UFC 84 has the early makings of being one of the most entertaining cards in some time, with the main card filled with storylines.
I'll get to the main event in just a second, the one that defines the event's tagline "Ill Will." But first let's look at some of the other fights.
First, there's (The Huntington Beach Bad Boy) Tito Ortiz vs. Lyoto (The Dragon) Machida. There's definitely some “ill will" here but it's not between the two fighters. It's between Ortiz and the UFC.
This will likely be Tito's last fight in the Octagon, and it's no secret that he and Dana White don't get along. White has criticized the way Ortiz has handled his career, and Ortiz has said the UFC doesn't respect its fighters.
Normally a fight like this, with the accomplished Ortiz and the undefeated Machida, would at least have co-main event status. Instead, it's the fourth down and you know that isn't by accident.
I'll bet Ortiz will be coming into this fight with a bit of a chip on his shoulder, out to prove just how much the UFC will be missing him when he leaves to go to another organization.
But he'll have his hands full with Machida, who has not lost in 12 fights, and is one step away from contender status in the light-heavyweight division.
And Machida isn't the only undefeated fighter on the main card. Two other bouts feature guys who have yet to taste defeat as professionals, in Goran Reljic and Thiago Silva. We could see three fighters -- all light-heavyweights at that -- emerge from the televised card with spotless records. That would be pretty impressive.
Then there's Wanderlei (The Axe Murderer) Silva vs. Keith (The Dean of Mean) Jardine in a battle of whose nickname is more vicious. But seriously, these are the last two guys to face Chuck Liddell. Jardine beat The Iceman and probably deserves higher promotion than he's getting, while Wanderlei lost to Chuck for his third straight loss. While Silva, who had a great career in Pride, is sort of on his way down, Jardine's stock is going up, so it will be interesting to see how this one plays out.
And finally, there's the one we've been anticipating for a while: B.J. (The Prodigy) Penn vs. Sean (The Muscle Shark) Sherk. These guys really don't like each other.
Penn may have a good reason, because of Sherk's positive steroid test and a belief that he wasn't clean when he fought his way to the lightweight championship. But B.J. is taking it quite far, needling Sherk and trash talking every chance he gets. Even on the conference call Thursday, Penn gave Sherk no respect and hardly let him get a word in edgewise when questioned about the steroid test. Let the man speak, and wait your turn, I say!
Sherk has always contended he never took steroids and that the positive test was erroneous. Considering the way the California State Athletic Commission handled the situation and the appeal as well as the case Sherk has presented, I would tend to believe him. But the UFC really had no choice to strip him of his belt.
Now, Sherk gets his chance to reclaim it, and he just wants to get it over with so he can never have to talk about Penn again. Can't wait to see this one, and I'm sure we will still be talking about it for quite some time after it's done.
