Honestly, the UFC monopoly of the MMA world seems to be making Joe Silva a little lazy. While I generally respect the dude and love what he has done for the sport, the UFC matchmaker (along with Dana White, the Fertittas and other UFC brass) have been handing us a lesser product than what I think we deserve, because they no longer have the Pride Fighting Championships to compete with.
While Rashad Evans is expected to be the savior of the card, as he headlines it in a fight with Michael "The Count" Bisping, it's not a title fight, and the winner of this matchup isn't even in line for them. After all, Evans is getting back on track after his first non-win (a draw with Tito Ortiz at UFC 73) and Bisping is coming off a lackluster win (that most people think should have been a loss) against Matt Hamill. Even if they are both undefeated, they are not at the height of an up-swing.
Here's the card so far:
Rashad Evans (10-0-1) vs. Michael Bisping (14-0-0)
Houston Alexander (8-1-0) vs. Thiago Silva (11-0-0)
Joe Doerksen (39-10-0) vs. Ed Herman (15-4-0)
Ryo Chonan (14-7-0) vs. Karo "The Heat" Parisyan (25-4-0)
Frankie "The Answer" Edgar (7-0-0) vs. Spencer "The King" Fisher (21-3-0)
Chris Lytle (34-14-4) vs. Thiago Alves (18-4-0)
Jason Reinhardt (18-0-0) vs. Joe Lauzon (14-3-0)
Luke Claudillo (15-8-0) vs. Marcus Aurelio (14-5-0)
Akihiro Gono (27-12-7) vs. Tamden McCrory (10-0-0)
The best fight on this card, by far, is Houston Alexander vs. Thiago Silva, both of whom have been on fire recently. Alexander has had some high profile knockouts of Keith Jardine and Alessio Sakara, and he's only spent about 2 minutes in the octagon the entire time. Silva's been in a little longer, but has showcased some patience and some technical muay thai skills. This fight will be a war, hopefully with some back and forth, and somebody is getting knocked out. My only hope is that Alexander doesn't end this one as quickly as the last 2, so that we actually get to see Silva throw a punch.
Besides Doerksen vs. Herman, which is a sad replacement for the return of the legendary middleweight Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu phenomenon of David "The Soul Assassin" Terrell (who was originally scheduled to fight Herman), I'm a little bit interested in seeing Ryo Chonan enter the UFC, as he holds a big win over current middleweight champion Anderson Silva.
The the second most explosive bout, behind Alexander and Silva, will probably be between Jason Reindhart and Joe Lauzon, who are both very good, very experienced fighters who should make for an interesting war, as Reindhart is making his debut with an 18-0 record (higher than anyone to make their debut in a long time) and Lauzon has looked very dangerous and very aggressive in his last few fights.
While those two bouts have potential and a few interesting and high profile names appear on the card, it's not the product that the UFC used to give us. I'll be watching, but I won't be paying $40 to watch it at my place. I may need a drink and some friends to help deal with the sting of a mediocre card.
That's all for now, more on this event and predictions as it draws near.
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