(Great fight banner, or greatest fight banner?)
It appears that the UFC is just going to keep digging in regards to UFC 183 despite already striking oil with the booking of Anderson Silva vs. Nick Diaz for its main event. In addition to the recently added grudge-ish match between top flyweight contenders Ian McCall and John Lineker, Newsday confirmed earlier today that a sure-to-be barnburner between lightweights Joe Lauzon and Al Iaquinta will now join the already stacked lineup as well.
Both Lauzon and Iaquinta will be riding two-fight win streaks into the hotly-anticipated contest, with the former most recently battering Michael Chiesa — aka the man who defeated Iaquinta to claim the TUF 15 title — en route to a doctor’s stoppage TKO at Fight Night 50. The Massachusetts native was expected to face Diego Sanchez at UFC 180 after original opponent Norman Parke went down with injury, but was struck by the injury bug himself shortly thereafter. In an apparent show of respect, Sanchez would later withdraw from the event with an injury that *definitely* wasn’t cartwheel related.
The training/endorsement partner of Chris Weidman, on the other hand, is fresh off a massive upset victory over Ross Pearson earlier in the month that he was a tad bit pissed to not earn a post-fight bonus for. The win improved Iaquinta’s UFC record to a solid 5-2.
Predictions, please.
–J. Jones
(Great fight banner, or greatest fight banner?)
It appears that the UFC is just going to keep digging in regards to UFC 183 despite already striking oil with the booking of Anderson Silva vs. Nick Diaz for its main event. In addition to the recently added grudge-ish match between top flyweight contenders Ian McCall and John Lineker, Newsday confirmed earlier today that a sure-to-be barnburner between lightweights Joe Lauzon and Al Iaquinta will now join the already stacked lineup as well.
Both Lauzon and Iaquinta will be riding two-fight win streaks into the hotly-anticipated contest, with the former most recently battering Michael Chiesa — aka the man who defeated Iaquinta to claim the TUF 15 title — en route to a doctor’s stoppage TKO at Fight Night 50. The Massachusetts native was expected to face Diego Sanchez at UFC 180 after original opponent Norman Parke went down with injury, but was struck by the injury bug himself shortly thereafter. In an apparent show of respect, Sanchez would later withdraw from the event with an injury that *definitely* wasn’t cartwheel related.
The training/endorsement partner of Chris Weidman, on the other hand, is fresh off a massive upset victory over Ross Pearson earlier in the month that he was a tad bit pissed to not earn a post-fight bonus for. The win improved Iaquinta’s UFC record to a solid 5-2.
Predictions, please.
–J. Jones