Stand and Deliver: UFC 260

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In some ways, a win is a win and a loss is a loss. But while it is true that every fight matters, some feel as though they matter more, for any number of reasons. In some cases, the elevated stakes are easy to quantify. Picture the fighter on a losing streak who knows he or she is likely fighting for their job; or conversely, any matchup on Dana White's Contender Series, where two hopefuls know that the brass ring is within their reach if they can win impressively. In other cases, a fight feels especially important for reasons that are harder to quantify, but no less real. Whether it’s the symbolic heft of being the first title challenger from one’s country, or the simple added spice of two fighters who really hate each other’s guts, that fight means just a little more.

This Saturday, UFC 260 features several fights that carry that kind of tension for one or both participants. Here are three fighters who are under just a little extra pressure to stand and deliver this weekend.

It’s Now or Never, Francis Ngannou

By that, I do not mean to imply that UFC 260 is a “now or never” moment for Ngannou’s UFC title aspirations. After all, he is 34 years old — a spring chicken, by heavyweight standards — and as a late starter in MMA with a whole lot of 60-second knockouts on his record, he likely has even more of his athletic prime left than his age would indicate. Aside from his loss to Miocic in their first meeting and the abominable aberration that was his fight against Derrick Lewis, Ngannou has destroyed every obstacle the UFC has placed in front of him with breathtaking violence. If anything, the massive Cameroonian-Frenchman has found another gear since those back-to-back defeats, ripping through four heavyweight contenders in under three minutes of total cage time. It’s as if he’s trying to atone for the awful Lewis fight. Whatever his motivations for becoming even more terrifying, it seems to be working, as Ngannou is currently the favorite to beat Miocic despite losing their first meeting decisively.

All of that is simply to say that no matter what happens in the cage this Saturday, it’s difficult to imagine Ngannou not wearing UFC gold at some point in his career. However, UFC 260 represents a legacy-making opportunity that will not be repeated. At this moment, Miocic is inarguably the greatest heavyweight of the last decade, and possibly of all time. He is also four years older than Ngannou and has made it plain that he does not intend to keep fighting much longer. If Ngannou defeats Miocic, an immediate rubber match would be a defining moment for both men, with generational bragging rights at stake along with the belt. However, if Miocic wins, even if he does not retire immediately, Ngannou will never fight his way back to a third try in time. Even if he later went on to win the title and defend it a half-dozen times, Ngannou would have a hell of a time getting in front of Miocic in historical GOAT debates.

Remind Us Why We Cared, Sean O'Malley

Thanks to the UFC’s manic post-COVID event schedule and the fact that all those shows took place in just two venues, the second half of 2020 felt about five years long. As an example of this time-distorting effect, consider that as July dawned, Khamzat Chimaev and Joaquin Buckley had not even debuted in the promotion yet, while Kevin Holland was just another middleweight. In fact, at that time, less than nine months ago, the fastest-rising star prospect in the UFC was…Sean O’Malley. He was a perfect 12-0 at the time, and had just passed his toughest test to date with flying colors, putting away the durable and crafty Eddie Wineland with a chilling one-punch knockout. An electrifying striker in the cage and an avid Twitch streamer outside it, the rainbow-haired 24-year-old felt like the vanguard of a new breed of MMA star. (Anecdotally, he is the only fighter my kids, who generally don't care about combat sports, have ever asked me about.)

Since then, it’s been a bit of rough sledding for “Sugar Sean,” punctuated by his first professional setback and a couple of (entirely self-inflicted) PR missteps. As I said, nine months is a long time in the COVID-era UFC, and while new faces like Chimaev and Holland moved to the forefront with sensational performances, O’Malley made headlines for displaying sour grapes in the wake of his injury-enhanced TKO loss to Marlon Vera, followed by the extremely poor decision to entertain the “wouldja?” question from a co-worker, about a mutual co-worker, on his podcast. Nonetheless, to me O’Malley doesn’t feel disgraced or written off so much as left behind and in danger of being forgotten. Luckily for him, there is a simple remedy — remind us why we cared in the first place. Even more fortuitously, his opponent this weekend, Thomas Almeida, is just what the doctor ordered. “Thominhas” is a former blue-chip himself, but so far removed from his prospect days that it’s hard to believe he is only 29. Almeida’s physical gifts have slipped badly, but he remains an aggressive, come-forward striker. O’Malley will be the younger, bigger, stronger and faster man in the Octagon, and will almost certainly be a 3-to-1 or greater favorite. It’s a showcase matchup, and the pressure is on O’Malley to deliver something sensational.

Last Chance, Alonzo Menifield (Maybe)

Despite coming in on a two-fight losing streak, it’s not a given that Menifield is fighting for his job against William Knight on Saturday. Three straight Octagon losses are no longer the automatic pink slip they once were, especially in the past year or so and especially for a fighter with a 100-percent finish rate. However, it is not encouraging that Menifield has been matched up with, essentially, an updated version of himself in the “Knightmare.” Like Menifield, Knight is a physical specimen and a fast, powerful hitter who joined the UFC after a brutal knockout win on Dana White's Contender Series. Unlike Menifield, who in his last two fights gassed out horribly against Devin Clark and then ran, hands down and face-first, into a counter left by Ovince St. Preux, Knight has shown poise and pace so far; his massively muscled frame did not prevent him from winning a three-round decision going away against Alexa Camur. It’s up to Menifield to show that Knight is not the new-and-improved edition, and that Menifield does in fact belong in the UFC.