Well, the fight card with no identity finally got a face late last night when the UFC announced the main event for UFC 78: Validation.
Michael Bisping will face off against Rashad Evans at UFC 78 which is scheduled for November 17 in Newark, New Jersey. It was widely assumed that UFC 78 would feature the rematch between Tito Ortiz and Rashad Evans who fought to a draw at UFC 73 in July.
In the past week, rumors started to circulate that the Evans-Ortiz II matchup wasn’t set in stone and that Ortiz might fight Wanderlei Silva instead. With Chuck Liddell’s loss to Keith Jardine at UFC 76, the guaranteed opponent for Silva in December went out the door. While it remains to be seen if Ortiz will fight Silva at UFC 79, we know he won’t be facing Evans any time soon.
Also fighting at UFC 78 will be Karo Parisyan, Spencer Fisher, Frankie Edgar, Houston Alexander, Ryo Chonan, Akihiro Gono, and Joe Lauzon.
Oh yeah, David Terrell is also supposed to make his return to the UFC at 78 but my guess is that he will probably get a nose bleed or some blisters on his hands between now and then and have to withdraw due to injury.
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Caesar Gracie
John
Yael Grauer
Dale
Tyler Johnson
felo
Mike
Tony
Shawn
Ben Cartlidge
Honestly, even it was a Tito/Rashad main event I would still not buy it. I think a majority of these guys (except for Alexander) should still be relegated to a “fight night” event. And, even though Zuffa is a privately owned company, that doesn’t mean that they won’t be affected by a poor PPV sell and poor ratings. I think the first Tito/Rashad fight is an indicator of how every fight between them will be, a boring dancing & grappling chess game…I’m sick of these stupid rubber matches that don’t accomplish anything. There has to be a better, more exciting match-up for the fans to watch. The bottom line is that Bisping is coming off a very controversial fight in which a majority of people think he lost anyway and Evans was mostly un-impressive in his last fight against Tito.
Usually, the UFC names a PPV event according to what the fighters are fighting for. I’m still not sure how the term “validation”, can be used for an event headlined by 2 fighters who will validate nothing by facing each other.
[quote post="925"]-Karo Parisyan vs. Ryo Chonan
-Spencer Fisher vs. Frankie Edgar
-Houston Alexander vs. Thiago Silva[/quote]
I wil still order the PPV as usual. These fights do look pretty good but the main still is lacking. You never know though it could turn into a war or highlight reel KO. Karo is one of my favorite fighters also and the lightweights are always entertaining. I think Edgar will take Spencer in that fight.
KARO IS STILL A **** IN MY OPINION
Like i said earlier, Karo vs Chonan should be the main event on this card. This is gon be an awesome fight man! i dont think i have to go over their records man, you guys should know what time it is hehe. Its GO TIME BABY!! HAHAA! Karo has a win over Serra whos the WW champ right now, Chonan has a win over Silva, whos the MW champ right now, plus they have both been in there with the best fighters in the world man!
I would have to go with Karo mostly because of his experience in the cage, while Chonan is making his UFC debut, but its GREAT to see both of them!
Evans vs Bisping.. i mena, ill give them their respect, their 2 tough up and comers, but lets show some respect to the vets man. I dont see any reason why Bisping and Evans would be the main event.. i dont have a clue! well, lets not say that, i do, the UFC OWNS these guys, they MADE them and they want to market them.
Sure let them have the main event, whatever… were still gonna see some very interesting matchups.
I know alot of you guys are Houston Alexander fans, to be honest, im still not convinced. Hes a tough dude, hes got great power and hes a good athlete, the question is, is he all there technically on the ground?
Im a big Chutebox fan, and i like Thiago Silva, hes a scrappy kid and hes well rounded plus hes still undefeated. I would also say hes yet to be tested, but so is Melendez and Huerta, but they seem to get alot of love and everyone is counting out Thiago just because Houston KOed Jardine and Sakkara.
Doc i noticed you didnt even mention Thiago in your post, my boy cant get no love!! lol.
I hereby announce that i will be picking Thiago to win by submission in the 2nd round. Yes i will be betting on him too, at +275? its definately a lucrative bet.. will i bet the farm on Thiago? i havent decided yet. Dont get me wrong, im not very confident in this fight, but once again i think the odds at the playground are WAAAAAY off. Like they were with Tim vs Vera. Ill definately bet atleast half my chips on Thiago though..
Amir, its not that bad of a card man, its just the main event thats lack luster.
Bisping vs Evans: Seriously.. i havent seen anyone who has been able to hurt Rashad, hes about as tough as they come and he gave up alot of weight in some of his fights beating MUCH bigger guys. Even though it might be argued that.. they SUCK.. its still hard to beat a guy whos that much bigger than you, i dont care how good you are.. I like Bisping, but hes gonna have another tough night against a strong wrestler who also has fairly good boxing skills (hand speed, footwork and head movement) with proven KO power. The only way i can see Bisping winning is if he puts the pressure on Rashad early and connects cleanly for the stun then pounce on him with quick GnP.
Fisher vs Edgar should be a good fight, striking and grappling it should have it all. Im going with Fisher on this one mostly based on experience, im thinking either a 2nd round KO or a decision, im gonna say decision for Fisher.
Lauzon should win this fight pretty easily, 1st round KO, heh im not trying to disrespect reinhardt, but its Lauzons style to come out and put on alot of pressure early. I think that will be his fight plan, he wants to continue to be an exciting fighter and i think he will be able to execute that plan.
Terrell vs Herman should be a good fight if you ask me, assuming you like Grappling matches ofcourse. Im a fan of Herman, more than im a fan of Terrell, but i dont think Herman will be able to finish Terrell if he shows up at 100%. I say Herman by split decision.
First off, theres no way Bisping is winning so let’s get that right out of the way…Rashad is going to finally test that chin-o-glass, I think Bisping has. In every fight I’ve seen of his, he gets rocked 3 or 4 times and his knees buckle, all it takes is someone with REAL striking power and technique to finish him off, NOT Elvis.
The reason I won’t be buying this PPV is that I’m getting sick of shelling out so much dough just because Dana White wants to shove his “reality stars” down our throats. And for me, the only way to fight back in my opinion, is to simply not buy the card…I just wish a few million other people would do the same and maybe the UFC would put some more effort into giving us our money’s worth, if we have to pay for it. How dumb do they have to be to follow up such a whirlwind of mainstream success with the backdrop of everything thats happened in the last few weeks, a pretty bad season of TUF, and probably the worst PPV card OF ALL TIME?
@Amir
The Bisping could win is if he pulls a Kos, stick and move, basically RUN when Rashad attacks. If he can keep that up and keep Rashad off him, he could win a decision, we know how the judges love him lol. But thats gonna be a hell of a task to accomplish because Kos was a better wrestler than Diego, but Rashad is better than Bisping in that respect. Or ofcourse that one perfect punch that almost anyone could land..
What about the other fights on the card man? you cant say its the worst card ever!
How bout the UFC 72 fight card Amir? lol
Rich Franklin vs. Yushin Okami
Forrest Griffin vs. Hector Ramirez
Tyson Griffin vs. Clay Guida
Jason MacDonald vs. Rory Singer
Ed Herman vs. Scott Smith
Eddie Sanchez vs. Colin Robinson
Dustin Hazelett vs. Stevie Lynch
Marcus Davis vs. Jason Tan
so Doc…. are you gonna reveal your picks? or comment on mine or something?
I can’t disagree that UFC 72 was not yet another steaming piece of PPV ****. I didn’t order that one either and I’m not sure if maybe
Dr. J can look it up, but I’m wondering if that was one of the worst selling cards they ever had. Maybe, if more fans stopped “settling” for these mediocre match-ups…their voices would be heard. The consensus I’m getting all around from many UFC fans on the internet is that they are really fed up with Dana White and a lot of the other things that have been going on. We always heard the argument by the UFC, of how boxing promoters always stood in the way of making great fights between great fighters and that was their downfall. Well, in the UFC there are no promoters, so why are we still not seeing the best fighting the best?
And yes, there are good fights on the card but I’m sure many will agree with me that they do not belong on a PPV.
@BV,
I always make my picks Just hold on, you know how I roll man. The week of the fight my preview comes out.
Don’t go jumping the gun
ya Amir, i agree with you, but you know how the UFC hates bloggers and all that. I just dont see them caring what we think, they hold all the cards and were just fans, even if we boycott a ppv, i dont think it will change anything. Which sucks, but thats the reality of it..
hehe Doc, ya i know its always the thursday before.. but thats a long way off man.. and nobody else is talking but me you and Amir..
[quote comment="10583"]ya Amir, i agree with you, but you know how the UFC hates bloggers and all that. I just dont see them caring what we think, they hold all the cards and were just fans, even if we boycott a ppv, i dont think it will change anything. Which sucks, but thats the reality of it..[/quote]
I have to disagree there. The casual UFC fan is not sitting home once a month every month ordering PPV events. It’s us, the above-average, loyal fans who watch everything that has to do with the UFC and go to all these websites. I still think we are the majority and if we stop ordering a PPV like this, obviously it will count for something…and btw I’m not some liberal, anti-war protester either who does this “down-with-the man” type thing all the time. But, I am interested in seeing what would happen. I’m curious to see if UFC 78 sells out.
Ok, quick picks
Evans
Karo
Fisher
Silva
Herman
Alves
Gono
Aurelio
Lauzon
FEDOR WANTS RANDY!!!!!!
http://video.nbcsports.com/player/?id=170823
You guys are not looking at the big picture. If the ufc is making a smaller ppv, that means a very good one comes out after, including this one. Matt hughes, CHUCK, wanderlei… need i say more? Like i dont get what y0u guys had in mind as a main event. The middleweights just fought, the heavyweight division is kinda ****** up right now and 2 big names just fought, the lightweight title is at an uncertainty, Ortiz wont fight…. I dont think that the ufc could have made a main event much bigger than the one we got.
lol Doc, we have the exact same picks! heh
Amir, honestly, i hope your right man, but im still pessimistic about the effect us the fans can have on the organization. If you find something on the net that some kind of huge petition to the UFC and you need another signature, im with you bro. Got nothing to lose anyways, not like theyre gonna home in on my TV and disconnect my UFC access lol.
what about alexander the guys a beast
i know you like Houston Richard, personally, im a chutebox fan, so i like Silva in that fight. Though it will be a good chance for Houston to show us some more magic.
if houston wins this fight then it will for sure open more doors ,i kinda want to see what houston has on the ground
I still think Houston got a bit lucky vs Jardine. Maybe not lucky but i think Jardine messed up and Houston was able to capitalize on it. Very sloppy by Jardine, great job by Houston for seizing that opportunity. Then after Jardine beat Chuck, that makes Houston look even better for beating Jardine hehe.
Im skeptical, but who knows! thats what everyone thought abot Chuck when he started KOing guys, lucky shots etc.. we might be looking at the next great striker at the 205 division, or maybe not, time will tell.
i think there are guys that straight up hit hard,and so far when alexander has hit somebody u almost immediatly know by the expression on the other guys face that it hurt
[quote comment="10591"]You guys are not looking at the big picture. If the ufc is making a smaller ppv, that means a very good one comes out after, including this one. Matt hughes, CHUCK, wanderlei… need i say more? Like i dont get what y0u guys had in mind as a main event. The middleweights just fought, the heavyweight division is kinda ****** up right now and 2 big names just fought, the lightweight title is at an uncertainty, Ortiz wont fight…. I dont think that the ufc could have made a main event much bigger than the one we got.[/quote]
I don’t want to see “dream matches” that should have happened 2 years ago, I want to see ones that should happen TODAY!!! we can all agree that the MMA landscape is changing so quickly and guys who are on top just a few weeks ago, get beat. So, I feel it’s up to the management to arrange fights based on the guys who are unbeatable now, not guys who are already on the verge of retirement.
i dunno Amir, the upcoming guys have a long carreer ahead of them and the retireing guys obviously dont. It be nice if their last few matches are dream matches, especially matches that have always been disputed like chuck vs wandy. Lets settle the arguments once and for all.
This fight will be based entirely on the mental state of Chuck Liddell. That is the one and only factor to consider here. I do not see Wandi taking Chuck down or even being able to work his clinch game, I can see Chuck picking Wandi apart on the feet and having a standing war until someone goes down. However, again, it’s a matter of whether Chuck trains and shows up to fight as if it was the most important fight of his life, or to collect one last big paycheck, for his ride into the sunset.
I donno, after that damn quinton fight…and maybe some time before that chuck hasnt been the same. Idk what the problem is with him, he just doesnt seem right. Just like hackelman said his timing was off and he just couldnt finish. He should have finished jardine and everyone knows it. I dont know, hopefully chuck will show up and maybe he might take a slight different approach to this fight that may benifit him. Wandy will use those leg kicks like jardine did so we could be in store for another decision……BUT in light of what i just said i still hope its a good fight and ultimately chuck wins.
@Amir
I see chuck showing up to prove something and getting his arse handed to him via knockout in the process.. he isn’t the dangerous striker he used to be.. he hits hard, but if you will look at this fight with unbiasedness and look at all the punishment Wand took in his fight with cro cop …. chuck doesn’t have that kind of power, so Wand can take his punches like Vernon White or Jardine and keep coming with an aggressive offense which in the end will end Chucks attempt…
Okay… that was BIASED.. SORRY .. I think Wand will win… Chuck will be desperate and come out of his shell.. I think.. and get caught again.. that is unbiased 100% eval .. I totally respect Liddells punching power… but Yeah.. Wand can take it for sure.. and the only part I take back is the comment “he isn’t the dangerous striker he used to be”… that was ignorant.
KANSAS
wandy might be past his prime to buddy