Upcoming 2011 UFC Headlining Possibilities

As the rumors and confirmations swirl online, 2011 is shaping up for the UFC with about 3 or 4 fights expected in March. Today we were given the official fight card for UFC 125 which takes place on the very first day of the new year, headlined by Lightweight Champion, Frankie Edgar and Gray […]

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As the rumors and confirmations swirl online, 2011 is shaping up for the UFC with about 3 or 4 fights expected in March. Today we were given the official fight card for UFC 125 which takes place on the very first day of the new year, headlined by Lightweight Champion, Frankie Edgar and Gray Maynard. Moving on to February 5th, we will see another title on the line as Middleweight Champion, Anderson Silva goes head-to-head with contender, Vitor Belfort at UFC 126. We close out the month with UFC 127 headlined by Jon Fitch and BJ Penn’s Welterweight battle at the Acer Arena in Sydney, Australia. Then somewhere in March we start a little UFC traffic jam with UFC on Versus 3 expected to be held March 3rd and headlined by another Welterweight tilt, Martin Kampmann vs Diego Sanchez. Rumors are now circulating that Frank Mir and Brendan Schaub could face each other on this card or perhaps they will meet on the UFC 129 card taking place in Newark, New Jersey on March 19th and expected to be headlined by Mauricio “Shogun” Rua and Rashad Evans…Oh! But wait…What about UFC 128? That will have to happen somewhere in March, as well to keep sequence. And now we are hearing talks of UFC 131 going down in Toronto, Ontario which would be headlined by none other than “Canada’s Most Famous Athlete” Georges St. Pierre as he picks through another Welterweight titleshot contender, Jake Shields on April 30th… But before that, UFC 130 will have to take place; unfortunately, no rumors have begun for that one just yet…Anyone want to throw in Chael Sonnen vs Wanderlei Silva or Miguel Torres vs Urijah Faber or even bring the newly retired via social media outlets, Randy Couture to fill in those slots? To be continued….

Report: Shogun vs. Evans, Lil’ Nog vs. Ortiz Moved to March 19th in Newark

(Brazilian Vinny, Mauricio Rua, and Brazilian Steve-O celebrate their big moment. Photo courtesy of the Las Vegas Sun)
According to a new report from Sportsnet, the UFC light-heavyweight title fight between Mauricio "Shogun" Rua and Rashad …

Mauricio Rua UFC MMA Lyoto Machida UFC 113 photos
(Brazilian Vinny, Mauricio Rua, and Brazilian Steve-O celebrate their big moment. Photo courtesy of the Las Vegas Sun)

According to a new report from Sportsnet, the UFC light-heavyweight title fight between Mauricio "Shogun" Rua and Rashad Evans is expected to headline a March 19th event at the Prudential Centre in Newark, New Jersey. Tito Ortiz’s last-last chance against Antonio Rogerio Nogueira is also slated for the show. Both fights had been previously tied to a March return to Abu Dhabi, leading to speculation that the event might not happen at all. As UFC U.K. president Marshall Zelaznik said back in November:

"I know there’s been talk of March 19 potentially happening. While we’re looking at delivering a pay-per-view (event) around that time, nothing’s been defined in terms of whether Abu Dhabi gets it or someone else."

March 2011 is already a busy month for the UFC, with UFC on Versus 3 slated to take place on 3/3 and a possible UFC Fight Night event on 3/26. In March 2010, Newark hosted UFC 111: St. Pierre vs. Hardy, which drew a passionate East Coast fan contingent. Until New York gets its head out of its ass, this might be the closest thing to an annual NYC event that we’ll get.