Could UFC 103‘s altruistic experiment of airing some of the undercard bouts on basic cable before the main card be a recurring tradition? According to a press release distributed by Spike TV this afternoon, the UFC will be doing another live prelim show on Spike directly before the UFC 104 pay-per-view on October 24th. Guaranteed for the one-hour commercial-free broadcast will be…

Ryan Bader (9-0, 2-0 UFC) vs. Eric Schafer (11-3-2, 3-2-0 UFC): TUF 8 winner Ryan Bader, who most recently won a unanimous decision over Carmelo Marrero at Condit vs. Kampmann, will try to take another step up the light-heavyweight ladder against tough ground specialist Eric Schafer, who’s coming off back-to-back first-round stoppages of Houston Alexander and Antonio Mendes. Seems like a perfect next step in Bader’s development, as well as an opportunity for Schafer to prove that he’s a legitimate contender.

Antoni Hardonk (8-5, 4-3 UFC) vs. Pat Barry (4-1, 1-1 UFC): It might be win-or-go-home time for these two leg-kick specialists, who will both be trying to bounce back from losses. Hardonk most recently suffered a second-round TKO against Cheick Kongo at UFC 97, while Barry was quickly choked out by Tim Hague at UFC 98. It’s too bad that Barry didn’t take the Hague loss as a sign that he should drop to light-heavy, because Hardonk’s reach advantage is going to be frightening.

Other preliminary bouts could air during the broadcast, if time allows. UFC 104′s compelete lineup is after the jump.


Main Card:
– Lyoto Machida vs. Mauricio "Shogun" Rua (for light-heavyweight title)
– Cain Velasquez vs. Ben Rothwell (HW)
– Gleison Tibau vs. Josh Neer (LW)
– Joe Stevenson vs. Spencer Fisher (LW)
– Anthony Johnson vs. Yoshiyuki Yoshida (WW)

Preliminary Card:
– Antoni Hardonk vs. Pat Barry (HW)
– Yushin Okami vs. Chael Sonnen (MW)
– Jorge Rivera vs. Rob Kimmons (MW)
– Ryan Bader vs. Eric Schafer (LHW)
– Kyle Kingsberry vs. Razak Al-Hassan (LHW)
– Stefan Struve vs. Chase Gormley (HW)