UFC 73 Stacked – Countdown
Showing on Saturday July 7, UFC 73 – Stacked, features the first time since Tito Ortiz is fighting a rising competitor in a long time. Ortiz may be facing a passing of the torch himself if he loses to Ultimate Fighter TV Show winner – Rashad Evans who is undefeated at 10-0. Evans has just looked better and better with each fight. This will be Evans’ first real test. There is a lot at stake for both fighters in this bout, but moreso for Ortiz who risks a blow to his ego if he loses. Ortiz was very vocal complaining that he wasn’t getting the proper billing for this UFC event despite being featured on several billboards and advertise to the point where the exposure undermined the main event.
Anderson Silva makes his second title defense, this time against Nate Marquardt. Surely Rich Franklin is hoping Silva wins so he can have a rematch for the title. I would expect Franklin to win if a rematch took place.
Also on the card is Hermes Franca challenging for the Lightweight title owned by Sean “The Muscleshark” Sherk. If Franca fights at his best, he should win the title. The last time Sherk fought, he looked gassed in the third round. It has been a long time since Sherk fought in a UFC event as well and this will be his first title defense since winning the belt in a fight against Kenny Florian who is back himself to take on Alvin Robinson. In another lightweight even Frank Edgar is going to battle Mark Bocek which should be interesting since both fighter are undefeated. Edgar is a very exciting fighter to watch.
Stephan Bonnar and Jorge Gurgel also make appearances on the card. This should definitely be a great show.