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As the UFC’s already jam-packed production schedule starts to pick up speed in anticipation of July’s UFC 100 extravaganza, it’s no wonder this weekend’s show in Cologne, Germany is feeling like a complete afterthought.
“UFC 99: Comeback” features a bevy of quasi-interesting match-ups – including six fights scheduled for the live broadcast – but offers fans next to nothing that smacks of a true pay-per-view main event. Headlined by a fight that would’ve been a PPV goldmine five years ago, a roster of low-wattage up-and-comers on the undercard and the oddly quiet return of Mirko “CroCop” Filipovic caught somewhere in the middle, it’s clear the UFC is just spinning its wheels here until it can get down to the business of next month’s anniversary gala.
Not only is Saturday’s featured bout between Rich Franklin and Wanderlei Silva perhaps the first in UFC history where both fighters simultaneously agreed that they were too old and tired to make the 185-pound middleweight limit, but it’s also a fight that pins all its hopes to an interesting clash of styles and means next to nothing in the grand scheme of things.
Well, next to nothing if you overlook the fact that the loser may well be in line for one of the forced retirements that seem to be Dana White’s favorite hobby lately. Chuck Liddell, anyone?
The main event could admittedly be fun to watch as the precision striking of Franklin runs headlong into the wild ferocity of Silva. But since neither guy feels particularly relevant at either light heavyweight or middleweight right now, perhaps it’s fitting that this fight is taking place at a catchweight of 195-pounds. It also makes the event’s tagline “Comeback” seem sadly inappropriate, since it’s unclear what either guy has to come back to, exactly, even with a win.
Hardcore fans will no doubt feel a tingle of nostalgia watching the two former champions finally meet face-to-face – and a win for Franklin’s pinpoint counter-punching is a good bet – but the fight can’t help but be tinged with a bit of melancholy. It’s hard to escape the fact the both these guys are simply staving off the inevitable.
Speaking of running a footrace with Father Time, I have to be totally honest in admitting I had no idea Mirko CroCop was even on this card until I looked at the roster yesterday. Tucked way down on the televised broadcast, the former Pride knockout artist turned UFC flop is scheduled for a return to the cage against Mustapha al-Turk that has all the trappings of an easy win for the once-feared Croatian kickboxer.
Both CroCop and White sounded remarkably uninterested in the details during a conference call on Tuesday, leaving the impression that the agreement to have CroCop appear at all was still only a verbal one. The specifics of the contract can apparently wait until after he dispenses with al-Turk.
"Mirko and I are working on (the details) still,” White said. “(He) ended up on this card last minute, weeks before the event, and this whole deal was done verbally over the phone with me and him ... I've never done that, ever, in nine years of being in this business."
CroCop, who came to the UFC in 2007 riding a tidal wave of hype before going 1-2 and ending his stint in the Octagon after less than a year, said he felt like his previous performances with the American promotion were “a black spot” on his career and said he “owed it to the UFC fans” to return and eventually capture the world title.
At just 34 years old, there’s no telling how much damage a focused and dedicated CroCop could do in the UFC’s still very shallow heavyweight division. It would certainly be one of the greatest comeback stories in the company’s history if he could string together a few wins and get even a sniff of the heavyweight belt. On the other hand, a loss against Al-Turk – who is 0-1 in the UFC cage – would obviously be disastrous.
The rest of the televised UFC 99 card shapes up thusly:
Cheick Kongo and Cain Velasquez will scrap to see who else might eventually be in line for a heavyweight title shot, after the UFC finally decides if Brock Lesnar or Frank Mir is the true champ and then has that guy fight Shane Carwin.
The welterweight fight between Mike Swick and Ben Saunders has a chance to be the best battle on the card. Swick has put together three wins in a row since a recent loss to Yushin Okami and represents a significant step-up in competition for the undefeated Saunders, who’s looked like a world-beater since his time on “The Ultimate Fighter.”
Marcus Davis and Dan Hardy have been working hard to get people to care about their grudge match, to little avail. An entertaining slugfest is almost a given in this bout, but few people on the American side of the Atlantic will likely take much notice.
Spencer Fisher and old-school UFC vet Caol Uno meet in a lightweight fight. For Uno, it’s his first fight back in the Octagon since 2003. For Fisher, it’s a chance to continue to distance himself from a loss to Frankie Edgar in November of 2007.
In all honesty, each individual fight here has a chance to be great and UFC cards without much pre-fight hype usually turn out to be overachievers. Still, it’s no secret that the UFC’s first foray into the German market is an experimental one and most American fans will no doubt pick-and-choose which bouts to watch the morning after on the Internet.
Save your money for UFC 100, kids.
Chad Dundas edits the blog www.mma-america.com and writes a weekly column for CraveOnline. He lives in Brooklyn, New York.
