UFC 93 just got that much more stacked? No, not the UFC 93 you think I'm talking about.
This event would take place in Dublin on January 17th, and not Super Bowl weekend. The S.B. Weekend would be renamed to UFC 94 if this event can go through.
Yahoo Sports announced details today about the upcoming event that would pit Rich Franklin against one of three opponents. Mauricio Shogun Rua, Chuck Liddell, or (most likely) Dan Henderson.
Now we all know that Henderson was strongly rumored to be a coach of the US team alongside Michael Bisping leading the UK team on the upcoming season of The Ultimate Fighter: US vs. UK. Filming is set to begin in January, but if there is a fight in January then he is the unlikely choice for the show.
The weight class for the fight is unknown at the moment. I am going to guess and say Light Heavyweight because Henderson said he doesn't want to fight at 185 anymore and Franklin is coming off of a win at 205 lbs against Matt Hammil.
The card could also feature the Welterweight clash between Matt Serra and Matt Hughes. The fight was originally scheduled for December of 2007, but Serra had to pull out with a back injury. Hughes has been sidelined recently with a knee injury suffered at the hands of Thiago Alves earlier this year.
At any rate, this card is off to a good start and so is the year 2009 for Mixed Martial Arts.
In the last few days, news leaked out of a potential January 17th UFC show in Dublin.
Rumors have already started flying about fights for the show, and while fighters have been approached about participating on the card, the show is not confirmed. It is yet to be confirmed because the whole purpose of the show is to counter program Affliction in January. At the same time, Affliction is still yet to finalize a date because they do not want to be counter-programmed by the UFC.
It will be interesting to see how this plays out. They could leak a fake date and then reschedule for later, but then the UFC could do the same thing. The longer they wait, the less time there is to promote the show. Frankly, I think the competition lead to a lot more press coverage for the show in July, and I'm still not convinced one way or the other whether it hurt or helped Affliction in the end.
Affliction should just pick a date and start promoting it. Waiting longer does them no favors. I think it is a mistake for the UFC to counter them at this point, the story of UFC vs. Golden Boy will get a lot of press, and probably bring more attention to the Affliction show than it would otherwise get.
I'm glad the UFC has smartened up to trying to show pay-per-views at 11 am on a Saturday when they go over seas.
Tape delay free on Spike TV >>>>> Real time $45-$55.
As long as you have cable or sattelite TV that is. Couldn't imagine the terrible experience of watching a Spike TV free MMA event that's tape delayed at a sports bar. I guarantee some asshole would shout out the spoilers.
Do we know for sure this would be on Spike TV? What if the UFC made PPV providers choose between the two shows, ala what the WWF did when it counter-programmed the NWA in the 80s?
Even if you don't like boxing, you can still thank Affliction for some great free fights from the UFC. Because Affliction's the one that is ultimately responsible for it anyway.
But if you really want to thank them for getting the UFC to put on another free event, then actually buy their PPV - in addition to DVR-ing the UFC as well (which'll still count towards their ratings anyway).
Supporting Affliction actually supports the cause of more free UFC's.
whistleblower - Even if you don't like boxing, you can still thank Affliction for some great free fights from the UFC. Because Affliction's the one that is ultimately responsible for it anyway.
But if you really want to thank them for getting the UFC to put on another free event, then actually buy their PPV - in addition to DVR-ing the UFC as well (which'll still count towards their ratings anyway).
Supporting Affliction actually supports the cause of more free UFC's.
I will be DVR-ing the UFC, but it won't count toward their ratings unless you have a Nielsen box.
xcouturefan - Affliction is funny. There is no way I'm buying a ppv that has boxing/mma.
I'd rather pay and watch Coleman-Shogun, Hendo-Franklin and some other mma than Affliction and their 1 or 2 mma fights mixed with middle of the road boxing matches.
I can't wait for Fedor/Barnett and the Cory Spinks/Verno Phillips rematch!
Don't expect head-to-head PPV even with UFC announcement today
By Dave Meltzer
Today's announcement of UFC 93 being added to the schedule on 1/17 from the O2 Arena in Dublin, Ireland, left a potential head-to-head showing on PPV, as well as more likely live competition between MMA and pro wrestling in the Dublin market.
The show, will be headlined by Rich Franklin vs. Dan Henderson. UFC sources have confirmed the fight will be at light heavyweight, with Henderson moving up a division and Franklin staying put. This means it is not a match where the winner would be in line for a match with Anderson Silva, who has beaten both men, who were considered by many as No. 2 and No. 3 as middleweights before Franklin moved up.
Also announced is the return of Maurcio "Shogun" Rua against Mark Coleman, who turns 44 before the match will take place. Coleman did defeat Rua in 2006 when Rua dislocated his elbow early in the match.
UFC also officially announced this as a PPV show and not a Spike special.
Affliction/Golden Boy had not announced a 1/17 date at the Honda Center in Anaheim for a combined MMA and boxing PPV show that would feature Fedor Emelianenko, but several key sources have confirmed that was the date they were looking for.
Promoter Tom Atencio indicated Affliction/Golden Boy would be looking at running a different date.
"It doesn't make sense to go head-to-head with them," he said. "People are going to be forced to make a choice. Either way, we both lose."
In what is purely a coincidence, the UFC show at this point is scheduled to go head-to-head in the Dublin market with a TNA house show that same day. It is possible TNA could move its show to the afternoon.
