Coleman Injured off UFC 87 Card...In comes GSP vs. Fitch

[sp447]

The Ultimate Fighting Championship’s initial trip to Minnesota on August 9th just got bigger with today’s signing of the UFC Welterweight Title bout between Champion Georges St-Pierre and number one contender Jon Fitch, which will headline the UFC 87 card at Target Center.

It will be St-Pierre’s first bout since he regained his crown from Matt Serra at UFC 83 on April 19th. In Fitch, he will be facing a former Division I wrestler who has won eight consecutive UFC bouts without a loss, the longest streak in modern-day UFC history.

“He’s a very, very tough guy,” said St-Pierre of Fitch. “I’m gonna have to train hard and be very well prepared because he may be my toughest fight yet.”

“The whole goal is to get the belt and be in the position where guys can’t duck me, run away, or say they don’t want to fight me,” said Fitch. “If I have the belt, there’s no excuse, and if you say you’re the best, then we’re gonna fight. This is gonna be a tough fight, but I’m gonna make sure I’m sharp that night, and wherever the fight needs to go, that’s fine with me.”

In other action on the UFC 87 card, heavyweight sensation Brock Lesnar returns home for a pivotal bout in his rise up the UFC ranks. Lesnar was originally scheduled to face UFC Hall of Famer Mark Coleman on August

9th, but a knee injury has forced ‘The Hammer’ to withdraw from the show. Lesnar’s opponent will be announced shortly.

Lightweight contenders Kenny Florian and Roger Huerta will also throw down in a highly anticipated bout that may determine a future challenger for the 155-pound crown.

Tickets for UFC 87: Seek and Destroy go on sale Sunday May 25th at 12 Noon CT and will be priced at $600, $400, $250, $125, $75 and $50. Tickets for UFC 87 will be available at Target Center's Box Office, all Ticketmaster outlets, online at ticketmaster.com or by calling 651.989.5151.







UFC® : Ultimate Fighting Championship®

[warriorway]

OMG sweet!

I must get the 50 dollar tix.

[Rodja]

I say either Heath or Cheick gets Lesnar. Werdum/Vera are fighting at 85, so they're taken already.

[sp447]

How about they bring in The Undertaker. I heard he's got a sick gogo-plata

[elscotto]

How about they bring in The Undertaker. I heard he's got a sick gogo-plata

hahahahahaahahahahahaha oh my god the dead man will choke slam his way to victory

[Alexander]

I say either Heath or Cheick gets Lesnar. Werdum/Vera are fighting at 85, so they're taken already.

Heath got the nod.

[AE14]

Herring/Lesnar could be interesting. The benefit to LEsnar is Herring has little to no takedown defense whatsoever so I am seeing Lesnar via early tko stoppage

[Rodja]

Heath got the nod.

My powers continue to serve me well. This might be a replay of Heath/Erikson from years ago in PRIDE. It would be hilarious to see Brock go 0-2 in the UFC.

[jas123]

Interesting fight since Heath is a veteran, but I see Lesnar taking it.

[Stackt]

Lesnar should be better ....I thought his first fight he could of won w/o that stupid rule hitting back of the head : (

[VolcomX311]

My powers continue to serve me well. This might be a replay of Heath/Erikson from years ago in PRIDE. It would be hilarious to see Brock go 0-2 in the UFC.

I would be seriously demoralized.

[Mulletsoldier]

I would be seriously demoralized.

You would be further demoralized if Kimbo lost this upcoming fight, only to face Brock in a rink-a-dink promotion after he loses to Herring.

[VolcomX311]

You would be further demoralized if Kimbo lost this upcoming fight, only to face Brock in a rink-a-dink promotion after he loses to Herring.

I have higher hopes for Lesnar then Kimbo. I think Lesnar has far greater potential. Plus, Kimbo has a far higher risk of a short lived carrier. All it takes is one loss and the flood gates will open about, "oohhhh I told you so, Kimbo sucks" people have been laying in wait, rabid foaming to drop the ax on him and if Elite XC is primarily concerned about whats Now & Hot, then the Kimbo phenomenon may dwindle quickly. Lesnar however, has legitimate talent in speed, agility, power, highly respectable wrestling history, but may lack in "real" fight smarts compared to Kimbo. I think if Lesnar progresses talent wise, he'll have much greater staying power. I don't think Lesnar's first loss did anything to de-poof the enthusiasm surrounding him. It certainly didn't help to increase his stock, but he received a lot of grace and invested hope didn't seem to dissolve. However, I think Kimbo may be alloted one, maybe two losses before he has to re-gather the homies to film a backyard brawl. He seems to be the guy you love to hate (and I understand the argument behind his disdain; promotes a bad image and draws bad fans), I'm not completely in agreement with that, but I've had this conversation.

I'm more concerned about the Kimbo/Mike Tyson fight anyway

[VolcomX311]

You guys are hilarious. I'm really not Kimbo's number one fan. He's probably not even top 5. I've always defended him out of principle, not fanaticism. Defense out of principle, you can appreciate that Mullet, Esq.

[Mulletsoldier]

You guys are hilarious. I'm really not Kimbo's number one fan. He's probably not even top 5. I've always defended him out of principle, not fanaticism. Defense out of principle, you can appreciate that Mullet, Esq.

Defense vis-a-vis principles is my middle name, bruv.

I was only joking about Lesnar. He is very legitimate, in my opinion; wrestlers with far lesser pedigree have faired exceptionally well in the UFC. I would be much more skeptical had Lesnar debuted and had his subsequent fights in PRIDE, however. UFC as an organization is a favorable domain for wrestlers.

[VolcomX311]

People I like more then Kimbo, in no particular hierarchy:

1. Fedor
2. Sakuraba
3. Gomi
4. BJ Penn
5. GSP
6. Rampage
7. Anderson Silva
8. Lesnar (with high hopes)
9. CroCop
9. Bret Heart from the old WWF Heart Foundation Tag Team
10. The Ultimate Warrior
11. Sting, before he became The Crow reincarnate.
12. Cung Le

and then Kimbo

[Mulletsoldier]

Completely OT, but is it blasphemy if I feel GSP is a more complete fighter than Anderson Silva? Before anybody attacks, I simply feel that GSP has faced the highest calibre opponents, in what was, at one time, the UFC's most competitive division.

[VolcomX311]

Completely OT, but is it blasphemy if I feel GSP is a more complete fighter than Anderson Silva? Before anybody attacks, I simply feel that GSP has faced the highest calibre opponents, in what was, at one time, the UFC's most competitive division.

I don't have enough insight to compare, contrast and pick those two fighters apart. I think GSP has more relative power, striking efficiency may go to Silva, take down dominance goes to GSP. There is a lot to consider. Judging by both of their last fights, perhaps using the GSP vs Hughes may be a better comparison then GSP vs Serra, I'm not sure people thought much of Serra, but GSP "dominated" his opponent, whereas, Silva defeated his opponent.

Maybe a cut & past polling template would serve well.

GSP or Silva:

Striking Accuracy:
Striking Power:

Kicking Power:
Kicking Accuracy

Take Down Ability:
Take Down Defense:

General Awareness:
Mental Strength & Confidence:
Composure:

G&P Efficiency:

Ground Control:
Ground Defense:

General Speed & Agility or Quickness:
General Power:
General Strength:

Flexibility:
Conditioning:

Fight Intelligence:

I'm sure the list can go on.... but I'll go first after this.

[VolcomX311]

GSP or Silva:

Striking Accuracy: Silva
Striking Power: GSP

Kicking Power: Silva
Kicking Accuracy Silva

Take Down Ability: GSP
Take Down Defense: GSP

General Awareness: GSP
Mental Strength & Confidence: Silva
Composure: Silva

G&P Efficiency: GSP

Ground Control: GSP
Ground Defense: Silva

General Speed & Agility or Quickness: GSP
General Power: GSP
General Strength: GSP

Flexibility: Silva
Conditioning: GSP

Fight Intelligence: GSP

Edit: Adding

General Ground Game: Silva
General Stand Up: GSP

Add to the list at will, I am definitely not the most insightful, fight savvy person here, perhaps one of the least.

I have 12 to 8, GSP. From my very limited and perhaps short sighted poll.

[Mulletsoldier]

Possibly, due to this background in Karate, GSP's striking may actually be overrated; that is, at least in terms of its efficiency and accuracy, and maybe to a degree in his power.

Make no mistake, I feel Anderson's defeat of Hendo really showed his versatility; and his defeat over Lutter most definitely showed his ability to overcome adversity (greater than GSP's, IMO). However, with that being said, both Lutter and Hendo pushed Anderson further than GSP has been pushed since losing to Serra. GSP has been other-worldly dominant in his fights since last April. As you said, I feel Anderson's victories have been, at least in my opinion, less clinical and complete than GSP's.

EDIT:

GSP's loss to Serra was a double-edged sword - that fight both pushed him towards this new level, and keeps people from being as zealous about him as they were previously.