UFC 226: Miocic vs. Odds Cormier, Tickets, Predictions and Pre-weighed Hype | Bleacher's report

UFC 226 is the kind of card that can lose one of its biggest fights to a few days of the event and still good on paper.

Heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic will put his belt on the line against midweight champion Daniel Cormier in an overlay that is sure to be entertaining. However, UFC featherweight champion Max Holloway was forced to withdraw from the bout due to concussion symptoms, according to Ariel Helwani of ESPN.

The news left Brian Ortega – who was supposed to challenge Holloway for his title – without an opponent and unlikely to take a replacement fight, according to Helwani:

The rest of the map has intriguing episodes sprinkled everywhere. Francis Ngannou made his first appearance in the Octagon since he lost to Miocic in a title fight. Michael Chiesa and Anthony Pettis find themselves in the cage after their original fight was canceled thanks to Conor McGregor, and world-clbad kickboxer Gokhan Saki will make his second appearance in the cage.

Here's an overview of the complete map with the latest odds and the latest hype for the biggest fights on the map.

Information on the entry: StubHub

OddsShark via Moneyline (+110 win $ 110 on a $ 100 bet)

Main map (10 am ET, PT)

• Stipe Miocic (- 265) vs. Daniel Cormier (+ 205) – heavyweight championship bout
• Derrick Lewis (+290) vs Francis Ngannou (- 380) – heavyweight
• Michael Chiesa (- 160) vs Anthony [19659017] Pettis [19659019] (+ 130) – light
• Gokhan Saki (-145) against Khalil Rountree (+ 115) – light light

Preliminary map ( 8 pm ET, FS1

• Uriah Hall (+325) vs Paulo Henrique Costa (-450) – middleweight
• Paul Felder (- 150) against Mike Perry ( +120) – welterweight
• Raphaë l Assuncao (- 175) vs Rob Fo nt (+145) – bantamweight
• Max Griffin (+140) c. Curtis Millender (- 170) – welterweight

Preliminary card (6:30 pm) ET, Fight Pbad)

• Daniel Hooker (-130) c. Gilbert Burns (+100) – light
• Drakkar Klose (+ 145) c. Lando ] Vannata (- 175) – Light
• Jamie Moyle (- 230) vs. Emily Whitmire (+ 180) – Women Straw

[19659004] Stipe Miocic vs. Daniel Cormier

For a legitimate superficial between two current champions, it does not appear that the main event between Cormier and Miocic has received the # 39 Accumulation as One Could Expect

Miocic has always been the most modest heavyweight champion despite his success.

Miocic successfully defended the belt three times. The time had come as an underdog against the promising Ngannou, but Cormier was not impressed by the fact that the champion could not finish him down, however

" This guy is a good champion, and I love Francis Ngannou, I think he's a great guy, but if I'd spent 22 minutes over him, I'd have received four or five submissions and found a way to stop the TKOs, "said Cormier, by Damon Martin of MMA News.

The obvious concern f or Cormier will make the switch to heavyweights. Miocic Will Dominate DC at 6 "4" and 245 Pounds

But as Cormier pointed out in a pre-fight training captured by MMA Fighting, he's n & # 39; Did not lose a fight as a heavyweight:

This could have been a function of the heavyweights that he fought, however when Cormier was in the heavyweight division, the only fighter with the kind of "heavyweight" he was. athleticism and speed that he brought to the table was his teammate Cain Velasquez

Miocic is cut off from this fabric, but he found a way to stay healthy and repel all the challengers for the belt that he has seen up to now.

This should be again the case when Miocic will make a violent welcome to Cormier to his former division. [19659004] Prediction: Miocic via TKO in the third round

Derrick Lewis against Francis Ngannou

Jeff Bottari / Zuffa LLC / Getty Images

While Miocic seeks to improve his record for consecutive title defense in the heavyweight division, Ngannou will seek to recover

Ngannou's fight has been exposed by Miocic for five rounds while the Cameroonian has never had the opportunity to show his impressive defensive power.

This should not be a problem against Derrick Lewis.The 33 year old is all about the art of direct elimination, with 17 of his 19 career wins coming in this way, and he's not particularly impressed by Ngannou's supernatural power. [19659004"It'sjusthispunchesIdonothavetoworryaboutternothing'otherfromhiskicksoranythingnothisgrapplingsaboutit"saidLewisfor Martin ." I'm not impressed by anything, of course he hits hard, we all hit hard in the heavyweight category, it just takes one shot fist of each of us, I think it is more than that, you have to be really good. This is not just boxing.

Of course, to say that all you have to worry about with Ngannou, is that his shots give the impression that all you have to worry about with a lion, is that you have to worry about it. is his bite. . It's always a pretty disturbing thing to handle.

For his part, Ngannou did not bring much trash talk to the table, but he swore to fight smarter than against Miocic.

"OK, I'm another big guy," said Ngannou, by Simon Samano and Ken Hathaway of MMAjunkie. "Instead of going forward, we'll be smarter and we'll go back to Francois before the last fight. Look at my opponent, leave him, come to me, and as soon as he gives me the The occasion, I take it. "

Prior to the championship bout, Ngannou was revered for his ability to show rapid growth between each fight. Running in the buzzsaw who is the champion does not change Ngannou's ability to grow and evolve as a fighter each time.

Expect to see an even more refined Ngannou as he finds a way to counter Lewis and put an end to this fight earlier.

Prediction: Ngannou by TKO in the first round