The Sport Addiction

There’s almost too much to unpack in the most stacked card in the UFC so far this year as three title fights highlight massive stories in the promotion.

It is what the UFC is always looking for as they are constantly trying to find the best storylines that can sell fights.

The main event in every pay per view is meant to sell the pay-per-view to the fans so the promotion looks to create the most compelling stories.

They can often be criticised for this as they might pass up great pure fights for the story but in the case of UFC 214, they may have hit the mark perfectly although any of these fights could have been its own main event.

Leading off the trio is a fight that has been a long time in the making for one of the greatest fighters in the history of the sport.

Cris “Cyborg” Justino has been waiting for a chance to take a UFC title for years but has never been able to find her way to a title shot.

She was kept out of the UFC for years because she struggled to get down to the 135 lbs weight limit of the bantamweights.

Eventually, she made her way into the UFC taking catchweight fights at 140 lbs and continuing her 17-fight win streak.

Then the UFC created the 145 lbs featherweight division with a clear future champion in mind until Cyborg was sidelined due to a failed USADA drug test.

Her suspension was lifted after she produced a medical clearance for the drug she was taking and the pursuit was back on.

Despite a number of fights being cancelled including one where the first featherweight champion Germaine De Randamie claimed she wouldn’t fight a cheater like Cyborg, she is finally getting her chance.

She will take on Tonya Evinger who is the current Invicta Bantamweight champion in her first UFC title fight.

There is plenty of pressure as Cyborg is not just favoured but is expected to win this fight and take the title in a division that was essentially created for her.

If she doesn’t win it could be the biggest upset in UFC history and if she wins a new era in women’s fighting will begin.

She is not the only fighter looking to prove that the wait was worth it though as Demian Maia is hoping to do the same in his first title fight since 2010.

The welterweight division has been in flux since Georges St. Pierre left but in that flux, Maia has been lost.

While Robbie Lawler, Tyron Woodley and Stephen Thompson fought it out at the top Maia was putting together one of the most impressive win streaks in the UFC.

Nobody was talking about him though and the welterweight division kept the fights at the top while Maia rose through.

There are few fighters with as long a streak as Maia that haven’t received a title shot and now is his time.

One of the greatest BJJ practitioners to ever grace the octagon will take on Woodley for the welterweight title finally getting his chance to take the title that has alluded him for so long.

It has been a long wait for both Cyborg and Maia but there may not be a more public wait than that of Daniel Cormier.

Cormier has been the reigning light heavyweight champion since 2015 but just before that he lost his title shot against Jon Jones.

In his entire career, Cormier has beat everyone he has faced except for his one fight against Jon Jones.

Despite his title reign, there are many that believe that Cormier can never truly be the champion until he beat Jones who never lost the title.

Instead, Jones had the title taken from him after a series of bad decision outside of the octagon included a hit and run as well as a stint in rehab for cocaine.

Along the way, he has been scheduled to fight Cormier more than once but his outside of the cage issues have cancelled multiple fights.

Cormier has been waiting for two years to fight Jones and prove that he truly is the champion at light heavyweight.

After every fight that Cormier has won he has called out Jones and it is the only fight that anyone wants to see in the division.

It seems like it is finally about to happen and Cormier will get his chance to prove that he can beat one of the most dominant champions of all time.

UFC 214 will be the chance for three fighters to finally get what they have been waiting for after years of looking to get there.

All will be fighting for a title as two look for their first in the UFC and another looks to prove he is the true champion as his career winds down.

The storylines are plenty in this stacked fight card with three titles on the line and a lot to prove for more than one fighter.