Dana White is a great promoter because after listening to him talk for just a brief while, he can make even a so-so bout sound like the next Fight of the Century.
The UFC president says a fight is "big, it's [expletive] huge," so often, he ought to consider trademarking the phrase.
But on May 26 at UFC 146 at the MGM Grand, it won't be hyperbole when White calls the card "big" and "[expletive] huge."
For the first time in UFC history, the main card will consist of five heavyweight bouts, putting about a ton-and-a-quarter of heavyweights into the cage in a three-hour span. UFC 28 featured four heavyweight bouts, but White was able to top it for UFC 146 when he finalized a bout between Stefan Struve and Mark Hunt that is expected to open the pay-per-view broadcast.
Also on the main card on the show will be Shane del Rosario against Gabriel Gonzaga, Antonio "Big Foot" Silva against Roy "Big Country" Nelson, former heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez against "Fracturing" Frank Mir and, in the main event, a title bout between champion Junior dos Santos against No. 1 challenger Alistair Overeem.
Heavyweights have long been the most popular division in combat sports and the heavyweight champion is often regarded as the so-called "baddest man on the planet."
These 10 heavyweights average 6 feet 3 inches and 253 pounds. Most interesting, though, is that they have combined for a 162-51 record, and have 144 finishes among those 162 victories, according to records from Sherdog. They've combined for 83 knockouts and 61 submissions.
Of their 51 losses, they've been finished 35 times. That means that of their combined 213 fights, the bouts have been finished 179 times, or in 84 percent of the fights.
The group includes the reigning UFC heavyweight champion (dos Santos), two former UFC champions (Mir and Velasquez), a Strikeforce champ (Overeem) and a former International Fight League champion (Nelson).
Tickets go on sale for the show at the MGM Grand box office on March 30.
No comments:
Post a Comment