As the clock ticks ever nearer to the UFC’s third event inside the hallowed halls of Madison Square Garden in the heart of New York City, questions still remain over exactly what or who will serve as the card’s featured attraction.
This, of course, is not ideal and leaves the UFC sweating with regards to shifting enough tickets to come close to the gates they had in that same venue in 2016 ($17.7 million) and 2017 ($6.2 million). The first NYC event, headlined by Conor McGregor’s capture of the UFC’s lightweight title from Eddie Alvarez, is the UFC’s highest grossing gate to date though that will come under pressure when the numbers are released for his showdown with Khabib Nurmagomedov next week in Las Vegas.
Nate Diaz and Dustin Poirier have both campaigned online to make their scheduled 155-pound contest to be moved to a title fight for a 165-pound weight division, though as of last night it the UFC appeared unwilling to open a new weight class just to adequately serve the main event of a card.
Today though, as reported by ESPN’s Ariel Helwani, it appears that the UFC are moving towards another option — a light heavyweight bout between Alexander Gustafsson and Yoel Romero, possibly for the interim title at 205.
UFC seriously discussing booking Yoel Romero vs. Alexander Gustafsson at light heavyweight for the MSG card on 11/3, according to multiple sources. The fight isn’t finalized, though. A title would be on the line with both interim and official options discussed.
— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) September 26, 2018
Current light heavyweight champion, Daniel Cormier, is tied up with an expected early 2019 heavyweight title bout with Brock Lesnar, so an interim title would establish the next clear option for him before his retirement in March of next year.
That does leave one pertinent question, however: What becomes of Jon Jones?
