do, to a certain extent, embodies the spirit of an epic clash. For, after all, they are battles for supremacy between larger-than-life beings(barring you know who).
Every MMA bout in itself is more or less an epic clash because you have two warriors battling each other until one claims dominance over the other. But every once in a while, we are treated to a fight so awe-inspiring that it takes its place in MMA mythology - Hendo vs Shogun I and Griffin vs Bonnar being the foremost. It doesn't take superstars to create an unforgettable fight, but if two huge names did throw down, the fight has the potential to become the stuff of legend.
Let's take a look at a few super fights that the fans would go crazy for if the UFC put them together this year:
#5 Anthony "Rumble" Johnson vs Francis "The Predator" Ngannou
Before you scoff, take a second to think back to when Conor McGregor vs Floyd Mayweather or Michael Bisping vs Georges St.Pierre was first mentioned. People did laugh at the idea of two retirees coming back to stick their flags in unchartered territory. Mayweather, an undefeated boxer, putting his reputation on the line against a man with no pro-boxing exprerience ? Ridiculous. GSP, arguably the greatest Welterweight of all time, getting a title shot in his Middleweight debut, not to mention, after 4 years away from the sport? Absurd!
But we all saw what happened next - history was made with two of the most successful fights, nay, PPVs in combat sports history.
In Rumble and Ngannou, you have two men who can literally let their fists do the talking. Not to detract from Ngannou, but it must be admitted that the powerhouse was rushed into a title shot because of the lull in the Heavyweight division. Those of us who've followed the sport for a while knew to shut out the hype and weren't really surprised at Miocic's authoritative win.
Rumble is quite similar to Ngannou - a mountain of a man with fearsome one-punch stopping power. When he tearfully announced his retirement last year, a lot of fans were already wondering when they'd get word of his return. A return, in his own words, he wouldn't mind making at Heavyweight. But Rumble is more well-rounded than Ngannou and lost only to champion Daniel Cormier.
If The Predator wants to fight his way into title contention, he needs to diversify his skill set and a heavyweight Rumble might also be a good place to start testing himself. With scarcity of big names in both the UFC's heaviest divisions, this fight makes a lot of sense from a business aspect. If both Rumble and Ngannou attempt to do what they do best and KO each other, this fight could make it to an "All-Time Greatest MMA Fights" list for sure.