Well, UFC 72 was your mix of typical Ultimate Fighting Champtionship bouts.
It’s not that the UFC has been giving us terrible cards, it’s just that they have been throwing us the typical Pay Per Views with maybe two big-name matchups and maybe one bout where a belt could change hands. If Dana White wants to retain the claim that the UFC is the biggest name in MMA, we need more big-name fight talks and less UFC President vs. UFC Fighter trashing talking sessions. I’m more interested in hearing more about trash talking regarding Hermes Franca vs. Sean Sherk and Anderson Silva vs. Nathan Marquardt, not Tito Ortiz vs. Dana White.
We finally have a solid undercard beneath the lightweight championship match; one which pits a small, formidable wrestler against a finisher who has taken out his last 8 opponents either via a submission or a knock-out. In fact, Franca actually pleaded to Dana White for a chance at being the newest lightweight chamption at the end of UFC Fight Night 8 when he ended Spencer Fisher’s night a little early.
Franca better be counting his blessings knowing it’s not common for fighters to get their wishes granted in the UFC with White as the boastful ringleader. While White typically knocks fighters back down to reality with his glare, he seemed amused that someone pleaded for a title shot. He was probably excited that Franca called him “Mr. Dana White” in front of the crowd and the television audience. So, if Franca wants to really prove himself with a chance at BJ Penn, who is now ironically again acting like “The Prodigy” he once was after an easy win against arch enemy Jens Pulver, he needs to get Sherk out of his way. The only problem is that Franca probably wants to keep the fight standing for a few minutes while “The Muscle Shark” Sherk will be looking to get Franca down and out early on the ground. If Sherk learned anything, it’s that he doesn’t want to get cut like he did against Kenny Florian in UFC 64 while attempting to obtain the then-vacant lightweight title. Sherk was unable to end the fight on his terms while he bled profusely all over his opponent during the five round championship bout. Luckily Sherk is up against a Brazilian fighter who has not had much luck with judges decisions. From the four total decisions in his 23 fights, Franca has only successfully influenced the judges once.
Another exciting matchup pits the talented Brazilian UFC Middleweight Champion Anderson Silva, a Muay Thai Chute Boxe fighter holding a 18-4 MMA record, up against American past King of Pancrase champion Nathan Marquardt who has been on a six fight win streak filled mostly with Unaminous Decisions. If Silva wants to retain the belt for a little longer, he’s going to look to finish yet another fight after his quick wins against Travis Lutter, Rich Franklin, and Chris Leben. Only Lutter made it to the second round to be submitted by Silva with an effective Traingle Choke. If Marquardt wants to be the next Middleweight champ, he’ll need to continue to make good use of his stamina as a successful decision winner and keep the the fight going into the later rounds.
Take these two matchups and then add UFC veteran Tito Ortiz against the undefeated Rashad Evans, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira up against Heath Herring, and Kenny Florian against Alvin Robinson to make up the rest of the main televised card.
The potentionally untelevised fights include Jorge Gurgel against Diego Saraiva, Stephan Bonnar against Mike Nickels, Chris Lytle against Jason Gilliam, and Frankie Edgar against Mark Bocek.
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I do still love MMA and have...
