UFC 75 Preview
The headlines surrounding UFC 75 have rightly focused on the "Champion vs. Champion" main event between the PRIDE 185-pound and 205-pound titleholder Dan Henderson and newly-crowned UFC light heavyweight champ Quinton Jackson. The PRIDE light heavyweight belt will be retired after this bout in London and the winner will be crowned as the new unified UFC light heavyweight champ. With almost all of the top light heavyweight fighters in the world now under UFC's roof, the new champion may very well be able to call himself the true world champion. (For more on the fight between Henderson and Jackson, check out MMA Madness' Rami Genauer's thoughts here.)
While the main event fight has been garnering all the attention, there are three other fights I will be interested in as well: Mirko Cro Cop vs. Cheick Kongo, Matt Hamill vs. Michael Bisping, and Houston Alexander vs. Alessio Sakara.
Here are the questions I'll be looking to answer as I watch UFC 75:
1) What happens to the loser of Henderson vs. Jackson? One will be a short-lived champion in the eyes of UFC fans, many of whom don't know of either's exploits in PRIDE.
2) How will Mirko Cro Cop fare in his return bout after being devastated by Gabriel Gonzaga in his last match? Cheick Kongo is a chiseled, athletic stand-up fighter who could give Cro Cop trouble with his size.
3) Will the Cro Cop-Kongo fight be on the ground for longer than two minutes the entire bout?
4) Who will walk away the winner in the TUF 3 grudge match between Michael Bisping and Matt Hamill?
5) Has Hamill's stand-up game improved enough to deal with Bisping while they are on their feet?
6) Does Bisping have the ability to compete with Hamill on the ground?
7) Will we see the same explosive Houston Alexander that we saw in his impressive debut against Keith Jardine?
8) Does anyone else wish Alexander was Chuck Liddell's opponent at UFC 76 rather than Jardine?
9) How will the English fans react to Marcus Davis being allowed to keep his previous nickname -- "The Irish Hand Grenade"?
10) Will I be able to contain myself and wait until Spike TV's airing of the show to find out what happened?
UFC 75 will be shown tonight on Spike TV at 9 p.m. EST (tape-delayed).
Comments
Hamill's standup can't match up to Bisping, however if he can get Bisping to the ground, who knows what will happen - so siked about this fight.
Posted by: UFCGirls.com | September 8, 2007 8:35 PM
Were the judges watching the same fight I was between Hamill and Bisping? Matt Hamill won that fight hands down, besides a few spirts by Bisping, Hamill had control of the whole fight. More and More I'm starting to think that UFC is becoming political from a business aspect. Who knows, maybe not, but Matt Hamill won that fight. cheers
Posted by: Brion | September 9, 2007 1:58 AM
i had hamil winning as well, oh well guess it home field advantage...
i
Posted by: paul | September 9, 2007 11:32 AM
Everyone I watched with was surprised with the Hamill/Bisping result. One judge had it 30-27 for Hamill and the other two were 29-28. Big difference of opinion.
Posted by: Mike | September 9, 2007 12:26 PM
Excellent show with some good KOs! The Bisping fight was full of action as well as the Rampage fight!
http://www.FROMTHECAGE.com
Posted by: Mike | September 11, 2007 12:21 PM