This might be the most exciting fight card FX will ever see. Live from Australia, the main card is stacked with the first round of the Flyweight championship tournament, and a killer main event. The undercard on Fuel is likewise loaded with star power. For those keeping track, after a disastrous series of upsets against my UFC Japan picks, my record picking winners on the main cards of major events in 2012 falls to 17-15.
In what has become a keystone in the UFC’s manifest destiny to grow the sport in popularity across the globe, the UFC has returned to Japan for the first in over a decade. While it is unfortunate that the Flyweight division was unable to debut for this event, there are a number of intriguing fights that have implications for their respective divisions.
UFC’s first live event with Fox’s most fledgling of networks, Fuel TV, is set for tomorrow night. Four preliminary fights will be shown on Facebook, culiminating in a bout featuring Jonathon Brookins, TUF season 12 winner. The main card features fellow season 12 alum TJ Dillahaw, and of course season 1 winner Diego Sanchez. Fuel is only available in 36-million homes in the US, roughly a third the homes Spike TV has access to. The main event has future title implications in a now “up for grabs” welterweight division, and fans without DirectTV are expected to mob the Buffalo Wild Wings across the nation on fight night.
This is yet another UFC card where, like Mark Munoz last week, one injury has impacted a couple fights on the main card. Nick Diaz was originally slated to face GSP, and Condit was to fight Koshcheck. With GSP’s knee out of commission until at least November, Condit got moved up to face Diaz for an interim belt, and Koshcheck was forced to find a new opponent in Mike Pierce. Amir Sadollah was to face Jorge Lopez at this event, but both fighters were forced out with injuries.
After an unforgettable undercard which MMA-Review.com was in attendance for, the main card of UFC on Fox 2 seemed somewhat lackluster, seemingly dominated by poor cardio training and/or difficult weight cuts for the fighters. Still, all three main card fights …
