Jason Day has earned yet another great opportunity as he will take on Michael Bisping at UFC 85 in London, England.
That's quite the quick rise for the guy from Lethbridge. Two months ago, his biggest win was a questionable "hometown" decision over Montreal's David Loiseau in Calgary.
But a withdrawal by Patrick Cote opened the door for Day to get his UFC debut against Alan Belcher and in his home country at UFC 83. He took full advantage of his chance and finished Belcher with strikes.
Another withdrawal, this time by Chris Leben, has led to another opportunity for Day, and this is exactly what he wanted. Whenever asked about who he'd like to fight, he said Bisping. But who would have thought he'd get that chance so soon?
It's a quick turnaround for him, but hey, Bisping fought on the same Montreal card, so it will be the same short layoff for both.
But what's really surprising is that the two fighters are at very different levels along the middleweight ladder.
Bisping was a guy a lot of people were talking about being positioned for a title shot in the very near future. For Day, it will be only his second fight in the Octagon.
So is there anything to be read into this matchup? Is the UFC giving Bisping another fight that on paper should be an easy win for him, so as to continue to build him up? If that is their goal, it's the kind of thing that has a tendency to backfire, like it did when they put Kendall Grove against Cote.
Or do they think that Day, after his impressive performance in Montreal, is close to on par with Bisping? If I were the Englishman, I might feel a little slighted in not getting an opponent a little further along in the middleweight food chain.
But if I know Bisping, he likely wouldn't think of it like that. He just enjoys the opportunity for a good scrap, which he will definitely get with Day. And that's the same sentiment you'll get from the Canadian.
And perhaps that's all the UFC has in mind with this one. It's simply a matchup that has the potential to be very entertaining.
Kudos to Day for not only accepting the fight -- clearly, he couldn't turn it down -- but for requesting it. He could have said he wanted to face a guy a little lower on the middleweight ladder. But he didn't and it appears the UFC may just have rewarded him. Now, he needs to deliver.
For those who weren't in attendance in Montreal and thus didn't get to see Day fight Belcher because it was the undercard, believe me you should be in for a good one against Bisping. And this time you will get to see it since it's on the main card.
If I had to pick right now, I'd have to give the edge to Bisping, just because he has a little more experience to go with his aggressiveness. But I wouldn't count out Day.
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FOLLOWING DAY: A couple other guys who may be the next Canadians to get UFC opportunities are Jesse Bongfeldt and Ryan Ford.
Bongfeldt, also from Lethbridge and from the same camp as Day, became the TKO welterweight champion in September and followed that up with a successful defence over rising welterweight T.J. Grant in February. That was his fourth straight victory and improved his career record to 15-3. He has already said there may be a UFC opportunity for him in the near future.
And Ford was impressive in a win over C.J. Fernandes Friday night at MFC 16. It was his second straight win over a veteran who has fought in the UFC. Although Ford (6-0) is less experienced than either Day or Bongfeldt, he has been on a bit of a tear and it hasn't gone unnoticed by people in the UFC. He's earned an MFC welterweight title shot in July, and if he wins that, it would be surprising if he doesn't garner some interest from the big show.
ONE IN, ONE OUT: There could have been two Canadians facing Englishmen on the London card, but Jonathan Goulet, who was reportedly set to take on Paul Kelly, pulled out this week. One report said it was due to health reasons, another due to the short timeframe to prepare. I would tend to think it must involve a bit of the former as that that guy is a gamer. They don't call him the Road Warrior for nothing, as he fought eight times in 2007. On the other hand, his results were mixed, so perhaps they're thinking he's better off having more time to train between bouts. So it might be a good decision for him.
CANADIAN CONTENT: The next three UFC cards will feature at least one Canadian, with Ivan Salaverry at UFC 84, Day at 85 and Cote at 86. And with the number of successful Canucks on the circuit right now, you can expect that trend to continue. I would be surprised if we don't see Jason MacDonald at UFC 87.
