Today has been one of those days UFC President Dana White talks about during his interviews. Along with the UFC 152 conference call, White had his usual busy day of dealing with issues and problems including three injuries to fighters on upcoming main cards.
Rich Franklin has always been considered an elite level mixed martial artist. The former UFC Middleweight Champion defeated Wanderlei Silva this past Saturday night and puts himself back on the map in the UFC’s crowded Middleweight division. Who should he face on his way up the ladder? Let’s take a look.
The UFC made a quick turnaround following Fridays UFC on FX 4 with Saturdays UFC 147, aka the TUF Brasil Finale. Live from the Mineirinho Arena in Belo Horizonte, Brazil, UFC 147 crowned two new TUF winners in Cezar Ferreira and Rony Mariano Bezerra.
While Rich Franklin vs. Wanderlei Silva isn’t a rematch anyone begged for, the sole bout on UFC 147 worth watching is certainly the five round continuation of their 2009 UFC 99 battle. With the rest of the card being lackluster at best, it’s time to roll up the sleeves, put on a pot of coffee, light up some cigars and really look at this rematch piece by piece.
Injuries happen in every sport, they’re unavoidable but what the UFC is currently experiencing is on another level. In the past the UFC has dealt with injuries head on, often putting together better fights than what was originally scheduled. The mounting injuries that the UFC is going through right now have crippled then from doing this and the resulting moves have weakened the upcoming summer cards.
The Ultimate Fighter coaches curse is alive and real! With TUF Live (TUF 15) concluding tomorrow and TUF Brasil nearing the end, an injury to Vitor Belfort will force the coach out of his UFC 147 main event bout with fellow coach Wanderlei Silva. It’s the shows sixth coach to be injured, which includes Belfort and Dominick Cruz from this season’s TUF Live.
June is nearly upon us, and I know that means, summer, sunshine, long days and hot nights, but it also means there are a virtual plethora of sizzling MMA fights under the UFC banner this June. Grab your sunscreen while we look at the June fights that should pack some serious heat.
As if the week couldn’t get any better, tickets for two upcoming UFC shows go on sale this week. Just days after Strikeforce held an event in San Jose, California, tickets for the UFC on Fuel TV 4 in San Jose will begin its presale today. Tickets will go on sale to the public for the UFC on Fuel TV 4 as well as UFC 147 this Thursday May 24th.
