, it can easily be said that the best is yet to come.
The UFC is expected to close out 2011 with a plethora of dream matches slated for upcoming blockbuster cards.
One of those bouts was set be UFC champion Georges St-Pierre against Strikeforce champion Nick Diaz at UFC 137, but the bout was scrapped after Diaz missed two scheduled press conferences.
Fortunately for fans, both superstars are still set to compete at UFC 137, and the new pair of bouts are much more interesting than the original lineup.
Along with Diaz, the UFC welcomes another Strikeforce champion and top-3 heavyweight Alistair Overeem. After a tumultuous career at light heavyweight, Overeem has reinvented himself into one of the best heavyweights in the world.
Before signing with the UFC, he was the reigning Strikeforce heavyweight champion, Dream heavyweight champion and K-1 World Grand Prix champion. If he secures UFC gold, fans could be looking at one of the greatest heavyweights of all time.
What upcoming goodies does the UFC have in store for the rest of 2011?
Kick back in your favorite stained armchair and click the little next icon to find out what must-see bouts you'll be coughing up your hard-earned cash for.
Hollywood action star and former Strikeforce middleweight champion Cung Le kicks this list off with his upcoming UFC 139 showdown with former UFC light heavyweight champion Vitor Belfort.
After suffering a devastating knockout loss toAnderson Silvaat UFC 126, Belfort is training and fighting like a man possessed.
His first round smashing of Yoshihiro Akiyama at UFC 133 was like something out of a nightmare.
The opportunity to showcase his unique skills on the UFC stage is huge for Le, but he may want to leave his Hollywood gimmick behind for this bout.
It's going to take everything he has to prepare for and defeat a guy like Belfort.
The bantamweight championship fight between Dominick Cruz and Demetrious Johnson could be the dark horse bout on this stacked list.
AtUFC 132, Cruz and nemesis Urijah Faber proved why the bantamweight division is considered one of the most exciting weight classes in MMA.
The action is faster and more consistent throughout an entire bout.
While fans praise fighters like Georges St-Pierre, Anderson Silva and Jose Aldo for "cleaning out" their respective divisions, Cruz is often overlooked in the discussion.
People seem to forget that Cruz is one of the top pound-for-pound fighters in the world, and he has already beaten the vast majority of the upper-echelon bantamweight contenders.
Will Johnson's improved striking and world-class wrestling be enough to thwart Cruz, who hasn't lost a fight in over four years?
On November 12, the No. 1 contender picture in the lightweight division should become much clearer when Ben Henderson takes on Clay Guida.
There should be enough energy to light up an entire city when these two step into the octagon opposite one another.
The everlasting, fiery pace Henderson and Guida are able to sustain makes it hard to picture anyone breaking in this bout.
If fans have to miss out on the upcoming pay-per-view bouts, they should make sure they catch this free lightweight scrap on Fox.
Former two-time lightweight title contender Kenny Florian hopes to have better luck at 145-pounds when he challenges UFC featherweight champion Jose Aldo on October 8.
Standup fanatics don't want to miss this bout, as it includes two of the best striking tacticians in all of MMA.
Will the drop in weight finally help Florian get over the hump?
It doesn't get any easier for the Massachusetts native, as Aldo is ranked as one of the top three pound-for-pound fighters in the world.
According to UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre, his upcoming UFC 137 bout against Carlos Condit is "tougher" than his previously scheduled bout with Nick Diaz.
There is no hotter welterweight contender right now than Condit, who is coming off back to back highlight reel knockout victories over Dan Hardy and Dong Hyun Kim.
Also, it's going to be interesting to see how the team dynamic plays out in this fight.
St-Pierre and Condit are noted to having trained alongside one another at Jackson's MMA.
At UFC 135, Jon "Bones" Jones will look to defend his UFC light heavyweight title for the first time against former champion Quinton "Rampage" Jackson.
If charged with the task of finding a weakness in Jones' game, it would be like trying to find a needle in a haystack.
Jones has showcased well-rounded skills on all levels, but there is one place Jackson can test the young champion that no one else has––his chin.
Jackson will be the best boxer Jones has ever faced in his professional career.
Most see takedowns as Jones' best avenue for success, but Jackson won't go down easy, as he has seemingly returned to his wrestling roots that helped him thrive in Pride.
Finally, the lightweight division will have life once again.
Since the epic draw in Frankie Edgar and Gray Maynard's championship showdown at UFC 125, the lightweight division has been at a standstill.
The rubber match in this exciting rivalry was originally set to take place in May at UFC 130, but both fighters were forced off the card with injuries.
Due to the unsettled affairs between Edgar and Maynard, top contenders such as Anthony Pettis and Jim Miller have lost their spots for attempting to stay active instead of waiting on deserved title shots.
There are plenty of viable contenders waiting in the wings for a crack at whoever prevails in the rubber match now set for UFC 136.
If the third bout is anything like the second, it could trump every fight on this list as the best bout to close out 2011.
From purely a monetary perspective, it doesn't get any bigger thanBrock Lesnarversus Alistair Overeem.
The UFC hopes to end the year with a bang on its December 30 card, which pits the gargantuan heavyweights against one another in the headliner.
On the outside, this fight alone should help the UFC achieve record-breaking sales, but there are a multitude of questions heading into the bout.
Has Lesnar fully recovered from his second case of diverticulitis, and how will it affect him on fight night?
Can Overeem step up and perform under the bright lights of the UFC against upper-echelon heavyweights, or will he fold under the pressure?
Nick Diaz's loss could be considered a gain for B.J. Penn and MMA fans.
After missing two scheduled press conferences, Diaz was yanked from his UFC 137 championship bout against Georges St-Pierre.
He will now face Penn in a bout that is definitely more intriguing from a stylistic perspective.
With Diaz's newfound star status and recent title reign, this fight becomes an even bigger opportunity for Penn, who could climb back into welterweight title contention with an impressive performance.
The UFC will make its anticipated debut on Fox with quite possibly the best heavyweight showdown of all time.
Cain Velasquez and Junior Dos Santos have set themselves apart from the rest of the division as the top two heavyweights on the planet, and on November 12, the world will know who truly is the best.
Will it be Velasquez or Dos Santos?
The lines are more divided than a Twilight's Team Edward and Team Jacob standoff.
Source:
No comments:
Post a Comment