It is becoming abundantly clear that Dana White was super-duper serious when he said he was going to sign Fedor. Obviously he failed in this pursuit, but his intentions were genuine. How else can you explain the UFC booking Carwin and Velasquez against one another and leaving Brock Lesnar no opponent for the foreseeable future when they wanted him to defend before the end of the year? In light of the failed signing the UFC shuffled some fights around and now three new Heavyweight contests are booked before the end of the year with rumors swirling about a new fighter coming in to mix things up.
Chase Gormley vs Stephan Struve (UFC 104)
This fight may seem relatively unimportant to the average MMA fan but it is anything but. Gormley is a promising blue chipper with a 6-0 record who was supposed to get his big break at the third Affliction show against Ben Rothwell. Then their rematch was moved to the UFC upon Affliction’s demise. Now Gormley will fight the Skyscraper who has had short but rollercoaster UFC career so far. Junior Dos Santos walked through the poor kid in his first UFC outing but Struve came back in a big way by winning a blood bath (his blood) over Denis Stojnic, showing guts and heart in that fight as well as a work-in-progress ground game. Unfortunately, he might be tailor made to showcase Gormley, who is well rounded and proficient on the ground and in tight spaces. Either way, this makes someone press the main card in a division that is picking up nicely right now. One of these guys could be just right to welcome the winner, runner up, or otherwise promising prospect TUF 10. Either way, I like this as a solid under-card bout and hope it finds its way to the public eye.
Cain Velasquez vs Ben Rothwell (UFC 104)
Cain Velasquez has been long overdue for a title push in my eyes and this match upset me at first for that very reason. I am not quite sure why the UFC looks at Carwin’s body of work and Velasquez’s body of work and continually gives the promotion and position nod to Carwin. It didn’t take me long to change my tune regarding this fight though. Either athlete will move up the ranks with a win here. Velasquez is interested in being the best fighter he can be and Rothwell is going to give him a solid test along with a chance to improve. Rothwell is tough as nails and experienced to boot. On the other hand, Big Ben could really make his name in the UFC if he can pull off the upset, positioning himself well for a top tier fight to follow. Remember, this fight will be the co-headliner of the night meaning it is going to get some hype machine play. That will be two very public fights in a row for Velasquez and one right off the bat for Rothwell. Cain takes a half step down and Rothwell takes about 5 steps up for this fight but when the dust settles we can’t really complain too much, can we?
Shane Cawrin vs Brock Lesnar (UFC 106)
My contention for some time now has been that Shane Carwin is currently one of the most dangerous fighters for Brock Lesnar in the UFC. Anyone who gets hit square by Carwin is going down and Carwin’s wrestling is likely good enough to prevent Lesnar from pushing him around and might be good enough to do some damage of his own. He is as big and strong as Lesnar and might be as mean to boot. From a match-up standpoint this is a great fight. From a business standpoint I am scratching my head. That is all periphery concern though. The fight itself is what is really important. The next Heavyweight Title fight will either be a quick clash of two monsters that ends with someone getting beat up pretty bad or it will be a long boring grappling contest between two wrestlers that cancel each other out. Either way, the UFC has decided, for one reason or another, that Carwin deserves a title shot more than anyone else right now…. anyone else in the UFC that is. We do have to wait quite a while for this fight. Zuffa has been pretty keen on giving Brock a solid break between fights, giving him as much time as reasonable possible to improve. By that time we will also know where almost everyone else in the division stands (Rothwell, Velasquez, Cro Cop, Dos Santos, Couture, Big Nog) and who might be in line to fight the winner. No matter how you cut, this is going to be a huge (literally) fight and might just be a sign of things to come in the HW division. I think Joe Rogan called this the Age of the Super Wrestler, or something cheesy like that.
The Wildcard – Anderson Silva
Yes, 185 lbs king Anderson Silva has expressed serious interest in fighting at HW. I am all about Anderson Silva and his ability in the cage but when I think of him fighting some of the bigger HW’s in the division I get scared. Let’s face it, he isn’t going to start out against Lesnar or Carwin. He will fight someone with a good style match-up or relatively similar size to his. Rumors are swirling that he wants to fight Frank Mir, likely realizing that Mir’s takedowns are manageable and his stand-up would be god for little more than a laugh or two for The Spider. I tend to think things might just go in a different direction. I am going to go out on a limb here, but if Randy Couture beats Big Nog we are going to see Randy Couture vs Anderson Silva at the end of the year. Think about it. Couture is not much bigger than Silva. There would be a double element of revenge given the relationships between Silva/Nog and Forrest/Couture. To make it even more appealing, the fight would be a HUGE moneymaker. I expect that final the 2009 card is going to need someone like Randy and/or Silva to find his way into a superfight, but that is a different topic for a different time. I am not sure anyone could argue that a five round fight between Anderson Silva and Randy Couture would be unappealing. Silva has done a lot in the UFC and has basically earned the right to do whatever he wants in his last three fights, hence I don’t like the chances of seeing Silva/Henderson II. Silva to HW is risky but I think it will happen. Isn’t it kind of amazing that we are looking at guys over 205 lbs to find the best challengers for the 185 lbs champion?
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