Lost in the mix of the Nick Diaz and Georges St. Pierre becoming the hottest rivalry in the UFC, the upcoming UFC on Fox title fight between Cain Velasquez and Junior dos Santos on November 12, Jon Jones defending the light heavyweight title and Brock Lesnar returning against Alistair Overeem next month, is the fact that January’s UFC 142 is shaping up to be an exciting card for a multitude of reasons.
The first reason this show should be outstanding is that UFC 142 is going to be in Brazil. This is going to be only five months after the nation played host to UFC 134. That was a show over a decade in the making and provided one of the most memorable cards of the past few years. Between the fights themselves and the relentless enthusiasm of the Brazilian fans, it was a night to remember. By all accounts, the venue used at UFC 134 was far too small to accommodate the demands for tickets. Then, the evening itself went so well that Anderson Silva is now en route to being one of the most famous people in Brazil. Combine that with the fact that MMA has only been getting even more popular in mainstream Brazilian culture over the past few years, making this a slam dunk of an idea from Zuffa.
As if another show in Brazil wasn’t enough to get people curious, Joe Silva has booked two huge fights. The first is longtime contender Chad Mendes finally getting a crack at UFC Featherweight Champion Jose Aldo. Both men have been dominant in their careers, with Aldo having not lost in years and Mendes being undefeated. It should be another strong test of Aldo’s takedown defense and cardio, as Mendes is a great wrestler that doesn’t tire. On the flip side, Mendes has yet to face an opponent that is as difficult to take down as Aldo, especially one that is a transcendent striker to boot. It’ll be interesting to see if Aldo shows more of the aggression he had in the past or if he’ll be more tentative like he was in the Florian or Hominick fights. I would expect an exciting performance from him in front of his hometown fans.
The other announced fight is one that is not the most relevant battle, but one that could have some serious implications. It is a middleweight scrap between Vitor Belfort and Anthony “Rumble” Johnson. The appearance of Belfort on this card is huge, as he is a major celebrity in Brazil due to his marriage to a famous actress (or reality starlet or something like that). The crowd should be on fire for him. The fact that his opponent is Rumble is interesting, as it will be Johnson’s first fight at 185 lbs. and comes just as he started to make some headway in the welterweight division. The move up makes a lot of sense for him, as he is a massive welterweight that struggled to get to 170. The man walks around at 230 lbs., so this cut will be a lot easier for him. As for the fight itself, Belfort has little to gain and much to lose. If he wins, it doesn’t really get him any closer to a rematch with Silva. A loss only drops him in the rankings and instantly gives Johnson credibility and a place in the proverbial mix at middleweight. I would like to see Belfort face Sonnen or someone else in the top ten at 185 lbs. to see just how good at this weight he really is (beating Akiyama isn’t that impressive), but this should be an exciting fight nonetheless and that is really all that matters.
Over the next few weeks, I’m sure we’ll see some more fights announced for this show. I would expect to see more Brazilians added to the card. With the UFC not going to Japan, maybe a Shogun-Rampage rematch? Only time will tell.
No comments:
Post a Comment