But Dana White and Co. have given themselves a good opportunity for success.
The Gila River Arena will host a sizzling rematch between Israel Adesanya and Marvin Vettori for the middleweight title Adesanya won a year after narrowly beating Vettori in a three-rounder.
That fight was at the same venue on a show topped by Dustin Poirier and Justin Gaethje.
This time, it s the main event on a UFC 263 show supported by flyweight champ Deiveson Figueiredo and challenger Brandon Moreno, who ll run back a split-decision draw from UFC 256 in December.
Bout No. 3 is the UFC s first non-title, non-main event still scheduled for five rounds, and it pits lightning-rod welterweight Nate Diaz against third-ranked contender Leon Edwards in a match that had been slotted as the co-main at UFC 262 in Houston before Diaz suffered an injury.
Beneil Dariush On What Separates Him From Other LW Contenders
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Beneil Dariush believes a title shot next would not be outside the realm of possibility for the #3 ranked lightweight contender.
Last weekend at UFC 262, Dariush completely dominated Tony Ferguson, winning by a clear cut unanimous decision. The win boosted Dariush UFC ranking to #3 where only Justin Gaethje, Dustin Poirier are the only contenders are ahead of him.
In a recent interview with MMA Junkie, Dariush explained how he could get the next title shot at the newly crowned champion, Charles Oliveira. Predominantly because of his 7 fight winning streak being the longest out of anyone in the top 3 contenders and partly due to the fact that big names like Conor McGregor sometimes have contract issues whereas he is ready to fight anytime.
UFC fighter rankings: New champ, new contender at lightweight
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UFC 262 delivered as expected, and while the biggest rankings changes came in the lightweight division, there was movement elsewhere too. Charles Oliveira now sits atop the 155-pound division and is on the pound-for-pound list now for the very first time. Beneil Dariush made a huge jump, as did Edson Barboza. And women’s flyweight was mixed up a bit following three fights in that division on Saturday night.
Here’s a look at the changes for this week.
Where will UFC 263 take place?
The location for UFC 263 has yet to be determined.
Who is fighting at UFC 263?
In addition to the two title fights, several other big-time bouts have been officially added to the UFC 263 card.
Legendary grappler Demian Maia will square off against Belal Muhammad in a welterweight battle, while Paul Craig vs. Jamahal Hill, and Drew Dober vs. Brad Riddell will also be on the main card.
On the women s side, highly-ranked flyweights Lauren Murphy and Joanne Calderwood will face off as well.
UFC 263 odds for title fights
Israel Adesanya vs Marvin Vettori 2 Odds
Israel Adesanya will make the third defense of his middleweight title as a -250 favorite but is fresh off the first defeat of his career when he jumped up in weight class to unsuccessfully challenge 205-pound champ Jan Blachowicz in March.
From Charles Oliveira’s ascendency to become lightweight champion to another night filled with baffling scorecards, these are the passes and fails from UFC 262.