5 burning questions heading into UFC on ESPN+ 30

MMA News

5 burning questions heading into UFC on ESPN+ 30

A new champion will most likely be crowned Saturday night, when the UFC closes out its run of three events in eight days with UFC on ESPN+ 30.

The main event is a rematch for the vacant UFC flyweight title, as Brazil’s Deiveson Figueiredo squares off with longtime contender Joseph Benavidez.

The duo first faced off in a Feb. 29 fight that was intended to fill a championship left vacant late last year, when Henry Cejudo relinquished the belt.

Figueiredo won the bout via second-round TKO, but not before missing weight and thus becoming ineligible to claim the title, even with the victory. So you’ll have to excuse us for definitively stating that a new champion is crowned until we see actually see UFC president Dana White wrap the belt around the winner’s waist on Saturday night.

But the good news is the first fight was a scrap while it lasted, so that leaves hope the second one will deliver, as well.

Without further ado, then, here are five burning questions heading into UFC on ESPN+ 30

Will the fifth time be the charm for Benavidez?

(Peter Casey-USA TODAY Sports)

We had this to say about Benavidez going into their first fight:

If one judge had scored one round differently at WEC 50, Benavidez (28-5 MMA, 15-3 UFC) would have defeated Dominick Cruz for the bantamweight title.

If one judge had scored one round differently at UFC 152, Benavidez, not Johnson, would have been the first UFC flyweight champion.

Those razor-thin margins in a pair of split decisions mark the difference between Benavidez getting counted among the ranks of world champions many years ago, and his distinction now as one of the greatest fighters never to hold a major belt.

There’s really not much to add here, is there? Benavidez was eligible to win the belt despite Figueiredo’s weight miss last time, and the loss put him at 0-4 on his career in major title fights, a mark which belies the fact he’s one of the sport’s truly great lighter-weight fighters.

But Figueiredo’s weight miss gave him a mulligan, and gave one of the game’s smartest fighters a chance to learn from the mistakes of the first fight and adapt. This time, it’s truly now or never.

5 burning questions heading into UFC on ESPN+ 30