For a card that is so lacking in depth, the UFC's first pay-per-view event in 2018 sure packs the punch at the top of the card with a pair of title bouts featuring some of the most dangerous strikers in the sport.
If you're looking for the potential of one-punch knockouts at the highest level, Saturday's UFC 220 card in Boston provides just that thanks to the heavyweight championship main event between Stipe Miocic and Francis Ngannou, as well as a light heavyweight title tilt featuring Daniel Cormier and Volkan Oezdemir.
Let's take a closer look at the biggest storylines to keep an eye on entering the card.
1. Can Ngannou become the UFC's version of Mike Tyson? He's a hulking beast at 6-foot-5 who can close the lights on any opponent, at any time, with a single strike. He also might be a one-dimensional fighter who's not ready for the accelerated push he has been given. Luckily for Ngannou, his power is so sublime that no one has been able to last long enough to expose whatever flaws he has. But considering the raw energy he brings to fights and how violently he finishes them, it's clear the UFC knows what kind of potential it has from a marketing standpoint in Ngannou. That's why he will be challenging for the company's most prestigious title just 46 days after his Knockout of the Year against Alistair Overeem. Should Ngannou do the same to Miocic, the UFC just might have its next big thing.
2. It feels like Miocic's obituary has already been written. So what if the UFC's heavyweight champion isn't great quote? And maybe it's not ideal that he doesn't move PPV buys on his own. But there seems to be an inordinate amount of people either hoping or prematurely declaring that Ngannou will remove Miocic from his senses with the first punch that he throws. Let's be sure not to forget how Miocic got to this point, just one win away from breaking the division's record for title defenses with three. He did so by absorbing punishment and knocking his last five opponents out. Ngannou's stock is so red hot at the moment that even oddsmakers couldn't help but enlist him as a favorite. But Miocic may not be far off in his claim that UFC would prefer he exit the Octagon without the belt on Saturday. Don't count out the champ just yet, though.
3. If you think Ngannou's title shot has been fast-tracked, check out Oezdemir. Like Ngannou, the Swiss-born Oezdemir possesses sick knockout power and has led a trail of bodies behind him on his journey to the championship level. The problem is that journey has been even shorter than the meteoric rise Ngannou is currently on. Oezdemir has just three UFC fights under his belt since debuting last February. Following a split-decision win over Ovince Saint Preux, he ran off back-to-back KO wins over Misha Cirkunov and Jimi Manuwa, both of which were of the highlight-reel variety and took place in under one minute. But has Oezdemir really shown enough, considering how many fighters in other divisions have had to sit and wait to gain a shot at gold? Although he's certainly dangerous and has benefitted from both Alexander Gustafsson's injury and an already shallow division, Oezdemir may end up being remembered as a glossy get-well opponent for Cormier coming off of his TKO defeat to Jon Jones that we must now retrain ourselves to believe never happened.
4. Could this be Cormier's final fight at light heavyweight? At 38, it's hard to determine just how long the UFC's 205-pound champion will fight on, especially considering the soap opera that was his three-year feud with Jones. The epic saga produced two defeats for Cormier and two failed drug tests for Jones, but not a ton of closure either way. It's fair to wonder whether a fresh start for Cormier could come in moving to heavyweight -- where he debuted with UFC in 2013 -- in a division that's more forgiving to aging fighters. It's also fair to wonder, regardless of whether Jones can return in 2018 with a reduced suspension, if Cormier doesn't just walk away.
5. Is there still time for Thomas Almeida as an elite bantamweight? Although he rarely fails to entertain as one of the most finish-hungry UFC fighters in the lower weight classes, Almeida enters a bit of a crossroads at the start of the second half of his career. At 28, he's no longer the sexy prospect he was when he entered a 2016 bout as the betting favorite against fellow unbeaten Cody Garbrandt, only to lose via first-round knockout to the former champion. And despite a come-backing finish of Albert Morales six months later -- netting Almeida his fourth-straight Performance of the Night bonus -- he was humbled in a decision loss to unbeaten Jimmie Rivera. In Saturday's bout with Rob Font, who will be fighting in his backyard, Almeida will need to prove he can add the veteran wrinkles necessary to balance his feast-or-famine style should he envision an eventual run at the 135-pound championship.