UFC Confirms Ten Fights, Bout Order For 108

by Scott Haber on Nov 18, 2009 10:47 AM EST Comment 40 comments

The UFC today officially confirmed nine more fights in addition to the already-announced headliner of Rashad Evans vs. Thiago Silva for UFC 108, scheduled for January 2nd at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. The six-fight preliminary card appears set, and one more bout will likely be added to the main card (or moved up from the prelim card):

UFC 108 Official Card:

Main Card:

Rashad Evans vs. Thiago Silva

Tyson Griffin vs. Jim Miller

Carlos Condit vs. Paul Daley

Gabriel Gonzaga vs. Junior Dos Santos

Preliminary Card:

Joe Lauzon vs. Sam Stout

Cole Miller vs. Dan Lauzon

Martin Kampmann vs. Rory Markham

Sean Sherk vs. Rafaello Oliveira

Mike Pyle vs. Jake Ellenberger

Mark Munoz vs. Ryan Jensen

Any time Joe Lauzon, Martin Kampmann, and Sean Sherk are on the same card and they're all relegated to the prelims, you know you have a pretty stacked event.

The FanPosts are solely the subjective opinions of Bloody Elbow readers and do not necessarily reflect the views of Bloody Elbow editors or staff.

3 recs | Comment 40 comments | Share

Story-email Email Printer Print

Comments

Great card but man did this New Year's Special take a dive with all of the injuries

Fire Bruce DeHaven.

by SSreporters on Nov 18, 2009 10:56 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

For a card that had 2 main events cancelled, i think the line-up still looks damn good. Every fight on the main card is almost guaranteed to be exciting, with a good mix of sluggers and grapplers. The undercard def. has a chance to have a few exciting fights, with Kampmann, Lauzon, and Stout

by Fedorable on Nov 18, 2009 10:56 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

i added a video of Paul Daley training for Carlos Condit. Awesome fight.

by Nick Thomas on Nov 18, 2009 11:06 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

..WOOT..

"Hey, sewer rat may taste like pumpkin pie, but I'd never know 'cause I wouldn't eat the filthy motherf**ker" - Jules Winnfield

by WeaponElDeem on Nov 18, 2009 11:56 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

This may not get a lot of love as far as PPV buys but as far as quality matchups go I’m really liking this card a lot!

by SlickRick00 on Nov 18, 2009 12:12 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

Quality, but not sexy.

Keep firing Assholes!

The only thing Fishbob does consistently is dissapoint.

by Ubernoober on Nov 18, 2009 12:31 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

I wonder if eventually they will just do away with the end of the year special and go for a huge summer show instead, mimicking UFC 100 and their outdoor festivities they had recently.

I’d imagine a lot of fighters want to be at home with their families around this time of year and I thought UFC 100 / the other activities surrounding it was a pretty good precedent for an annual event.

by DirtyML on Nov 18, 2009 12:35 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

UFC 108

This strikes me as one of those cards that will be filled with great fights that only a handful of people will actually care about.

Relatively speaking, of course. The over/under is still about 500k buys.

...Behold, a pale horse. The man that sat upon it was Wieters, and hell followed with him.

"BJ on the BE" - Kierkegaard

by Brett Jones on Nov 18, 2009 1:22 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

If this is the final list of fights I don’t see how it does more than 400,000. There is no title on the line. There are no real draws, outside of possibly Rashad Evans and he’s fighting Thiago Silva, a “what? Who?” moment for most casual fans. The only reason it’ll beat UFC 96 is because of the post 100 bump in popularity and that no one wants to deal with their families during the holidays.

Me, I’ll be happy and watch it because I want to see Dos Santos continue his reign of terror, and Tyson Griffin vs. Jim Miller and Carlos Condit vs. Paul Daley are too really good match-ups.

by nottheface on Nov 18, 2009 2:05 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

The lowest buy rate for a show featuring Rashad as at least part of the main event(s) is 400k, which was for UFC 78. That was a surprisingly good buy rate at that time, helped by Michael Bisping to be sure. Still, the UFC is far more popular now than it was then and Rashad is coming off of the highest rated TUF season ever (right?). He is also a former champion.

I feel like it’s a lock to do over 400k.

...Behold, a pale horse. The man that sat upon it was Wieters, and hell followed with him.

"BJ on the BE" - Kierkegaard

by Brett Jones on Nov 18, 2009 2:46 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Like you said, 78 had Bisping.
88 had Chuck Lidell
92 had… everyone
98 was a title match and had Matt vs Matt
I think Rashad’s popularity is on par with Frank Mir’s (OK above Frank’s) and Rampage’s. And Rampage headlining a non-title match by himself against Keith Jardine (a much more marketable fighter than Thiago) did 350,000 buys. The only reason this card does a minimum 400,000 buys is because the new bottom for the UFC is about 400,000 buys.

The good news for the UFC is that payroll should be low because I don’t think one of these fighters gets a cut of the ppv.

by nottheface on Nov 18, 2009 3:04 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

I guess Thiago Silva got more fans after his last countdown.

by grein on Nov 19, 2009 6:45 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Don't get me wrong

This card looks pretty sweet to me, but this has no casual fan appeal. Think about the last New Years card……. 3 main events , 2 titles on the line, and a grudge match from the days of pride. Now the UFC is going to rely on Rashad as a draw, not saying I’m not buying this one, but I going to have trouble convincing my buddies to want to chip in on a PPV where they only know one person.

by despisedIcon856 on Nov 18, 2009 1:50 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

hopefully they put some of the prelims on spike

really wanna see lauzon/miller for some reason.

by woooburn on Nov 18, 2009 2:26 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

There really can’t be a downside for doing this for every PPV. Free prelims is phenominal.

I rarely tweet
I less-rarely write

by woomikee on Nov 19, 2009 1:30 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Good fights but no big names.

by Albertrayon on Nov 18, 2009 2:27 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

you got that right

by wingsandbeer37 on Nov 18, 2009 7:03 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

STAFU of hearing this...

Seriously, I’m STAFU of hearing ‘man, this is such a weak card, there’s no star power on it…" or the likes; I’ve been to fourteen UFC events and a good many of the ‘star power’ matches simply sucked. The undercard is where most of the barn-burning action is and, besides that, you can never tell how or when a fight is going to end in a spectacular fashion.

Big name UFC “stars” do not have the monopoly on exciting fights.

by VikingPhotography on Nov 20, 2009 9:11 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

So… Does the Joe Silva not like Rafaello Oliveira? He gets beat by Nik Lentz, a former University of Minnesota wrestler, and now they put him up against Sherk, who used to be the UFC’s best lightweight wrestler. And after his last showing against Frankie Edgar, I’m hoping he smartens up and actually uses his damn wrestling again…

by itsallgood013 on Nov 18, 2009 5:04 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

i hear ya

T rex rams make for bad boxing weapons

by Riley_96 on Nov 19, 2009 9:38 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Guillotine.

by iiowyn on Nov 19, 2009 11:21 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

hopefully he starts a bad track record against Minnesota boys. WAR SHERK!

I'm looking for the chicken and the rice. Please for you give me the chicken then you come with the rice or then you give me the rice and the chicken, I don't care.

by Thulsa Doom on Nov 20, 2009 3:12 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Average card

Immensely lacking in star power.

by nastyem on Nov 18, 2009 5:39 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

Maybe no celeb fighters, but know most of those fights will be barn burners. I guess this card will seperate the fans from the douchebags.

The path to my fixed purpose is laid with iron rails, whereon my soul is grooved to run. Towards thee I roll, thou all-destroying but unconquering BROCKLESNAR; to the last I grapple with thee.

by judonerd on Nov 18, 2009 6:33 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Don’t be surprised to see either Jardine or Franklin on this card which is missing one more top fighter and good match up to really make it a great show.

by Raker on Nov 18, 2009 6:59 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

I would watch Jardine vs Franklin

Hello, Japan!

by Mr.Kib on Nov 19, 2009 9:35 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

needs a $$$$$ main event

evans v. silva would be a good fight but sales would be average and other than that ths card is stacked.

by wingsandbeer37 on Nov 18, 2009 7:06 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

Definitely needs a fight

I propose something crazy like Velasquez v. Lashley. I’d pay to see that.

by Trysdor on Nov 18, 2009 8:05 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

Any time Joe Lauzon, Martin Kampmann, and Sean Sherk are on the same card and they’re all relegated to the prelims, you know you have a pretty stacked event.

There’s nothing at all unusual about Kampmann or Lauzon being on the prelims. Neither guy is very close to the top of their division.

Ranking MMA

by JRN on Nov 18, 2009 8:49 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

Dude

Kampmann is still regarded as top 10/ top 15, and was borderline Top 10 after the Condit win.

And Sherk is honestly maybe 1 good win away from the top 10. They’re both very good fighters.

Supporting all Las Vegas MMA. Xtreme Couture FTMFW.

'09 is the year of the FW's.

by ElliotMatheny on Nov 18, 2009 11:19 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Kampmann is still regarded as top 10/ top 15, and was borderline Top 10 after the Condit win.

Not by me. In any case, being a high-ranked fighter doesn’t have much to do with whether you make it on the main card or not, and Kampmann is coming off a bad loss. He is precisely the kind of fighter than can be put on the prelims without much of anyone noticing or caring right now.

And Sherk is honestly maybe 1 good win away from the top 10. They’re both very good fighters.

I didn’t say anything about Sherk.

Ranking MMA

by JRN on Nov 19, 2009 11:33 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Also, more or less any fighter is “honestly maybe” one good win away from the top 10.

Ranking MMA

by JRN on Nov 19, 2009 11:45 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Err...

Kampmann was possibly one fight away from a title shot in his last fight, and Lauzon is 5-1 in the UFC, with his only loss coming against the most recent title challenger in the main event of a UFN card…I’d definitely say it’s unusual to see them on the prelims.

by Scott Haber on Nov 19, 2009 12:48 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

You’re right.

...Behold, a pale horse. The man that sat upon it was Wieters, and hell followed with him.

"BJ on the BE" - Kierkegaard

by Brett Jones on Nov 19, 2009 8:06 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

You’re wrong.

Kampmann may have been kinda-sorta one win away from a title shot, but he has zero high-profile wins, and he’s coming off a bad loss. Yushin Okami was one win away from a title shot, lost to the UFC’s #2 middleweight, beat a returning former champion, and still got slotted on the prelims. There is nothing surprising about this.

Joe Lauzon has only fought on two PPVs. He was on the main card the first time against Pulver, and even though he won that fight, he was on the prelims the next time against Jason Reindhart. Since then he’s only appeared on Fight Nights and TUF finales, and lost the only high-profile bout amongst those. None of that screams “guaranteed main card fighter” to me.

Ranking MMA

by JRN on Nov 19, 2009 11:38 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

That undercard is serious business

I wish they were putting some of those on Spike again. Have I become spoiled by those prelims on Spike already?

by rzor on Nov 19, 2009 10:39 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

Is it still possible for Rampage to change his mind about retiring and put back on the card? If not this season of TUF is giving me blue balls.

for all intents and purposes, just consider all my posts as works of satire.

by Bandaka on Nov 19, 2009 12:12 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

Quite possible that Quinton has burned his bridges

Okay, even Tito managed to comeback after wearing his “Dana is my Bitch” t-shirt and all the hoo-hah that surrounded his exit from the UFC in May…. but then Tito is also a shrewd businessman.

I like Quinton, I really do. He’s fun to hang with and has mostly good people around him… I’d love to catch up with him and ask him straight up if he’s serious about the exit and all – despite that, it looks like Dana is done playing and is very pissed at effectively having TUF and one of his marquee shows stuffed by Quinton’s actions.

I hope for Quinton’s sake that the A-Team movie doesn’t bomb, otherwise he isn’t even going to have a boat under his ass when it comes time to get back around the table with Dana, Lorenzo and Joe.

by VikingPhotography on Nov 20, 2009 9:16 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

sherk needs to pull out a win. the edgar fight was just not pretty. he didn’t look like the regular muscle shark. too man short hooks while edgar wasn’t in range.

anyone know when his contract is up?

I'm looking for the chicken and the rice. Please for you give me the chicken then you come with the rice or then you give me the rice and the chicken, I don't care.

by Thulsa Doom on Nov 20, 2009 3:14 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

I agree…

And if I recall correctly, Dana and the Fertitta’s like Sherk a lot, so I’m pretty sure even if his contract is up soon, they’ll sign him to a new one.

BTW. This whole card is completely falling apart.

by itsallgood013 on Nov 25, 2009 7:33 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs