Combat sports superstar Conor McGregor and lightweight champ Khabib Nurmagomedov are clashing at tonight’s UFC 229. And of course, because it’s Conor, the entire world is tuning in and thinking about that main event. But guess what? There are other fighters on the card, too! Crazy, right?
The co-main event pits former lightweight champ Anthony Pettis against former interim champ (and TUF winner) Tony Ferguson. That’s… actually a pretty amazing match-up. Both men are elite members of the 155-pound weight class, and could conceivably be facing McGregor or Nurmagomedov in the future. Heck, Ferguson was supposed to take on Nurmagomedov about two dozen times, but the fight always fell apart for some reason or another.
There’s also a stellar heavyweight bout between Derrick Lewis and Alexander Volkov on the card. Volkov has won four times in four trips to the Octagon, and has taken out the likes of Fabricio Werdum, Stefan Struve and Roy Nelson. Lewis, meanwhile, had a ton of momentum in the division before Mark Hunt derailed him. But he beat Francis Ngannou in his last fight, so there may be hope for Lewis yet.
Ovince St. Preux is also fighting, as is Michelle Waterson and Felice Herrig. Granted, they’ll all have to do something seriously dramatic to steal even a sliver of the spotlight from McGregor, but whatever! They’re on the card!
