UFC 244 could easily go down as the biggest fight card of 2019 -- even though the headline bout involves one fighter, Nate Diaz, who recently took three years away from the sport, and another, Jorge Masvidal, who has headlined exactly one event in his UFC career.
There is also not a single championship fight to speak of. Except, of course, the one for the made-up BMF belt.
Saturday's pay-per-view event at Madison Square Garden is about as nontraditional as you can get, but it illustrates the power certain athletes are enjoying and perhaps a newfound willingness by the UFC to embrace different ideas and marketing concepts.