UFC 132 features great stylistic matchups, compelling storylines and fights that are sure to leave fans satisfied for paying $55.This PPV is not headlined by Brock Lesnar, Jon “Bones” Jones or Georges St-Pierre, so it won’t get the same amount …
UFC 132 features great stylistic matchups, compelling storylines and fights that are sure to leave fans satisfied for paying $55.
This PPV is not headlined by Brock Lesnar, Jon “Bones” Jones or Georges St-Pierre, so it won’t get the same amount of buys that those PPVs would have gotten. But my goodness, look at this card. It’s as if UFC President Dana White and UFC matchmaker Joe Silva got together and said let’s make a card strictly for the fans.
1)It starts with the undercard, which fans can see live on Facebook and on Spike. Three fights taking place on Facebook that fans won’t want to miss are Anthony Njokuani vs. Andre Miller, Brad Tavares vs. Aaron Simpson and Brian Bowles vs. Takeya Mizugaki.
The Njokuani-Miller fight is one of the most exciting matchups on the card. Expect a kickboxing clinic between these two high-level strikers.
2)Move on to Spike’s version of the Prelims and you’ve got George Sotiropoulos vs. Rafael Dos Anjos and Melvin Guillard vs. Shane Roller.
These are two exciting lightweight matchups that will have compelling storylines and questions. Will Guillard continue his winning streak and become that lightweight contender MMA fans always envisioned him to be? And will Sotiropoulos get back on his horse and start another winning streak?
3)From the first fight on PPV between Dennis Siver and Matt Wiman to the main event between Dominick Cruz and Urijah Faber, this fight card is stacked with exciting matchups that have a large effect on five weight divisions.
Siver and Wiman is simply a crowd-pleasing fight. Their styles match up so well, and both fighters will most likely want to keep this fight on the feet. UFC 132 will get off to a fast start with this PPV opener.
4)The welterweight division is in need of new contenders for St-Pierre’s belt, and these two guys are just that. Carlos Condit is riding a wave of momentum after a highlight reel knockout over Dan Hardy, and Dong Hyun Kim is undefeated with recent wins against Amir Sadollah and Nate Diaz.
Condit proved what he can do when he gets off to a fast start in his last fight, so let’s see how long it takes him to kick things into gear in this bout.
5)Tito Ortiz vs. Ryan Bader is not only a good matchup stylistically, but the fact that it’s do-or-die for Ortiz makes it that much more intriguing.
Ortiz is the biggest reason why I got into MMA. The Ultimate Fighter, Chuck Liddell, Randy Couture and the sheer awesomeness of the sport helped, too, but I absolutely hated Ortiz and wanted to watch him get beat up. I would order PPVs just to watch him take a beating and finally this Mohawk guy gave me what I wanted.
Looking back, Ortiz was a genius in promoting fights and getting new fans. I have him to thank for really getting me invested in the sport and seeing how great the sport was. If it’s Ortiz’s last fight in the UFC, you better believe he will go down swinging.
6)I don’t think Joe Silva could have made a more exciting matchup than the co-main event, Chris Leben vs. Wanderlei Silva. They have the same brawling style that makes them fan favorites, and when they meet in the center of the octagon, expect them to throw down.
If all the other fights on this card end up being lackluster and not worth your $55, this fight will be the PPV’s saving grace. Buy this PPV for this fight, and everything else will just be icing on the cake.
7)This is the first time a UFC PPV has been headlined by a bantamweight fight, and they couldn’t have picked two better fighters to take the main stage.
This is a rematch four years in the making, and Faber has the mental edge as he won the first fight by guillotine choke in the first round. But make no mistake, these are two completely different fighters from who they were in 2007.
Both fighters have evolved in many ways, and they are embraced as the elite of the division. Both have exciting styles, and they should leave the fans with a crowd-pleasing main event.
Bleacher Report’s Jake Martin