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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Amber
eric
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Yael Grauer
itzFORT
Singh is King
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Studog
evans vs bisbing… pesh … lol who gives a ****… gimmie a break whats the point joe silva … the ufc has been puttin some ****** fights together…
Evans vs Bisping kinda is an interesting matchup but not enough to headline a PPV card in my opinion. With all the talent in the UFC now there has to be a better main event.
YO ARE YOU KIDDING ME THESE TWO FOR A MAIN EVENT…. PESSSSSHHHHH.. HELL NO
Without a doubt this is the worst PPV card ever. It would be decent as an Ultimate Fight NIght card, but this blows as a PPV.
WHATS UP WITH MATT SERRAS BOY MAN… THAT GUY IS A STRIAGHT UP PUSS….
I’m just glad Joey left the show so we don’t have to go through another week of hearing him wine. The drama factor of this just sucks I’m glad he’s out and the people that want to be there can consentrate on other things.
Well…here’s another one of the few PPV’s I will NOT be ordering!!!
This has to be a joke, and how come is it that some guys can fight almost every 3 months (Bisping, Alexander) and others have to sit out forever (Arlovski) ?
COME ON ARLOVSKI QUIT BEIN A BIOCH AND SIGN THE CONTRACT FOR LESS CASH AND FIGHT
Weakest card ever and Arlovski is too busy being the special guest security guy at Jerry Springer. (seriously that’s where he is)
LOL ARLOVSKI IS REALLY … IS HE THE PERMINATE GUARD..
Great two guys who did not really win their last two fights are the main attractions in a pay per view. At best this card should of been on “Ultimate Fight Night”. I would of rather seen Rashad vs. Tito II and Bisping vs. Hamil II. Come on Dana you really missed the mark, this just might be the first Pay Per View UFC that I will not order.
All I can say is they better come up with some great matchups for the undercard or this could be the worst PPV this year.
im for sure going to my local sports bar to watch this one ,but i thought hamil was going to get his rematch ,the only fight i want to see is alexander the guy is an animal.
@DOC
Hey Doc what info do you have on the HDNet Fights. I heard that Erik Pualson is fighting? For all you Old School UFC guys, do you remember Paulson? Anyways I have rolled with him before and was subject to being submitted at will. I then watched him roll with Vernon Tiger White. He was submitting Tiger with ease. I know he is 40 years old, but he is a submission stud, I can’t wait to watch him fight………what do you think Doc.
Ozzy,
Not really sure what to make of the HDNet stuff. Cuban definitely has the money to make it work, but who knows what his intentions are. The fight card isn’t that interesting.
I’ve seen Paulson fight back in the day and it will be interesting to see what he has left in the gas tank.
My wife is a “Dancing with the stars” fan so I have to be subjected to it sometimes. I thought it was funny that Mark Cuban is on this seasons competition. The guy has a ton of money so why do it? Maybe he wants a little publistity or something.
This card sucks, some of the fighters are good, but the match ups are really wanting…
The UFC is a monopoly for the most part… a lot of people warned of the days when you would see headline fights like these because you cannot compare the lineup to a competing organization, hopefully this is a speed bump and we will be back in business full throttle in short order..
yup, i mentioned this when Gatties was talking about how bad UFC 77 was looking. Ofcourse the main event wasnt announced at that time, but it wasnt looking good, now this confirms it. Terrible fight card, but what can you do? all we can do is btch about it hehe..
Ill be looking for Rich Franklin to Upset Anderson Silva, in case nobody heard me the hundreds of times ive said it so far.. Bring your A game Rich! your A++ game
[quote comment="10001"]
Ill be looking for Rich Franklin to Upset Anderson Silva, in case nobody heard me the hundreds of times ive said it so far.. Bring your A game Rich! your A++ game[/quote]
i really like Rich hes a great fighter but Anderson has to be one of my top 3 fighters right now and i cant bet against him. i just hope this time i get to see the Rich Franklin fight that i thought i was going to see last time, i never thought Franklin was going to beat Anderson but i did think he was going to do a lot better then he did. i think this time Rich will put on a good show for 2 or 3 rounds but im sure he will fall to the Spider in the end.
Now I was just reading that the UFC is having Guida vs Huerta as the main event of the next Ultimate fight night in December. This fight is way better than Rashad vs Bisping. This fight is going to be a war. Roger will get the true test all us fans have been waiting for. These guys bring it every time they fight so this matchup should be great. I think the winner may get the next shot at the vacant lightweight belt. I’m a fan of both these guys so it’s hard to pick a winner but I think Roger may be able to pull this one out. Guida is a beast also and the guy can go to war so it’s a toss up in my mind. Now this is a fight I’m looking forward to the UFC has so many good option like this which makes the Evans vs Bisping fight look even more stupid.
it would make alot more sense to have Tito/Rashad instead of this fight as the main event. Dont get me wrong, i’m more then happy that Rashad will beat the hell out of the arrogant Brit, i just hope its a brutal KO like against Salmon
Im picking Franklin and Sylvia to win..
Everyone sees Vera as some kind of bad azzz fighter, hes has all the skills, but who has he really beat? Lets face it, Mir is over the hill. Assuerio Silva? i mean, hes technical, but he short and fat and will never be a coontender.
Vera has never fought someone Tims size, im sure hes sparring with huge guys, but hes losing the reach advantage he usually enjoys, and its much harder to work the clinch on someone bigger than you. Also i think Tims one of the toughest SOBs in the UFC, its gonna take a hell of a lot to stop him, so i predict this fight will go the distance and i think Tim gets the nod here.
@BV
I agree with Tim winning.. you said it pretty good.. Vera looks good in his past fights, but who is he fighting and when in their careers is he getting them in the octagon, one straight right from Tim could change all of that, also, I don’t care how good at BJJ a person is, if the guy you are sparring/fighting on the ground is much BIGGER and skilled/versed in BJJ well enough to basically defend, you aren’t going to submit them most likely, ie. MONSON.. lol so yeah, Tim the UGLIAC gets the win.. go Tim..
I think the Spyder is going to take a win over Rich again.. that’s where I disagree BV… I think that Rick is under pressure to perform, he has really been abased in his past 3 fights, losing one to Silva and the other two basically count as snoozers the latter almost ending in him getting submitted, so basically we haven’t seen improvement in Rich, and rather than getting pumped and focused, he has looked edgy, frustrated, and distracted with “regaining the title” rather than being an animal and winning each fight, one at a time… even with the UFC attempting to HELP Rich by giving him home field advantage, (clearly an unfair and undeserved advantage for him) I thinks that he is gonna taste defeat again, not as quickly, perhaps not even by a knockout or submission, but defeat, yeah I think he is gonna get beaten again…
@Kansas
about Franklin vs Silva, i totally agree with you lol. As you notice i never made any logical arguments about Rich winning, its just like a gut feeling. I also agree that its unfair to Anderson to have them fight in richs hometown and hes being cast at the villain. Its really easy to tell which guys the UFC likes and caters to, and which are sort of ignored in a way, especially non-english speaking fighters. I understand that theyre not as marketable as guys like Matt Hughes and Rich Franklin who are both american as apple pie, but i mean, the guys the champ, he should get more respect than that.
Its weird because as Anderson being considered the “bad guy” it will definately motivate him to work harder than ever, and when people are cheering your name theres a level of anxiety there too.. All the logic says Silva, but since Rich lost that fight, i somehow convinced myself that Rich can beat him in the rematch. I think its gonna be a different Rich Franklin, not physically, but mentally. It takes brass balls to get back in the ring with a guy who not only beat you decisively, but rearranged your face without breaking a sweat. Now to get back in there with that guy, you gotta be like a man going to war, not an athlete..
I mean, try convincing someone that Matt Serra would beat GSP, that was 100% mental preparation, he was like the terminator man. Thats the only way i can describe it.. lets see if Rich is that guy.
i just plain think rich isnt on the level of silva at all anderson hits harder and is better in submissions how can silva lose this match?
Stranger things have happened richard hehe, Franklin just has to stay out of the clinch. Hes got KO power and great movement, all it takes is one clean shot man.
I tell you guys… nothing is impossible, after Serra beat GSP, Couture whooped Tim Syliva, and well,,, year of upsets rolls right along.. man it could happen, at this point, I can only say that Rich beating Silva would indeed be an upset after the way Rich lost in their last bout… who knows, look what happened to Shogun, he lost by submission to Forrest Griffin, yeah, now that was unpredictable..
But I maintain my position that Silva will be the victor at the end of the day..
yup we been talking about it all year, i definately agree that Rich is the underdog.
Talking about Serra.. who you guys think will be the champ? Serra or Hughes? Im personally sticking with Hughes.. pretty much in any fight except maybe Sakurai hehe. But look at Serra man, considering how much he respects GSP and how much he hates Hughes, imagine what this guy could be capable in that fight. Man thats gonna be a scrap! alot of striking alot of GnP for 5 rounds! daaaaam.. i cant wait for that fight after TUF 6 im guessing.
i like serra ,but hughes is a beast
@BV / Richard / R.J. / MAD / Amir / Patrick / Gatties / Doc J –
You guys all betting on Rich?….. gonna back that up with Fantasy MMA picks ..???? :)
I wonder if Matt has the desire and fortitude to go after it again?? Just wondering… I mean he dominated for so long, and hasn’t looked sharp in what seems like a long time. I am going with Hughes by the way, but Serra will definitely put out a great fight…. it could go either way with the drop of a left hook or right hand, but seriously I think Hughes is going to fight his traditional take down/slam with a GNP.. no monkey business this time…
well i have yet to make a singe wager on that site man hehe i just been making picks, right now im 2nd in the camp on points.
But ya, im picking Franklin and Sylvia on the playground, thats been set in for months now hehe
I’m going with Silva and Vera. The Spyder’s been on a roll and I think he’s in Franklins head. It will be a great fight this time because Rich has had to watch his face get rearranged a hundred times since the fight and will hopefully not let it happen again. I still think Anderson has the skills to keep the belt. The only one I see right now taking the belt from him is Hendo. I picked Vera because I still can’t stand Big Tim. I think he will be exposed again but you never know.
Hughes vs Serra is a toss up to me at this point. Somehow Serra has won a new fan with me lately. I didn’t give him a shot in hell like most people when he got his title shot but he dominated the fight. GSP did look a little sloppy and mentaly not focused but you can’t take anything away fron Serra’s win he was the better fighter that night. I think this fight might go to decision also. Hughes hasn’t looked that great lately against Chris Lytle and I believe Serra is tougher. Hughes has become kinda like Serra says cocky and disrespectful. I’m going to go with Serra but I thimk Hughes will probably win if it goes to a decision.
kansas
im picking silva and ,im having a tuff time either going with sylvia or vera i dont know who to pick i dont like sylvia but he was the heavyweight champ
Brandon Vera is no doubt an extremely entertaining and all around skilled fighter… still going with pigeon toe though…
That rhymed! Pigeon Toe Though! Bored!~
Well it looks like wandy chuck IS happening in december….too bad for wandy, looks like his debut might be a tuffy….LETS GO CHUCK
http://www.fighthype.com/pages/content1076.html
and in all actuality, i think that this fight might not be a slugfest like we think. Like the rampage/chuck fight, i think chuck respected rampage a little TOO much and was to cautious and got caught with a good one. That is the simple reason why he tried to land a body shot form so far of a distance. So i think this fight might be the fight that actually might not end early like everyone expects. If chuck dont get it together then i dont think he will knock wandy out. But i think chuck will win ..decision
[quote comment="10056"]Well it looks like wandy chuck IS happening in december….too bad for wandy, looks like his debut might be a tuffy….LETS GO CHUCK
http://www.fighthype.com/pages/content1076.html/quote
Thanks Todd,
interesting interview. I hope this fight does happen in December there’s no reason at this point it shouldn’t. If Chucks ribs are OK and he feels good enough to fight than it should happen. Fight fans have been waiting a loooong time for this one so it would be a good Christmas present for the fans.
yea i hope it happens too. Then chuck needs to retire. I just dont see him holding the title again. I think that it is possible but unlikley…….
I agree. There’s to many young guns in the UFC now with talent. He’s been kinda exposed the last couple fights. I’m still a Chuck fan and appreciate what he’s done for MMA and the UFC but not everyone can be ageless like Randy. Hope he has a few good fights left in him. I’d hate to see him retire on a bunch of losses. If he can go in there and beat Silva decisively people will tend to forgive his last couple of fights. (ie.. Randy getting KO’d by Chuck two times then coming back and winning the title now he’s back to superstar status) I think Chuck deserves the same opprotunity to once again prove himself. This fight really needs to happen before one of them truely does need to retire.
[quote comment="10040"]@BV / Richard / R.J. / MAD / Amir / Patrick / Gatties / Doc J -
You guys all betting on Rich?….. gonna back that up with Fantasy MMA picks ..???? :)[/quote]
I never thought Franklin had a chance the first time and I still don’t. Silva completely outclasses Franklin in every skill catagory, especially accurate striking and speed. Even though Franklin might have more power per punch, catching Silva with it is nearly impossible.
As far as the Vera fight, it seems as if everyone is simply focused on Vera’s past opponents as opposed to his intelligence as a fighter. In my opinion, he is one of the smartest out there and knows how to exploit his opponent. I know he will come up with a gameplan. I can see him using his vicious Muay Thai kicks to chop the Mainiac down to size. Let’s not forget that Sylvia can be mentally overwhelmed and dropped with a single punch by other guys guys who are not as powerful as Vera, (Couture).
I agree Amir.. Silva will indeed win…
@MAD and TODD
I personally cannot see Chuck pulling this off at this stage of the game.. he is coming off consecutive losses, with little training time between, (compared to Wands 9 almost 10 months off just training) .. and he didn’t lose to guys like Cro Cop who outweighed him by a weight class in a grand prix, or against a guy who already held the 185 championship and is renown for being one of the most consistent guys in Team Quest.. he got whooped by Jardine.. who? Oh yeah that would be Keith Jardine… and Rampage Jackson… whooopeee.. a great champ no doubt but in less than 30 seconds… I don’t think he will win against Silva..
[quote comment="10040"]@BV / Richard / R.J. / MAD / Amir / Patrick / Gatties / Doc J -
You guys all betting on Rich?….. gonna back that up with Fantasy MMA picks ..???? :)[/quote]
Anderson Silva is probably my favorite fighter at the moment and it doesnt matter to me who he fights i will pick him to win. the only other fighter i will follow blindly is St.Pierre.
Hey Doc,
What are your thoughts on this poor excuse for a fight card @ UFC 78?
Is there anything that we can do to voice our dislike for putting together such a stinking **** of a PPV? I personally will not order the card but I know that there are suckers, excuse me…I mean others, who will cave in last minute and get it anyway. Would emailing Joe Silva have any effect at all? or maybe we can write out some intellectual letter and have everyone sign it like a petition and then send it as a website team to the UFC and boycott ordering the event. Please share some ideas, because from what I’ve been reading all over the internet…there are a lot of people really pissed off at everything that has been happening lately, maybe there’s a way for us to be heard.
@Amir,
I hear your frustration, but really there is not much that can be done. Zuffa is a privately help company and they don’t have any fiduciary responsibility to anyone but themselves. They will make plenty of money.
Really, I think most of the “outrage” is over the main event and not the fight card as a whole. People, including myself, don’t think an Evans vs Bisping matchup is enough of a main event considering all the talent and fighters the UFC currently has under contract. Excluding the main event fight, look at the rest of the fight card. It actually is a pretty solid card.
-Rashad Evans vs. Michael Bisping
-Karo Parisyan vs. Ryo Chonan
-Spencer Fisher vs. Frankie Edgar
-Houston Alexander vs. Thiago Silva
-David Terrell vs. Ed Herman
-Thiago Alves vs. Chris Lytle
-Akihiro Gono vs. Tamdan McCrory
-Marcus Aurelio vs. Luke Caudillo
-Joe Lauzon vs. Jason Reinhardt
If the main event were Tito Ortiz vs Rashad Evans as was originally planned, would you still feel the same way? I know for me personally, I’ll be buying this card without any hesitation. The main even is far from great, but the fight card itself has some very solid matchups. Karo vs Chonan should be great, Fisher vs Edgar should be an all-out war, Houston vs Thiago will be a good fight.