(Image courtesy of the UFC)
Earlier today, the UFC distributed its first poster image for UFC 102 (August 29th; Portland, Oregon), making the top two fights official — Randy Couture vs. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira in the main event, and Keith Jardine vs. Thiago Silva as a lead-in. Interesting…is this the first UFC event that’s being headlined by four guys who are coming off losses? Would it have been that hard to slot Demian Maia and Nate Marquardt (who are also on the card) in the co-main spot? After all, that fight will produce a legitimate middleweight title contender, even if Michael Bisping or Dan Henderson could sneak to the front of the line depending on their performance next month. Meanwhile, Jardine and Silva aren’t getting close to the 205-pound belt anytime soon.
Tickets to UFC 102 go on sale to Fight Club members on Thursday, newsletter members on Friday, and will probably be sold out by the time they’re released to the general public on Saturday. In addition to Couture/Nogueira, Jardine/Silva, and Maia/Marquardt, the following bouts have also been confirmed for UFC 102, according to UFC.com:
Chris Leben vs. Jake Rosholt (MW, main card)
Matt Hamill vs. Brandon Vera (LHW, main card)
Wilson Gouveia vs. James Irvin (MW, preliminary card)
Junior Dos Santos vs. Justin McCully (HW, preliminary card)
Nick Catone vs. Mark Munoz (LHW, preliminary card)
Matt Veach vs. Evan Dunham (LW, preliminary card)
Nog Cotoure has lost it's luster, I'd have been pumped for this a year ago. Jardine and Silva, I just don't really care about either of them.
Marquardt/Maia is the only one that I'm pretty interested to see. Randy/Nog I will probably enjoy even though it's a little late. The rest of the card... booooooooorrrrrrriiiinnngg.
Imo this card has two fights worth watching, and none worth paying for.