Welcome to my new Monday feature “3 Questions,” where we take a look at the three biggest issues surrounding the upcoming week in mixed martial arts
1. What’s the deal with this mystery UFC on FX show?
I was more than a little surprised yesterday when Gray Maynard vs. Clay Guida was announced as the main event for UFC on FX 4. Not because of the fight itself, because I knew for over a month that the fight would be booked at some point—we just weren’t sure when, exactly, it would happen.
I was surprised because the event was called UFC on FX 4, and there was no UFC on FX 3 event on the calendar.
A little digging allowed me to confirm with UFC officials that the June 22 show in Atlantic City that was previously believed to be UFC on FX 3 will now, in fact, be UFC on FX 4. A new FX event, currently believed to be held June 8 at an undisclosed location, will be announced shortly. And no, it will not be the Ultimate Fighter Live Finale—that’s a separate event entirely.
Will we find out more about this secret show in the days ahead? I think we will.
2. Will Bellator’s planned main event for Friday night actually happen?
Eric Prindle and Thiago Santos seem destined for catastrophe. They originally met in November, and things were going along swimmingly until Santos punted Prindle in the junk so hard that the referee actually stopped the fight. That nasty incident was followed by an even nastier one the next day when Prindle decided it would be a great idea to tweet a picture of his ruptured ball.
The rematch was booked for last Friday night, but it never happened. Why? It depends on who you believe. Bellator and everyone else involved with the fight said that Prindle fell ill and couldn’t compete. Sources close to Bellator told me that Prindle was trying to cut too much weight and became sick as a result, so the doctors stopped his cut and wouldn’t allow him to compete.
Prindle told a different story, saying that Santos was the one who tried to cut too much weight and that it was his fault the fight was scrapped.
Either way, it’s been re-scheduled for this Friday night. Given the history between these two thus far, you can expect something wacky to happen here.
3. Can Team Faber rebound on Ultimate Fighter Live?
Dominick Cruz pretty much had his way with Urijah Faber on the second episode of Ultimate Fighter Live.
The guy believed to be one of Cruz’s worst draft picks knocked out Faber’s top pick in the first round, earning control of the fight picks for Team Cruz. And then Cruz utterly punked Faber when it came to the actual fight pick for next week, surprising Faber and telling him to pick anyone they wanted to step in the cage with his top pick Justin Lawrence.
Crickets. That’s pretty much the only thing you heard as Faber looked blankly at his team while they did the same thing in return. It was an emasculating moment for the entire team, as it gave off the impression that nobody wanted to fight Lawrence. Cruz briefly let the moment linger, then selected Cristiano Marcello to face Lawrence.
This is a big fight. Lawrence and Marcello were two of the major favorites to face off in the finals, and they’re now squaring off in week three. Can Marcello help Team Faber get its mojo back?
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