As part of the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s deal to get mixed martial arts legalized in New York in 2016, it promised the state a bunch of events over the next few years. However, outside of the big New York City-area events, the cards have generally been afterthoughts. Buffalo got UFC 210 out of the deal, but offerings from Albany and Utica were nothing about which to write home on paper and were not much better in practice.
By those standards, the UFC’s debut in Rochester actually appears solid. The main event is an interesting fight with crucial stakes for both men, there are some important women’s fights and Charles Oliveira is facing Nik Lentz yet again for reasons known only to those who booked their latest rematch.