With Anderson Silva unable to be ready for a UFC 95 fight, the promotion has turned to its lightweights to headline the card. Diego Sanchez will face Joe Stevenson in the main event at London’s O2 Arena Feb 21.Sanchez was on the cusp of a 170lb title shot when he was scheduled to face Thiago Silva at UFC 90 this past October. Unfortunately for him, a rib injury forced him off of the card. Josh Koscheck stepped in to face Alves on short notice, and proceeded to get pummeled by Alves for three rounds. An interesting thing to note is that Koscheck was the first guy to hand Sanchez a professional loss. So the guy who beat him got beat by another guy…that may have spurred Sanchez on to a drop in weight.
Stevenson is like a top 5 gate keeper of the 155′ers, always the bridesmaid but never the bride…yet. Stevenson is one tough hombre and is still a pup at 26 years of age. He’s in a mini-slump now, having lost 2 out of his last 3 fights.
Both these guys can go and this should be a non-stop war, both on the ground and on the feet. You sure could do worse for a main event!
The official weigh-ins for UFC 91 were held today at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Vegas, and there was no drama, as everyone made weight. Randy Couture as met with cheers, while Lesnar was met with boos. I don’t think they actually hate Lesnar, he’s a popular guy, just that they love Randy that much. Said Lesnar, who embraced his pro wrestling bad guy persona a bit as the crowd chanted, “Randy! Randy!”:
I’m just ready to get in the Octagon and take that belt away from Randy tomorrow night. I just visualize my hand being raised. That’s all I’ve got to say.
This is a monster of a pay per view, with 1.2 million buys expected…and at $44.95 a pop, that translates to about $54 million. Pretty good, compared to the $2 million the Fertittas and White paid to buy the ailing promotion at the time.
Official Weights:
Randy Couture (220) vs. Brock Lesnar (265)
Couture makes his long awaited return against Lesnar, the no-necked colossus, who resembles a brick sh$t house with a buzz cut. Lesnar is improving by leaps and bounds, and while he’s nowhere near Couture’s savvy and experience, it should be enough to overcome the 45 year old. Simply put, Lesnar is too strong, too fast and he won’t be caught by a surprise knee bar this time, as Randy’s strength also happens to be Brock’s strength. Its good medium man vs good big man, and the big man will take it, by TKO in round 4.
Joe Stevenson (156) vs. Kenny Florian (156)
See comments below. Florian is too big and too smart for Stevenson, and he’ll grind out a unanimous decision, much like he did to Huerta. While it’ll look like Stevenson “can’t get off” during the fight, but it will be due to Florian’s cerebral fight strategy.
Gabriel Gonzaga (256) vs. Josh Hendricks (238)
Gonzaga is fighting a virtual unknown here; if he wins, he should have won. If he loses, he tumbles down the ladder to where he may never recover. Gonzaga by unanimous decision.
Demian Maia (185) vs. Nathan Quarry (185)
Quarry, while definitely a gamer, is no match on the ground for Maia. Watch for Quarry to tap out or go to sleep sometime in the first round.
Dustin Hazelett (170) vs. Tamdan McCrory (170)
Hazelett has impressed me lately, as he pushed top 5 fighter Josh Koscheck to the brink when they fought. Look for the Jorge Gurgel trained product to tap McCrory out in the 2nd round.
Undercard:
Jorge Gurgel (155) vs. Aaron Riley (156)
The student has already surpassed the teacher as Hazelett is on the main card and Gurgel flounders with a mediocre record on the undercard. Gurgel by 2nd round submission.
Jeremy Stephens (155) vs. Rafael dos Anjos (155)
Hmm, Stephens by 2nd round TKO just because I wouldn’t know Rafael from Michaelangelo or Donatello. Or Leonardo.
Alvin Robinson (155) vs. Mark Bocek (155)
I have to go with the Canadian kid on this one, Bocek by unanimous decision. Bocek impressed me during his gutsy loss to the very dangerous Mac Danzig this April.
Ryan Thomas (170) vs. Matt Brown (171)
Matt Brown by 1st round TKO, by way of jumping, spinning, butt-pliers.
