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There's a lot of speculation about which fight might top this card. Anderson Silva vs. Yushin Okami? George St. Pierre vs. Jon Fitch? Dan Henderson vs. Rich Franklin?
Here's my bet: Minnesota's most famous MMA fighter is Sean "the Muscle Shark" Sherk. Of course, Sherk is already scheduled to fight for the title against B.J. Penn this Saturday. Win or lose, though, I find it hard to believe the UFC could hold its first event in Sherk's hometown without him being on top of the card.
Plus, the event already features a No. 1 contenders match between Roger Huerta and Kenny Florian. Injuries do happen, as we've been reminded of with the many changes to UFC 85, which many are calling a cursed card. Having Sherk in the mix for UFC 87 could give Dana White some flexibility if Huerta or Florian gets hurt in training.
But will Sherk be ready to fight again so soon after his fight with Penn? And will he be the defending--or former--champ? Saturday should answer a lot of questions.
Posted by Kevin Hoffman at May 21, 2008 8:08 AM
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If Sherk won who do you think he would headline against? The only top lightweights the UFC has are Stevenson (who got destroyed by Penn), Penn (who he fights Sat.) and Florian (who is fighting Huerta that night.) I am not sure how much of a draw he would be even in MN. (And he is one of my favorite fighters.) The smart fight would have been Huerta vs. Sherk. I am not sure Huerta is ready for a title fight though. Too bad they couldn't sign Gomi as that would have been a huge fight. Anyone he fights who is not Penn, Gomi or Huerta isn't worth headlining in my opinion.
Henderson vs. Franklin would be my pick of those you suggested. Although there aren't any title ramifications, it is still a superstar matchup. Franklin won't be getting to fight A. Silva a third time so he could be the gatekeeper for Henderson to get to him again. Irrespective, it is a superfight. Liddell's leg might be healed up by then too and the Liddell-Rua fight could headline. Anyway, glad to see that Citypages intelligently talks about MMA.
Posted by: Morrissey at May 22, 2008 4:37 PM
The already booked Huerta/Florian fight does throw a monkey wrench into finding a worthy opponent for Sherk if he headlines UFC 87. Who knows, depending on how Saturday's fight goes, maybe Joe Silva would book Penn vs. Sherk 2 (especially if this one ends on a cut, disqualification, or other shenanigans)? But I agree that Hendo vs. Franklin would be a great match to top the card.
Posted by: Kevin at May 22, 2008 4:54 PM
I believe you are wrong assuming the fight will include Sherk. Last weekend, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, the HW Champion of the UFC, stated at his gym that he would be fighting in August for the UFC. There arent any more UFC events in the month of August besides the one at the Target Center. He has been rumored to be fighting Frank Mir, the man who beat Brock Lesnar in his first UFC fight, as Mir and Nogueira are the coaches for the next reality show "The Ultimate Fighter". That would be a co-main event as it would be for the HW title.
Posted by: Aaron at May 22, 2008 5:55 PM
Just announced: it's GSP vs. Fitch. See my full post here:
http://blogs.citypages.com/sports/2008/05/title_fight_at.php#more
Posted by: Kevin at May 22, 2008 7:26 PM