Sandwiched between four title bouts at UFC 97, 98 and 100, this Saturday's event in Germany has flown a little under the radar. But UFC 99 has a number of very intriguing matchups, with some important implications.
The guy with likely the most on the line is Mirko Cro Cop (what a delightful coincidence that the event happened to be titled "The Comeback" even before he was added to it). The Croatian sensation needs to prove that his first run in the UFC was an aberration and he actually has what it takes in the big show. He certainly can't afford another loss.
Good on Al Turk for accepting this change in opponent (whether he had a choice or not) because Cro Cop looks to be a much tougher challenge than what Todd Duffee would have offered. And this is just as important a bout for the Englishmen, because if he loses another one, especially if he's dominated like he was in his first against Cheick Kongo, he'll be 0-2 and likely on his way out of the UFC.
Speaking of Kongo, he could put himself near the top of the UFC's heavyweight picture with a win over the unbeaten Cain Velasquez. But if this bout were to see the ref raising Cain's hand (get it, raising Cain?), then the rising Velasquez might not be too far from a title shot himself.
Another unbeaten fighter who could see his stock rocket in the welterweight division is Ben Saunders, who takes on Mike Swick. The latter may be the one called "Quick" -- as evidenced by his 33-second dispatching of Jonathan Goulet at December's Fight for the Troops -- but Saunders has swiftly been making a name for himself with three straight Octagon killings.
The man called "Killa B" has gotten more effective each time -- first winning by decision, then by second-round submission, and finally by TKO less than two minutes into his fight against Brandon Wolff the same night Swick did the deed on The Road Warrior. As for Swick, he's established himself as one of the best since dropping down to 170 pounds and could be the next in line to take on the champ St. Pierre after Thiago Alves (and any other super-fights potentially thrown GSP's way.)
Of course, Marcus Davis and Dan Hardy could have something to say about that. Both fighters, each having lost just once in the past three years, are looking to win their third straight in the UFC. But this matchup is making more headlines for the war of words between them and what could be termed Photoshop-Gate (even though I hate to use the "-Gate" suffix). If you don't know what I'm referring to, there's some good background here, but suffice it to say Davis claimed Hardy "encouraged" some fans to do some creative superimposing of Davis's mug on pictures implying a certain sexual persuasion and an ensuing feud between them devolved into each calling the other a liar on last week's conference call. There will definitely be some fireworks in this bout, starting with the weigh-ins.
While the undercard features a couple of locals (Denis Siver, Peter Sobotta), a few of the usual Brits (Paul Taylor, Paul Kelly and Terry Etim) and a matchup of two more Europeans (Stefan Struve vs. Denis Stojnic), perhaps the most anticipated foreign appearance, apart from Cro Cop, will be that of Japan's Caol Uno, making his long-overdue return to the UFC.
He was last seen here in 2003 finishing off a 3-3-1 Octagon record, rather pedestrian for a fighter with at least 25 wins in about 40 career bouts. The former Shooto and K-1 star, who is coming off a semifinal loss to Shinya Aoki in Dream's lightweight Grand Prix, takes on Spencer Fisher in what should have Fight of the Night potential (Fisher fights always do). Meanwhile, Fisher hopes to get himself back in contention in the 155-pound division after relatively recent losses to Frank Edgar and Hermes Franca.
And finally that leaves us with the main event, which of course is no slouch. Rich Franklin and Wanderlei Silva (moving in opposite directions in the weight department) meet somewhere in the middle at 195 pounds. Of course, one of the two will be moving in the opposite direction of the other in the success department. A loss for Franklin will mean three out of his past five, while The Axe Murderer is in danger of dropping to 1-5 in his past six.
Since this is a catchweight bout, I doubt either would be cut with a loss provided they perform well, though with Wanderlei you never know. He certainly doesn't think so, since he has been calling out middleweight champion Anderson Silva. Either way, this bout should (hopefully) put a stamp on an entertaining event.
