10 reasons to watch UFC 221, from an intriguing interim title to a 'can't miss' debut

The UFC makes its first appearance in Western Australia on Saturday with UFC 221. Headlining the event is a middleweight contest between former champion Luke Rockhold and Yoel Romero. The winner of the bout will be crowned interim champ at 185 pounds. The victor will also get the opportunity to face undisputed champion Robert Whittaker when he’s healthy enough to step into the octagon.

Whittaker was originally booked to defend his title against Rockhold at this event, but medical issues knocked him from the card in January.

In the co-main event, fan favorite Mark Hunt meets the up-and-coming Curtis Blaydes in a heavyweight matchup.

UFC 221 takes place at Perth Arena in Perth, Western Australia, with a main card on pay-per-view following prelims on FS1 and UFC Fight Pass.

Here are 10 reasons to watch the event.

1. Slim margin for error

Rockhold underestimated Michael Bisping. That error cost Rockhold his middleweight title. In his only fight since that 2016 knockout loss, David Branch stunned Rockhold before the former champ found his footing and earned a second-round submission win. Don’t expect Rockhold (16-3 MMA, 6-2 UFC), who is ranked No. 3 in the USA TODAY Sports/MMAjunkie MMA middleweight rankings to make those mistakes against Romero (12-2 MMA, 8-1 UFC), who thanks to a combination of strength and athleticism, can exploit any opportunity presented to him.

Rockhold has the height, reach and tools to avoid the strengths of the No. 4 ranked Romero. His kicking game should allow him to stay at distance and wear down Romero. His grappling skills and mat training with the likes of Daniel Cormier and Cain Velasquez should have him ready for Romero’s wrestling attacks.

But there’s always a chance that a single mistake could turn the fight in Romero’s favor. As an example, consider how the single slipup made by former champion Chris Weidman left him bloody and beaten by Romero at UFC 205.

Romero’s most recent fight was a decision loss to Whittaker in July.

2. A big ask

The co-main event is not a make or break fight for Blaydes (9-1 MMA, 4-1 UFC), who is ranked No. 14 at heavyweight. But his bout against the No. 10-ranked Hunt (13-11-1 MMA, 8-5-1 UFC) will go a long way toward determining if he is ready to take the next step in his career.

Blaydes began his UFC run with a doctor stoppage loss to Francis Ngannou. He’s improved each time he’s fought since that 2016 defeat. In his most recent contest, a doctor stoppage victory over Aleksei Oleinik, Blaydes did get in a bit of a slugfest. That’s something he needs to avoid against Hunt.

Hunt has been incredibly relaxed heading into this matchup. That might have something to do with the bout taking place in his home country. It could also have something to do with the fact that he’s closing in on the end of his UFC contract. Whatever the reason, a relaxed and confident Hunt will try to halt Blaydes from rising up the heavyweight food chain, much like he did in June when he earned a TKO win over Derrick Lewis.

3. Making it look easy

In his UFC debut, Tai Tuivasa earned a “Performance of the Night” bonus with a first-round flying-knee knockout of Rashad Coulter.

“I have two goals when I fight: to entertain the fans and to finish my opponent, and I got to do both of those tonight,” Tuivasa told UFC commentator Dan Hardy after his win.

A heavy-handed striker who fought at the heavyweight limit against Coulter, Tuivasa has been one of Mark Hunt’s main sparring partners for the past few years. He’s fun to watch and has a personality that could make him a star in the Australian market. The one concern about Tuivasa is how easy he’s made things look up to this point. He’s finished all six of his fights by first-round knockout.

Tuivasa (6-0 MMA, 1-0 UFC) now faces Cyril Asker. Asker (9-3 MMA, 2-2 UFC) finished Hu Yaozong by second-round submission in his most recent fight. Asker has gone the distance twice in his career.

4. Streaking

Li Jingliang opened his UFC career at 2-2. He’s since put together a four-fight winning streak with three victories by knockout, including his most recent bout, a first-round KO of Zak Ottow. The Chinese fighter also brings a two-fight bonus-winning streak into his fight against Jake Matthews, who jumped from lightweight to welterweight in November and earned a decision over Bojan Velickovic.

Jingliang is an exciting and sometimes reckless striker who is willing to take a punch to land one. His impressive win over Ottow set him up to be someone the UFC can use to headline future fight cards in the Chinese market. However, he needs to keep winning for that star to continue to rise. Matthews’ (11-3 MMA, 5-3 UFC) grinding style could pose problems for Jingliang, but if he can extend his winning streak against the Australian fighter, Jingliang (14-4 MMA, 6-2 UFC) could earn a fight against a ranked opponent.

5. Show us what you learned

The light heavyweight matchup between Tyson Pedro and Saparbek Safarov could be deemed a “show us what you learned” fight. Pedro (6-1 MMA, 2-1 UFC) was 6-0 with six first-round stoppages before he dropped a decision to Ilir Latifi in September. Safarov (8-1 MMA, 0-1 UFC) was 8-0 with eight stoppages – seven in the first round – before Gian Villante knocked him out in December.

Pedro showed a lack of defensive wrestling in his loss to Latifi. He did go the full 15 minutes in that fight, but his pacing was suspect. As for Safarov, he was a bit wild in his striking against Villante. He also showed a willingness to absorb too many strikes.

6. A can’t miss debut

Israel Adesanya has 11 knockout wins in 11 MMA fights. The 28-year-old also has, according to his calculations, nearly 80 kickboxing fights to his name. That run includes a 32-fight winning streak. One of his most recent kickboxing fights was an entertaining decision loss to GLORY middleweight champion Jason Wilnis in 2017.

Adesanya is incredibly fast and unafraid to take chances. His style has drawn favorable comparisons to former light heavyweight champ Jon Jones.

Adesanya (11-0 MMA, 0-0 UFC) faces Rob Wilkinson in this middleweight matchup. Wilkinson (11-1 MMA, 0-1 UFC) was 11-0 with 10 finishes before he made his UFC debut in September. He lost to Siyar Bahadurzada by second-round knockout in that bout.

It’s too early to declare Adesanya a potential star, but his past performances indicate that, at the very least, fans will want to catch his UFC debut.

7. What will the wrestlers bring?

It’s a battle of unbeaten and unranked featherweights when Alex Volkanovski and Jeremy Kennedy meet. The two were booked at UFC Fight Night 121, but Kennedy withdrew from that bout due to a back injury. Instead, Volkanovski (16-1 MMA, 3-0 UFC) faced Shane Young, who he defeated by unanimous decision. Kennedy (11-0 MMA, 3-0 UFC) has not fought since he bested Kyle Bochniak by decision in July.

Kennedy has a height advantage in this fight. That could hurt him against Volkanovski. With Volkanovski being shorter and stockier and therefore having a lower center of gravity, Kennedy, who like his opponent uses a wrestling-based style, might struggle to get his opponent to the mat.

Then again, there’s always the chance that this one turns into a slugfest as sometimes happens when two wrestlers meet in the octagon.

8. Build the resume

While the UFC decides if it will book flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson against bantamweight kingpin T.J. Dillashaw, the rest of the 125-pound division is left to jockey for position. Two fighters who hope to move up the rankings are the No. 7-ranked Jussier Formiga and the No. 13-ranked Ben Nguyen.

While neither fighter has a lengthy winning streak, both are missing something on their resumes that many top flyweights have – a title fight against Johnson.

Formiga (20-5 MMA, 3-4 UFC) and Nguyen (17-6 MMA, 4-1 UFC) are both coming off first-round submission wins. Formiga defeated Ulka Sasaki via rear-naked choke in September. Nguyen dispatched former flyweight title challenger Tim Elliott the same way in June. Another quick finish might not put the winner of this fight at the top of the list for a title shot, but it will move them one step closer to that goal.

9. Moving up after scary incident

In September, MMAjunkie was on site for the UFC Fight Night 117 weigh-ins. Mizuto Hirota was scheduled to face Charles Rosa in a featherweight bout on that card. Hirota shuffled into the room, checked in at 150 pounds and nearly fell off the scale. He had to be assisted from the room. The UFC later pulled Hirota from the card.

The former DEEP lightweight champion makes his first appearance since that scary incident. Thankfully, he will do so at lightweight. Hirota (18-8-2 MMA, 1-3-1 UFC), who last fought in June, when he lost a decision to Volkanovski, faces Ross Pearson. Pearson (19-14 MMA, 11-11 UFC), who before 2016 had never lost two fights in a row, is on a four-fight losing skid. His most recent defeat was a second-round TKO loss to Dan Hooker at UFC Fight Night 110.

10. Will experience by the difference this time?

Daichi Abe debuted with the UFC in September. The former Pancrase welterweight champion was at a significant height and reach disadvantage in that bout. He also had 15 fewer fights than his opponent, Hyun Gyu Lim. Abe defeated Lim by unanimous decision.

At UFC 221, Abe (6-0 MMA, 1-0 UFC) is again at an experience disadvantage, but his opponent, Luke Jumeau (12-4 MMA, 1-1 UFC), is the same height and has close to the same reach as Abe.

Abe is powerful and aggressive on his feet. He also possesses a black belt in judo. That last skill could help him against Jumeau, who is solid on his feet, but struggles when the fight hits the ground.

Jumeau is coming off a decision loss to Shinsho Anzai.

For more on UFC 221, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.