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Organizers for the UFC’s century event promised it would be a big one. On Wednesday they let people know they meant it.
The UFC officially announced three super-fights to headline UFC 100 on July 11. Brock Lesnar will take on Frank Mir to unify the heavyweight championship in the main event, while Georges St. Pierre will defend his welterweight belt against Thiago Alves. Rounding out the triumvirate of attractions will be a battle between The Ultimate Fighter: U.S. vs. U.K. coaches Dan Henderson and Michael Bisping.
Mir had already said he would be fighting Lesnar at this event, which will be held at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, and the St. Pierre vs. Alves fight had been widely rumoured.
The headliner will be rematch of a February 2008 bout in which Mir, already a former champion, submitted Lesnar, who had been dominating the action early in his first appearance in the Octagon and only his second MMA fight overall.
“Brock Lesnar and Frank Mir put on one of the most intense one round fights I’ve ever seen at UFC 81,” UFC president Dana White said in a release. “But when it was over, both guys saw things very differently. Lesnar blamed his loss on inexperience and being too aggressive, while Mir saw his win as a triumph of his technique, something he says will happen every time they fight. ”
Said White of the co-main event: “Georges St. Pierre may be the most athletically gifted welterweight champion in UFC history, but at UFC 100 he will face his toughest challenge yet. Thiago Alves is a Muay Thai wrecking machine who, like St. Pierre, is huge for a welterweight.
“Alves has improved with every fight and I am expecting an explosive fight from the two top welterweights in the world.”
Henderson and Bisping are currently opposing each other outside the cage as coaches on the current season of The Ultimate Fighter reality show. As is custom, they will square off following the finale, and the winner is expected to move in line for a shot at the middleweight title.
“Michael Bisping has always been a talented fighter, but he’s gotten even scarier once he dropped down to the middleweight division,” White said. “Henderson’s one of the best fighters of this era, he’s dangerous wherever the fight goes, and he’s got more world-class experience than almost anyone out there.”
NOTES: FightHype.com reported Wednesday that middleweight contender Ricardo Almeida will face Kendall Grove at the following event, UFC 101, on Aug. 8. The event, which is expected to take place in Philadelphia, will be headlined by lightweight champion B.J. Penn defending his title against Kenny Florian, while Forrest Griffin will take on Thiago Silva in a light-heavyweight contest.
