After a month of rumors, it’s finally official: Heavyweight sluggers Mark Hunt and Roy Nelson will be trading bombs in the main event of UFC Fight Night 51, which is slated to take place September 20th at the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan.
The only drawback to this guaranteed slobberknocker is that the event is expected to air on Fight Pass, which means that most of us North American types won’t see it live, and will have to settle for the GIFs that hit the Internet later. Ah well. The Great and Powerful UFC has a plan, and we must always trust in it.
After a month of rumors, it’s finally official: Heavyweight sluggers Mark Hunt and Roy Nelson will be trading bombs in the main event of UFC Fight Night 51, which is slated to take place September 20th at the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan.
The only drawback to this guaranteed slobberknocker is that the event is expected to air on Fight Pass, which means that most of us North American types won’t see it live, and will have to settle for the GIFs that hit the Internet later. Ah well. The Great and Powerful UFC has a plan, and we must always trust in it.
Look, I get it: Joe Silva and Sean Shelby are barely keeping their heads above water these days. Plus, after Faber lost his sixth-consecutive title bout in February — against Renan Barao at UFC 169 — he has officially entered the “just gimme some fun fights” stage of his career, and if nothing else, The California Kid vs. Bruce Leroy is a fun fight. I think. Right? And who knows, maybe Caceres will surprise us by rising to the occasion. After exposing Sergio Pettis in January, the TUF 12 vet proved that he’s not to be taken lightly.
More importantly, the UFC gets to add one of its biggest sub-155 stars to a pay-per-view that is already their most stacked card of the year by a wide margin. Mark your calendars for July 5th, and check out the current lineup after the jump…
(Be patient, this will make sense soon. / Image via @UrijahFaber)
Look, I get it: Joe Silva and Sean Shelby are barely keeping their heads above water these days. Plus, after Faber lost his sixth-consecutive title bout in February — against Renan Barao at UFC 169 — he has officially entered the “just gimme some fun fights” stage of his career, and if nothing else, The California Kid vs. Bruce Leroy is a fun fight. I think. Right? And who knows, maybe Caceres will surprise us by rising to the occasion. After exposing Sergio Pettis in January, the TUF 12 vet proved that he’s not to be taken lightly.
More importantly, the UFC gets to add one of its biggest sub-155 stars to a pay-per-view that is already their most stacked card of the year by a wide margin. Mark your calendars for July 5th, and check out the current UFC 175 lineup after the jump…
Australian heavyweight Soa Palelei has been putting together one of the greatest career comeback stories outside of Anthony Johnson. At one time considered to be a one-and-done UFC washout after he lost to Eddie Sanchez at UFC 79, “The Hulk” has won 11 straight fights since 2011 — all by KO/TKO — including three wins in the Octagon.
The quick seven-week turnaround might be less than ideal for Palelei, but fighting in front of a supportive Oceania crowd will more than make up for it. Unrelated fun facts (via BloodyElbow): Palelei got his first tattoo with a wooden chisel and mallet, and Mark Hunt is the only opponent he’d turn down, because “We’re training partners, and we’re like family.”
The current lineup for UFC Fight Night 43 is below…
(Photo via Getty)
Australian heavyweight Soa Palelei has been putting together one of the greatest career comeback stories outside of Anthony Johnson. At one time considered to be a one-and-done UFC washout after he lost to Eddie Sanchez at UFC 79, “The Hulk” has won 11 straight fights since 2011 — all by KO/TKO — including three wins in the Octagon.
The quick seven-week turnaround might be less than ideal for Palelei, but fighting in front of a supportive Oceania crowd will more than make up for it. Unrelated fun facts (via BloodyElbow): Palelei got his first tattoo with a wooden chisel and mallet, and Mark Hunt is the only opponent he’d turn down, because “We’re training partners, and we’re like family.”
The current lineup for UFC Fight Night 43 is below…
Nate Marquardt vs. James Te Huna
Hatsu Hioki vs. Charles Oliveira
Soa Palelei vs. Jared Rosholt
Vik Grujic vs. Chris Indich
Robert Whittaker vs. Mike Rhodes
Sean O’Connell vs. Gian Villante
Jon Delos Reyes vs. Richie Vaculik
The matchup seems tailor-made to give “Rumble” another high-profile win before he’s launched into title contention. Or, to put it another way: This looks like a damn squash match. Sure, anything can happen in an MMA fight, but when you put one of the UFC’s most powerful 205-pound contenders up against a guy whose body has been steadily disintegrating before our eyes, it’s pretty obvious what the promotion would like to see happen here.
No other fights have been booked for UFC on FOX 12, which will take place at San Jose’s SAP Center.
The matchup seems tailor-made to give “Rumble” another high-profile win before he’s launched into title contention. Or, to put it another way: This looks like a damn squash match. Sure, anything can happen in an MMA fight, but when you put one of the UFC’s most powerful 205-pound contenders up against a guy whose body has been steadily disintegrating before our eyes, it’s pretty obvious what the promotion would like to see happen here.
No other fights have been booked for UFC on FOX 12, which will take place at San Jose’s SAP Center.
(I know you all expect me to make a ‘The Hills Have Eyes‘ reference in this caption, but I’m not going to. Instead, I’ll just say that Stefan also had a hilarious cameo in ‘Weird Science.’ / Photo by Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports via MMAJunkie)
UFC 175 is shaping up to be the most stacked card of the year. The current lineup is after the jump…
(I know you all expect me to make a ‘The Hills Have Eyes‘ reference in this caption, but I’m not going to. Instead, I’ll just say that Stefan also had a hilarious cameo in ‘Weird Science.’ / Photo by Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports via MMAJunkie)
