Don’t let the matchmaking machinations of Dana White fool you, there’s still plenty at stake at Saturday’s event.
Yes, the next light heavyweight title bout does appear to be set as current champion Jan Blachowicz is expected to meet middleweight champion Israel Adesanya in a superfight that is now being negotiated. That news leaves Thiago Santos and Glover Teixeira in the cold as it once appeared that their UFC Vegas 13 main event clash was certain to determine the No. 1 contender at 205 pounds.
Now the best the two veterans can hope for is to keep their spot, with Teixeira riding an impressive four-fight win streak and Santos returning from injury for the first time since July of last year when he came one judges’ scorecard away from defeating Jon Jones.