UFC Real or Not — Francis Ngannou vs. Derrick Lewis for the heavyweight title is no sure thing

UFC president Dana White has mentioned — repeatedly — that Derrick Lewis would be the first challenger for heavyweight champ Francis Ngannou. White even implied the battle may presumably happen at UFC 265 on Aug. 7, however with July lower than two weeks away and nothing finalized, is that timeframe real looking?

And if Ngannou vs. Lewis 2 doesn’t occur at UFC 265, does that open the door for Jon Jones to get again within the image?

Welterweight champ Kamaru Usman equally doesn’t have his subsequent battle booked, and whereas White mentioned Colby Covington will get the following shot, the longer that battle goes with out getting signed, the extra hypothesis there might be about Leon Edwards stepping in to switch Covington.

Edwards seemingly may have helped make his case for a title shot when he confronted Nate Diaz on June 12. And though Edwards received, Diaz rallied late and had Edwards in hassle because the battle ended. Afterward, White tabbed Covington because the No. 1 challenger. So what would that imply for Edwards?

Past the partitions of the UFC, Bellator has lined itself up for the battle everybody hoped for initially of the Bellator Featherweight Grand Prix — Patricio “Pitbull” Freire vs. AJ McKee. Contemplating every fighter’s standing with the promotion and throughout the MMA world as a complete, it appears to be lined up as the largest battle Bellator is able to producing proper now. Is it? And what may it imply for Bellator shifting ahead?

Our panel of Brett Okamoto, Marc Raimondi and Jeff Wagenheim digs deeper to separate what’s actual from what’s not amongst MMA’s greatest headlines.

Ngannou vs. Lewis is in hassle

Okamoto: Very actual. Now, it’s value noting this battle was by no means formally booked to start with. So I don’t know if you happen to’d say it’s in “hassle” because it was by no means agreed to anyway. However both method, the underside line is that this battle is something however a certain factor.

The UFC has pursued it, and White even loosely connected a date to it — UFC 265 on Aug. 7 — however at this level, I believe it’s extremely unlikely it’s going to occur that quickly. Ngannou simply took an prolonged go to to his native Cameroon. He returned to the U.S. lengthy sufficient to attend Israel Adesanya’s battle on June 12 in Phoenix, after which left once more, this time for Dubai. That doesn’t sound like a champion who’s planning on defending his title in lower than seven weeks.

I simply don’t get the sense Ngannou is in a rush to battle Lewis — and I can’t blame him. The battle Ngannou needs, by far, is Jon Jones. If there’s an opportunity to make that battle occur, that’s the trail he needs to take. Clearly, the UFC and Jones haven’t been capable of come to a deal on that but, however with Jones lately hiring a brand new advisor in Richard Schaefer (the previous CEO of Golden Boy Promotions), I believe Ngannou is prepared to take a breather and see the place these negotiations go.

And in an ideal world, these negotiations would prove a Jones battle earlier than the top of 2023.

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Leon Edwards breaks down his efficiency after beating Nate Diaz through unanimous determination at UFC 263.

The subsequent time Leon Edwards fights, it is going to be for a championship

Wagenheim: That might find yourself being the case, however there are such a lot of variables that I’m going to play the odds and say this assertion is not actual. Certain, Edwards may choose to attend till Usman’s deliberate title protection in opposition to Covington takes place, then e-book a date with the winner. If it’s Usman, it could be a rematch of Edwards’ final loss, which occurred 11 fights in the past again in 2015. It might be a redemption alternative properly earned.

However many issues may occur as a substitute. Usman-Covington hasn’t been signed, so there’s not even a date for that battle but. And Edwards’ wait may develop longer if Covington, who was knocked out within the fifth spherical when he and Usman fought in 2019, turns the tables this time and takes away the title. Wouldn’t that decision for a rubber match? Edwards could possibly be caught within the ready room for some time.

There’s additionally the likelihood that within the time between now and the following 170-pound title battle, another person within the division steps below the highlight. Perhaps it’ll be the winner of the July 10 bout between Stephen Thompson and Gilbert Burns. Each have a preventing type to catch the attention of White and maybe draw the UFC president’s consideration away from Edwards.

And, in fact, the 29-year-old Jamaica-born Englishman would possibly determine he preferred the financial institution deposit that got here out of his win over never-more-popular Diaz a bit of over every week in the past. If Edwards has developed a style for cash fights, there’s one only a “three-piece and a soda” away. It’s been over two years since Jorge Masvidal sucker-punched Edwards backstage in London to supercharge his personal stardom, and possibly Edwards’ concept of revenge is to have Masvidal’s star energy pay dividends for Edwards, too.

Pitbull vs. McKee is the perfect battle Bellator can placed on proper now

Raimondi: This has not been the perfect of instances for Bellator. Any momentum Bellator may need had in early 2023 was fully dashed by a months-long hiatus brought on by the pandemic, and there have been a number of community modifications. Bellator has gone from Paramount Community, to CBS Sports activities and now to Showtime in a comparatively quick period of time, which isn’t an excellent formulation for constant viewership. The promotion additionally appears to be in a bizarre center floor the place a lot of its prime fighters usually are not enormous attracts, and prospects like Aaron Pico, who could possibly be box-office hits sooner or later, usually are not fairly at that stage but.

One of many issues that the pandemic halted for Bellator was one of many promotion’s most promising endeavors — the Bellator Featherweight World Grand Prix. Bellator is stacked at 145 kilos, and the match was going very properly till it was stymied by COVID-19. However issues are again on monitor now, and Bellator is getting the finals matchup it wished from Day One: Patricio “Pitbull” Freire vs. AJ McKee.

Patricio “Pitbull” Freire and AJ McKee will meet at Bellator 263 on July 31 in Inglewood, CA, the promotion introduced.

The bout serves as the ultimate spherical of Bellator’s Featherweight World Grand Prix, with the winner taking dwelling the promotion’s 145-pound title and $1 million ? pic.twitter.com/b9vxTi1h6J

— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) June 16, 2023

The promotion introduced that battle will occur on July 31. The grand prix title is on the road. “Pitbull” is placing up his Bellator featherweight title. And the winner will make $1 million. The stakes are extremely excessive. And sure, the above assertion is actual. That is completely the perfect battle Bellator can e-book at this second.

Freire is ESPN’s No. 3-ranked featherweight on the earth, and there’s a case to be made that he’s the perfect at 145 kilos. He’s the best Bellator fighter of all time and owns a knockout win over Michael Chandler, who was inches away from changing into UFC light-weight champion final month earlier than dropping to Charles Oliveira in what was Chandler’s second UFC battle.

Then there’s McKee, who was ESPN’s prime MMA fighter below 25 years outdated in 2019. He’s nonetheless undefeated, and final yr he pulled off one of many craziest submissions you’ll ever see, a neck crank end from the underside on former Bellator bantamweight champion Darrion Caldwell. McKee is charismatic, inventive within the cage, thrilling and carries himself like a star. That is the traditional established-champion-versus-future-star bout.

“Pitbull” doesn’t wish to cross that torch simply but, although. He’s seeking to additional cement his legacy. McKee, in the meantime, will improve his standing if he finds a option to beat Freire and turn out to be champion.

“Pitbull” vs. McKee has the whole lot you might need. There are stakes; there’s a narrative. Each males are multi-dimensional within the cage and finishers. It’s the proper formulation and, if promoted proper and if its lives as much as expectations, could possibly be an unbelievable boon for Bellator because it tries to shake the pandemic doldrums.