Author Topic: UFC on Fox Fights  (Read 85 times)

rayallen0

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UFC on Fox Fights
« on: August 24, 2011, 10:42:08 PM »
So the UFC will make its debut on Fox on November 12 when it broadcasts two fights live from the Honda Center in Anaheim, California.  Though we’ll just see two fights, this has the potential to be one of the most important nights in UFC history.  For the first time ever, we will see live UFC fights on network television – a feat nearly two decades in the making.

With that in mind, who on earth could the UFC have on this card?  They’ve got four fighters to choose and they have to choose very wisely in order to wow a national audience and their new business partners.  It’s easy to throw out names like Brock Lesnar, Georges St-Pierre, and Alistair Overeem who don’t realistically have a chance to fight on this card due to injury, prior commitments, and contract issues, respectively.  The UFC says fights could be pulled from other cards, but I don’t think that means we’ll be seeing main events shifted drastically.

Let’s take a look at some very real fights that we could be seeing on Fox less than three months from today!


Anderson Silva vs. Dan Henderson - Lorenzo Fertitta has talked about this fight being a very real option and why not?  You’ve got two huge names including the most successful fighter in UFC history, who also happens to be the reigning Middleweight Champion.  This fight would work as a Middleweight Title fight or a light heavyweight superfight depending on time constraints, but you’d ideally see these fighters go five rounds.

This would be a rematch of epic proportions, especially given Hendo’s recent career resurgence.  His win over Fedor gives Henderson tons of leverage in negotiations with Zuffa and I’m sure Dana White is grateful to have been able to rid himself of Fedor while he had the chance.  This would be a really great piece of matchmaking and would give the UFC a huge fight for their Fox debut.


Clay Guida vs. Ben Henderson – There is no better co-main event than this.  Two lightweight contenders who are supremely exciting and who are likely opponents given their recent victories.  Guida beat the number one contender in Anthony Pettis while Henderson defeated highly ranked Jim Miller, but I don’t feel like either fighter has done enough to earn a title shot.  Why not let these two duke it out on the biggest UFC stage to date?

Guida has turned into a different fighter since he started to train with Greg Jackson and hasn’t lost a fight under the Jackson camp.  Henderson has made huge strides himself since losing to Anthony Pettis in the last WEC fight.  Henderson looked extremely impressive against Jim Miller and completely won over a Milwaukee crowd, and I think he would be able to captivate a broadcast audience just the same.


Forrest Griffith/Shogun Rua vs. Tito Ortiz - This would be the loser of this weekend’s Griffith/Rua fight against Ortiz in what could either be a main event or co-main event.  This would be an appropriate reward for Ortiz, who is one of the longer tenured UFC fighters who recently defeated Ryan Bader and stepped up on short notice to put up a gutsy performance against Rashad Evans.

The winner of this fight would likely enter the Light Heavyweight Title picture and face the loser of Jon Jones vs. Rampage Jackson, so let the loser get a shot on Fox against Tito.  A Griffith vs. Ortiz rematch would be appropriate given how close their previous two fights were.  Rua vs. Ortiz would be a fun first time match pitting one of the PRIDE greats against one of the legends of the UFC.  Either fight has significant name value and would easily captivate a casual audience.


Wanderlei Silva vs. Yoshihiro Akiyama - This could be a potentially exciting co-main event fight between two fighters who have both lost a number of fights as of late.  The winner of this fight would go on to get a second chance in the UFC, while the loser would likely see his time with the promotion expire.

Despite that likely stipulation, this would be a thrilling fight between two of the biggest international fighters in the UFC.  Silva has always been an exciting fighter, though his recent losses are good reason for worry.  Akiyama didn’t get much going against Vitor Belfort at UFC 133, but Akiyama has three straight Fight of the Night performances going into that fight.  would guarantee a phenomenal rating.