UFC 72 – Victory! Countdown
UFC 72 is another demonstration of how the sport is really catching on worldwide. The venue is in Belfast Ireland. Surely, there will be other venues scattering all over the world in the future. Also with UFC acquiring the fighters from Pride, it sets up a barrage of events for the future. The challenging part will be how to keep these fighters in action enough and appease the fans that know the talent that the UFC has contracted and demands it to use it properly. Anyway, onto the upcoming card:
Jason “The Athlete” MacDonald vs Rory Singer. Jason lost to Rich Franklin who seems to be back on track (more on Rich below) but has put on some really stellar performances but was clearly overmatched by Franklin. Rory singer, who was a contestant on The Ultimate Fighter, has had a few impressive fights since the tv show. I would predict that MacDonald would win this one, but Singer won’t be a pushover.
Forrest Griffin vs Hector Ramirez. Forrest is coming off a devastating knockout loss to Keith Jardine. Forrest, as always is a consummate hard worker and described as someone who works too hard at times by Randy Couture. Forrest, who is a very popular fan favorite, needs to win this fight to get back on track. Ramirez will come fully prepared and this should be a fairly even fight. This will come down to a lucky punch or who is in better shape. Griffin has indicated that he won’t quit.
Tyson Griffin vs Clay Guida is a lightweight contest that will likely end up stealing the show. Many fans feel that the lightweights are the most entertaining fighters to watch. Watch the last UFC PPV’s and you’ll see why. Tyson Griffin is one of the most entertaining fighters to watch. His conditioning is excellent and he is well rounded. Don’t miss this one!
The main event is Rich Franklin vs Yushin Okami. There is a lot of anticipation for this one. For Rich Franklin, this fight means everything. He must win this. If Franklin loses, it will inevitably look like his decline in the sport after an amazing run of title defenses. Yushin is not going to be an easy victory though. He has won 6 fights in a row against decent opponents. While I do believe Franklin can win this fight and even make it look impressive, it will be interesting to see what Franklin thinks of the rumored super human strength of Okami. Mike Swick was heard in his corner saying how strong Okami was.
Although there is no title defense on this card, it will definitely set up the winner of the Franklin vs Okami fight to challenge for the title from the winner of Silva vs Nathan Marquart.