[caption id="attachment_1402" align="aligncenter" width="273" caption="(photo courtesy of www.technotrix.com) UFC 127's big fight of the night, Penn vs. Fitch, doesn't interest many outside the extreme fighting realm."]
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No one denies the card this Saturday for UFC 127 could potentially turn out great. The key ingredients to a great fight night certainly look present. The card has high profile fighters, a mixture of talent and various levels of hungry and established fighters. There seems to be only one problem that could make Saturday a must miss: no interest.
B.J. Penn, Michael Bisping and Jon Fitch all have huge fan support. Not that they all have equal talent and records, but their fans have legitimate reasons for watching them fight. Unfortunately, no one outside of those circles care about watching them fight each other. Starting all the way from the main card all the way down to the preliminaries none of the card’s fights have any spark beneath them.
The greatest example of this comes in the main event. B.J. Penn moves back up to the Welterweight division to take on most formidable opponent Jon Fitch. Penn could easily make a case for a title shot in the division with a win over Fitch. Fitch could make the same argument if he wins. Yet this fight, other than perverted curiosity, holds no emotional reasoning. Main event fights have huge implications and should always awe their audiences. The current Welterweight Champ, Georges St. Pierre, already must come to terms with upcoming opponent Jake Shields; if he wins he will fight for the legacy of “greatest of all time” against Anderson Silva, and Penn versus Fitch seems little more than irrelevant.
Michael Bisping also brings a huge British fan base. On several occasions, “The Count” seemed one fight away from finally getting a title shot. He never seems to capitalize on these opportunities and always needs a trail back to validity. His fight against aging fighter Jorge Rivera seems no different. This fight, in many ways, only advantages Rivera. If Rivera loses everyone would expect it but a win could catapult him into serious recognition and a payday down the road.
If a savior for the card seems to emerge it comes in George Sotiropoulos facing Denis Siver. Both men have torn through the lightweight division and both have amazing promise. Even though most see this as a stepping stone for Sotiropoulos’ championship contention, Siver can “turn on the switch” and deliver serious damage on the feet. Unfortunately, their names don’t carry the weight of a pay-per-view main event and so it falls down the latter.
All hope does not seem lost for real fighting fans. Exciting fighters such as Chris Lytle and Ross Pearson also fill out UFC 127. An indicator of how good this event is will come in whether or not Lytle wins “fight of the night” honors. Anytime Lytle did not receive the honor meant another fight on the card was of epic proportions. If this is the case on Saturday, Feb. 26, 2011 then the ultimate winner of UFC 127 will be the fans.
Predictions:
B.J. Penn v. Jon Fitch Decision R3
M. Bisping v. Jorge Rivera Decision R3
G. Sotiropoulos v. D. Siver Submission R2
The Kid's Corner
(photo courtesy of www.technotrix.com) UFC 127's big fight of the night, Penn vs. Fitch, doesn't interest many outside the extreme fighting realm.
