The UFC summer calendar is highlighted by the much-anticipated UFC 100 but for fans, especially Canadians, it doesn't stop there.
Summer is just around the corner and I can't help but be overjoyed with the amount of smoking hot UFC match-ups coming our way.
This Saturday is the season finale of The Ultimate Fighter: Team U.S. vs. Team U.K.. From Day 1, I predicted Ross Pearson and DaMarques Johnson would be in the finals, so with one more victory for both guys, I’ll have bragging rights at Sportsnet and The Fan 590. Then again, if they do not win, I will never hear the end of it.
Also on the season-endng card are some solid lightweight fights: Diego Sanchez vs. Clay Guida, Joe Stevenson vs. Nate Diaz and Melvin Guillard vs. Gleison Tibau. Brad Blackburn is also on the card, taking on Edgar Garcia in a welterweight bout. We spent some quality time with Blackburn at UFC 98 and I look forward to seeing how he will handle the fireball that is Garcia.
Halifax's T.J. Grant was supposed to fight on this card but his opponent Rory Markham has been forced to withdraw due to a thigh injury suffered in training. Grant and I have been going back and forth with text messages since the news so I fired a suggestion his way for a potential opponent. Not sure if my crystal ball was working, but the news has already come out that Grant will be facing my suggestion in just a few weeks.
On July 11, the Mandalay Bay Events Center will host UFC 100, a star-studded card with two title fights and many other storylines. The unification bout between Brock Lesnar and Frank Mir will likely tear the roof of of the venue, as will Georges St. Pierre's battle with Thiago Alves.
Victoriaville, Que.'s Jonathan Goulet has pulled out of his bout with Dong Hyun Kim with a dislocated shoulder and has been replaced by his fellow countryman, yes, that’s right, T.J. Grant. This is a huge fight for Grant, on one of the UFC’s biggest shows to date and should he get passed Kim people will begin to take him seriously. His UFC debut victory over Ryo Chonan got some praise, but a second victory in the Octagon over another quality opponent like Kim will surely make UFC matchmaker Joe Silva convince the UFC brass that Grant belongs on the pay-per-view broadcasts, and not the undercards.
UFC 100 also sees The Ultimate Fighter 9 coaches Dan Henderson and Michael Bisping square off in a strange middleweight contender bout. If Bisping wins, he will likely get a title shot against Anderson Silva in the United Kingdom later this year. If Hendo wins, it appears he will not be in line for a title shot, as that distinction will likely be placed upon the shoulders of either Nathan Marquardt or Demian Maia.
UFC 100 will also feature a redemption match for Jon Fitch, as he looks to avenge teammate Josh Koscheck’s loss to Paulo Thiago. Japanese star Yoshihiro Akiyama will make his UFC debut against Alan Belcher, while past meets present as UFC legend Mark Coleman takes on Stephan Bonnar.
The future of the light heavyweight division, Jon (Bones) Jones takes on Jake O'Brien while Mac Danzig will square off with Jim Miller. Tom Lawlor will take on (The only fighter to ever win via a Peruvian Neck Tie) C.B. Dolloway, and fireballs Matt Grice and Shannon Gugerty round off the undercard.
If that’s not enough quality for you, the following month the UFC will be hosting not one, but two pay-per-view events.
The first one, UFC 101: Declaration, is scheduled for Aug. 8 at the Wachovia Center in Philadelphia. The event will be headlined by a lightweight title fight between champion B.J. Penn and challenger Kenny Florian. The co-main event features a light heavyweight tilt between the UFC’s middleweight champion Silva and former light heavyweight champ Forrest Griffin.
The rest of the card is incredible:
Amir Sadollah vs. Johny Hendricks
Kendall Grove vs. Ricardo Almeida
Josh Neer vs. Kurt Pellegrino
Shane Nelson vs. Aaron Riley
Tamdan McCrory vs. John Howard
Thales Leites vs. Alessio Sakara
Matt Riddle vs. Dan Cramer
George Sotiropoulos vs. Rob Emerson
Jesse Lennox vs. Danillo Villefort
Three weeks later, the UFC heads west to Portland, Ore., for UFC 102: Couture vs. Nogueira. The two legends will finally make the dreams of hardcore MMA fans come true as this bout has been years in the making. For the record, there will be no winner or loser in this fight -- this is one of those bouts that I will likely have to remind myself to breath during the whole bout.
The main event pits (The Dean of Mean) Keith Jardine versus one of the most ruthless fighters in the game, Thiago Silva. Both guys are coming off some tough losses, so look for a the bombs to fly early and fly often.
The rest of the card is as follows:
Chris Leben vs. Jake Rosholt
Nate Marquardt vs. Demian Maia
Matt Hamill vs. Brandon Vera
Wilson Gouveia vs. James Irvin
Junior Dos Santos vs. Justin McCully
Nick Catone vs. Mark Munoz
Matt Veach vs. Evan Dunham
And this is just the UFC -– MMA fans are in for a summer to remember, as well. Take a look at this incredible calendar of events:
June 19 - Strikeforce Challengers: Santos vs. Villasenor
June 19 - Bellator Fighting Championships Week 12
July 20 - DREAM.10
Aug. 1 - Affliction: Trilogy
Aug. 2 - World Victory Road's "Sengoku Ninth Battle"
Aug. 9 - WEC 42
Aug. 15 - Strikeforce: Carano vs. Cyborg
