UFC 220 start time, TV schedule, who is fighting tonight at ‘Miocic vs Ngannou’

Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) returns to the hurt business tonight (Sat., Jan 20, 2018) for UFC 220 from inside TD Garden in Boston, Mass., featuring a Heavyweight title fight between Stipe Miocic and Francis Ngannou, as well as a co-main event that will see Daniel Cormier defend his Light Heavyweight title against Volkan Oezdemir.

What’s Hot:

Ngannou has made a mockery of he Heavyweight division, winning his first six fights under the UFC umbrella, knocking out his foes left and right, which includes four straight first-round knockouts. Miocic, though, did it first, winning five in a row and knocking out two of the same men (Alistair Overeem and Andrei Arlovski) way before “The Predator” got his hands on them. The narrative leading up to this fight has been focused solely on Ngannou’s punching power and wreckage left behind ... and rightfully so. But, Miocic has pretty much done the same thing, as he, too, has four straight first-round knockouts. Oh, and by the way he is also the current champion, so there’s that. So you can’t help but to understand Miocic when he says he feels disrespected and why he believes the promotion would rather have Ngannou as champion over him. What UFC and Ngannou want, though, is irrelevant to Miocic as he is hell bent on making history by becoming the first and only 265-pound fighter to defend the division strap three straight times. Given their histories, I would be very surprised if this fight makes it out of the first round. But, it should be fun while it lasts.

What’s Not:

While the main- and co-main events bout are great title fights, the rest of the card leaves plenty to be desired for the promotion’s kickoff show for what is expected to be a great new year. Calvin Kattar, Shane Burgos, Gian Villante, Francimar Barroso and Rob Font is the best UFC could muster up for the PPV main card?

Original Card vs Actual Card:

Arnold Allen was set to face off against Enrique Barzola, but Allen was replaced by promotional newcomer Matt Bessette. And a fight between Maryna Moroz and Jamie Moyle was canceled after Moyle was forced out last-minute for undisclosed reasons.

Injuries:

A bout between Charles Rosa and Dan Ige was scratched back in December after Rosa suffered a neck injury.

New Blood:

Bessette will make his official UFC debut against Berzola after impressing the promotion in his loss on Dana White’s “Tuesday Night Contender Series.” Brandon Davis — another DWTNCS alum-- will make his official debut when he takes on Kyle Bochniak. Julio Arce and Dan Ige also got the call up from the contender show to face off against each other in “Beantown.”

How The ‘Prelims’ Look:

We have plenty of newcomers on the underbelly of the event, so don’t expect a lot of familiar names and tasty match ups. In fact, Gleison Tibau -- who will be fighting for the twenty-fifth time inside the Octagon -- is the only true veteran fighting on the “Prelims” undercard.

Who Needs A Win Badly:

If we’re going strictly by wins and losses, Villante needs a victory in the worst way, as he has dropped two straight after getting knocked out by Mauricio Rua and losing a close split-decision against Patrick Cummins. Three in a row won’t be a good look for the hard-hitting Light Heavyweight when it comes time for the promotion to start thinning the herd.

Interest Level 8/10:

Again, the two title fights are highly-intriguing as we get too see if Miocic can derail the hype train that is Ngannou, or if “The Predator” can continue making his people proud by claiming the 265-pound title in impressive fashion. For Cormier, defeating Oezdemir will be the first step in finally putting Jon Jones in his rear-view mirror after being entangled with the “Bones” drama for more than three years now. No longer should “DC” be questioned if he’s the “real” champion or not, as he has proven it in and out of the Octagon.

Standing in his way is a very determined Oezdemir who quickly rose to his title shot after only three wins inside the Octagon. But, is it too soon? Granted, “No Time” finished his last two opponents in, well, “No Time,” taking out Misha Cirkunov and Jimi Manuwa in a combined cage time of 70 seconds. But, Cormier is an entirely different beast, and if Volkan thinks he’s going to take him out that fast, he’s got another thing coming. I don’t have a horse in the race, we’re just using common sense here, people.

Full Fight Card:

UFC 220 PPV Main Event:

265 lbs.: UFC Heavyweight Champion Stipe Miocic vs. Francis Ngannou

UFC 220 PPV Co-Main Event:

205 lbs.: UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Daniel Cormier vs. Volkan Oezdemir

UFC 220 PPV Main Card (10 p.m. ET):

145 lbs.: Shane Burgos vs. Calvin Kattar
205 lbs.: Francimar Barroso vs. Gian Villante
135 lbs.: Thomas Almeida vs. Rob Font

UFC 220 ‘Prelims’ on FOX Sports 1 (8 p.m. ET):

145 lbs.: Kyle Bochniak vs. Brandon Davis
170 lbs.: Abdul Razak Alhassan vs. Sabah Homasi
125 lbs.: Dustin Ortiz vs. Alexandre Pantoja
145 lbs.: Julio Arce vs. Dan Ige

UFC 220 ‘Prelims’ on Fight Pass (6:30 p.m. ET):

145 lbs.: Matt Bessette vs. Enrique Barzola
115 lbs.: Maryna Moroz vs. Jamie Moyle
155 lbs.: Islam Makhachev vs. Gleison Tibau

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