UFC 92: A Complete PPV Card
Posted by Dave Walsh on December 26th, 2008
UFC 92 is a card that offers intrigue to as broad of an audience as the UFC can ever target, with fights that appeal to the newer viewer as well as the established MMA viewer. The Light heavyweight Championship Main Event between Rashad Evans and current defending Champion Forrest Griffin will be the first time that two “home grown” Zuffa stars have fought over a major title on PPV. One of the other main attractions pits Interim Heavyweight Champion Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira against former (pre-TUF-era) Heavyweight Champion Frank Mir after a stint as coaches on the most recent season of TUF, as Nog being the most successful submission fighter from Japan in the weight class, and Mir from America. Then Light heavyweight stand-outs Wanderlei Silva faces off with Quinton “Rampage” Jackson in what should be a war.
Each fight has their appeals, with Frank Mir vs. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira for the Interim Heavyweight Championship having weeks of build from this season of the Ultimate Fighter for fans who aren’t familiar with either man all too much. While the animosity between the two wasn’t as heated as some of the past seasons, it was enough build up between them to want fans to see submission artist vs. submission artist. Nogueira having submission victories in UFC over Heath Herring and former Heavyweight Champion Tim Sylvia to capture the Interim Heavyweight title, and Frank Mir having a submission victory over current Heavyweight Champion Brock Lesnar, both men have proved their mettle at the ground game enough to interest fans in who is the better jiu-jitsu fighter. For older fans, we have two Heavyweight Champions of the same era from different companies facing off. What is interesting is that upon his return from injury, Mir did very little to prove his worth to fans and was, by all means, being fed to Lesnar before he held on for dear life to submit Lesnar, propelling him into insta-stardom in Zuffa’s UFC. Most fans who know both well see this fight as Nogueira’s to lose and Mir getting another chance at the limelight which most likely isn’t deserved.
Quinton “Rampage” Jackson has his chance in a new company at revenge against a man who has handed him two of his toughest losses; Wanderlei “The Axe Murderer” Silva. Back in PRIDE, Silva was by all means a killing machine, living up to his billing, destroying Kazushi Sakuraba, PRIDE’s biggest star and cementing his spot on top of PRIDE’s Middleweight Division. When Rampage began his climb in PRIDE, the biggest roadblock for him was The Axe Muderer. What resulted was two absolutely beautiful and vicious beatings at the hands of Silva on Rampage. Rampage put up a good fight both times, but the conclusion of each was Rampage unsure of where he was or what had happened, with both fights being the highlight of their respective cards. It is years later and things have changed, as Silva has had a rough time proving that he is still the dominant fighter at 205 that he was in PRIDE, and Jackson going on to knock out the champion who looked invincible; Chuck Liddell. It was a classic case of the tables being turned, with Silva’s career stalling and Rampage becoming a household name in the United States. After a tough, controversial loss to Forrest Griffin and an unfortunate incident on the road, Rampage looks to prove that he is still on top and avenge two tough losses. This is a fight that hardcore fans, those who followed PRIDE for years have wanted to see happen again, to see if Silva still has Rampage’s number, or if Rampage has evolved and left Silva behind.“Sugar” Rashad Evans has been a rising star since debuting on the second season of The Ultimate Fighter, going from what most would consider a boring wrestler with marginal boxing skills to a skilled all-around Mixed Martial Artist with some of the UFC’s sickest knockouts under his belt, including a devastating right hand that knocked UFC’s “Superman” Chuck Liddell out cold, wondering what year it was. Forrest Griffin on the other hand was the first winner of The Ultimate Fighter. A guy that was never the focus on the show until near the very end, he was known as the guy that changed his hair color when he got bored and the guy that refused to submit in a fight and had his arm broken, that was how crazy he was. When he went on to take the finals, putting on one of the most watched fights up until that point with Stephan Bonnar, a star was born for UFC, their first homegrown star at that.
For newer fans, this is a fight that they have seen build from the very start; the first two seasons of The Ultimate Fighter produced these two stars, with them proving that they weren’t just reality TV stars, but the real deal when it comes to MMA. Fans have had the chance to watch both fighters mature and grow into these complete fighters that they are today, with Forrest’s wild brawling style being refined into tight kickboxing with a great guard and Rashad going from a lay n’ pray wrestler to a kickboxer with explosive power, speed and the ability to do more on the ground. Fans have had the chance to see these fighters go from TV stars to elite fighters in just a period of a few years. For the hardcore fans, the fight is also appealing, as both men have quickly risen and proven themselves to be the best in the world, regardless of where Zuffa found them, and there is no way to predict who will win.
What this makes is a very complete PPV card that is interesting to a wide array of fans, with these three fights being blockbusters no matter what your level of engagement is; if you are a brand new fan, if you started watching within the past few years, or you have heaps of Pancrase tapes in a basement somewhere.