Jul 15, 2009 - The Ultimate Fighting Championship formally announced today that UFC 103 will take place on September 19 in Dallas, and four fights have been set: Mike Swick vs. Martin Kampmann, Efrain Escudero vs. Cole Miller, Josh Koscheck vs. Frank Trigg and Tyson Griffin vs. Hermes Franca.
Notice anything missing?
What's missing, of course, is a main event: I like all four of those fights, but none of them really has the sizzle of a main event, especially not on pay-per-view, which UFC.com says this card will be on. Even if the rumored Mirko Cro Cop Filipovic vs. Junior dos Santos fight goes on, I'm not sure that's a main event either. The other rumored fights for the card (Sean Sherk vs. Gleison Tibau, Rafael dos Anjos vs. Matt Wiman and Drew McFedries vs. Tomasz Drwal) are all interesting, but not the kinds of fights that draw pay-per-view buyers.
So I'm puzzled. Is Swick vs. Kampmann the main event, with the added bonus of UFC President Dana White saying the winner will get the next shot at George St Pierre's welterweight title? Or is Cro Cop vs. Cigano the main event, with the draw of a legendary heavyweight taking on a young up-and-comer?
Or will another big-name fighter be added to the card? And if so, who could it be, when most of the big names either fought recently or have other fights scheduled? Will Rich Franklin, always a good company guy, jump in on fairly short notice? Will the UFC shock everyone and bring back Tito Ortiz?
I don't know. If all eight of the fights I mentioned above go on at UFC 103, that's actually a pretty decent card for the fans in Dallas to see. I just don't see a main event that can carry a pay-per-view.
0 comments
