
(Props: MMA Mania)
The UFC has released the official fight order for UFC 96 (March 7th; Columbus, OH). Here’s what we’re looking at:
MAIN CARD
Quinton Jackson vs. Keith Jardine (LHW)
Matt Hamill vs. Mark Munoz (LHW)
Pete Sell vs. Matt Brown (WW)
Gabriel Gonzaga vs. Shane Carwin (HW)
Gray Maynard vs. Jim Miller (LW)
UNDERCARD
Tamdan McCrory vs. Ryan Madigan (WW)
Kendall Grove vs. Jason Day (MW)
Tim Boetsch vs. Jason Brilz (LHW)
Brandon Vera vs. Mike Patt (LHW)
Aaron Riley vs. Shane Nelson (LW)
Your eyes do not deceive you: Brandon Vera is deeeeep on the dark card, fighting a dude who got wrecked by Tim Boetsch in his UFC debut last September. If this isn’t a your-last-chance kind of situation, I don’t know what is. But while I understand that match’s placement — losing three of your last four fights will generally earn you some sort of punishment from the UFC — I don’t see how Sell vs. Brown is a PPV-main-card-caliber fight, especially when a promising bout like Grove vs. Day is on the undercard. Ah well. Weak lineups have surprised us before, and as long as the main event and Gonzaga vs. Carwin deliver, how bad can it be?
Discussion topic for your MMA study groups: Who will remain conscious longer, Jardine or Gonzaga?


Man, what a bunch of couch-potato whining about this card! Calling guys who train hard and fight hard “garbage” or worse. Boetsch-Brilz is going to be a good fight; Hamill-Munoz too. Cards like this are necessary to bring new people up– quit crying!