Fans of mixed martial arts haven’t had a whole lot to be excited about in 2012.
That’s what happens when more big fights fall to injuries than the ones that actually end up coming to fruition. We get excited about the prospect of seeing what we assume will be a thrilling fight—perhaps even with a true big-fight feel—and then it falls through because someone over-trained or took drugs (mistakenly or not).
We’ve become resigned to never fully expecting a big fight to happen until, you know, it actually happens. Take the November bout between Georges St-Pierre and Carlos Condit, for example. Knock on wood, but I don’t have very high hopes that both of those fighters will be in the cage come November 17 in freezing-cold Montreal.
I just don’t. I’ve been conditioned to believe otherwise.
Yeah, it’s been a pretty depressing year to be a mixed martial arts fan. But according to UFC president Dana White, there’s a glimmer of hope around the corner.
White appeared on UFC Tonight last night to discuss a bunch of subjects with Ariel Helwani, including the UFC 151 debacle and all of the hoopla that surrounded it. But the most interesting part of the 30-minute conversation came when White revealed that we’re likely going to see St-Pierre face Anderson Silva in his next fight if he’s able to get past Condit.
“I think we’re pretty close. If Georges beats Carlos Condit, that could be the next fight. These guys want to fight each other now,” White said. “They’d probably do the fight at 180. If that fight happens, it’ll probably be at Dallas’ Texas Stadium.”
White is referring to Cowboys Stadium, the $1.41 billion monument built by Jerry Jones dedicated to Texas-sized excess. If you’ve ever visited the stadium in person, you know what I’m talking about. This thing is a monster, and every single thing about it—from the sheer size to the giant screen hanging over the field—is as ridiculous as it gets.
What better place to stage the biggest fight in the history of mixed martial arts?
If—and again, I’m always going to preface future fights with “if”—this fight comes to fruition, and they hold it in Cowboys Stadium, it’ll likely break the attendance record set by UFC 129 at the Skydome in Toronto. That event, which also featured St-Pierre, pulled in 55,724 rabid Canadians.
If the tickets to St-Pierre vs. Silva are priced cheaply enough—and if the UFC schedules a Fan Expo, a reason for UFC fans to set up shop in Dallas for the week—there is no reason why this event wouldn’t set every record in UFC history.
Again, it’s hard to get excited by any ideas for future fights, even after they’re announced. St-Pierre still has to get by Condit, and I think that’s going to be a much tougher test for him than people realize, especially coming off a bad knee injury and an extended layoff.
We’ve been taught to expect disappointment like a child filled with dread for Christmas morning, eagerly hoping that Santa decided to bring him that brand new video-game system but knowing full well that something much less exciting is probably in store.
But I can’t help but feel hopeful that we’ll get to see this fight, that we’ll get to see the two best fighters of this generation face off for no other reason than to see if they can beat the other man.
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