July 11th, 2009 is a major date in the mixed martial arts world, as the Ultimate Fighting Championship 100 will unfold.
I started watching the UFC from the first event on November 12, 1993 and became an instant fan. It was raw and brutal violence back then, and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and submission fighting, dominated the earlier events. I can still remember the female commentator at UFC 1 turning pale and going silent, as a tooth from the mouth of a kicked fighter flew past her. 16 years have passed and the UFC has come a very long way. Although some will still deem it brutal and barbaric, rules and measures have been put into place, making it safer for the fighters. The fact that fighters take the sport more seriously now, learning all of the ways to fight and becoming multi-dimensional fighters, proves to make the fights more tactical and a little less brutal.
With that 16 year and 99 event history, UFC 100 looks to be a great card, with a great heavyweight grudge match between Brock Lesnar & Frank Mir. Mir won the first fight, and I feel he will also win the second. Lesnar is a monster of a man, but I feel he lacks the skills to beat Frank Mir. However, there is always a punchers chance and with the lunch boxes Brock Lesnar calls fists, one punch can mean lights out for Mir. Georges St. Pierre will take on Thiago Alves in a welter-weight match-up that is going to be hard to call. My heart is with GSP and his skills and ability to become better in every fight. “The Pitbull”, Alves is no scrub and probably one of the most powerful and aggressive fighter this weight class has seen. And a fight that has been gaining a lot of steam, thanks to the Ultimate Fighter show, is Dan Henderson vs. Michael Bisping. Yes, Henderson is getting old, but he is tried and tested like a training partner of his, Randy Couture, and we all know how well he did. Bisping is in for a surprise if he thinks he is going to walk over Dan Henderson, as the only area he beats Dan Henderson is in the running of the mouth. I’m hoping for a knock-out in that one.
Enjoy the card and congratulations to the Dana White and UFC for hitting the 100 event milestone and check out Bodog to place your UFC wagers! I’m hoping to clean up! 🙂