Today I want to ask my fellow BE’ers to partake in a little exercise I’ve titled "Design your own UFC Super Event". You get to decide the situation, the location and all the hypotheticals leading up to the fight card. Think UFC 100 – but even grander. Think BIG.

Or, simply chuck your dream events matchups in the comments section and let the conversation flow.

The only rules I’ll apply to my ‘Super Event’ are:

- No more than 3 title fights

- 7 fight main card

- 7 fight undercard

But you are free to forgo these if you so desire.

The idea is to lay out an event that would be so grand; you would have wet dreams from the day it was announced.

An event in the place you want, with the fights you want. Imagine the UFC is offering to fly you there for free and put you ringside for having the rockmelon sized cajones to come up with such a magnificent spectacle.

So without further ado, here is my event.

Title/Location:

UFC New York – Madison Square Garden

Now, I’m an Australian – but the idea of a gigantic event at Madison Square garden, which I could attend – excites the hell out of me. Plus, the UFC aint sending any title fights my way any time soon, so I’m trying to be at least slightly realistic.. Emphasis on ‘slightly’.

Situation:

The UFC has finally gotten its licence in New York, as a celebration - Dana has decided to put on a spectacle so grand that Bob Arum will shit a trio of midgets playing a grand piano upon its announcement. The UFC has just brought over Gilbert Melendez due to some fancy legal swash-buckling (or ‘Pirate-Lawyering’ for those not in the loop), Fedor has left M1 and has agreed to a fight by fight contract with the UFC after regaining form and both Patricio Friere and Hector Lombard have been signed from Bellator in a major deal.

The Strikeforce Heavyweight division has been completely absorbed into the UFC after Daniel Cormier won a close decision over Josh Barnett to round out the HW GP – and Nick Diaz has also returned to the UFC a couple of months earlier and is firmly back on the radar at 170lbs.

The UFC champs at this time are:

125 – Joseph Benevitez

135 – Dominic Cruz

145 – Jose Aldo

155 – Ben Henderson

170 – George St Pierre

185 – Anderson Silva

205 – Jon Jones

265 – Junior Dos Santos

Fight Card:

Prelims:

145lb: Hatsu Hioki vs Jim Hettes

After fairly recently being humbled by Jose Aldo via round 2 tko and taking some time off, Hatsu Hioki is pitted against Jim Hettes who is on a 4 fight win streak after submitting Alex Caceres, Decisioning Nam Phan, then submitting both Steven Siler and Cub Swanson in impressive fashion. Should Hettes win here, he would likely be placed into a number one contender bout with the winner of the other 145 fight in these prelims.

125lb: Ian McCall vs John Dodson

After losing a close split decision to Joseph Benevitez in the UFC’s first 125lb title fight, Ian McCall went on to dismantle Louis Gaudinot with ease. John Dodsons debut at flyweight saw him knockout John Lineker in the 1st round, he then followed up with a dominant Decision over Darren Uyenoyama fast-tracking him up the rankings into a battle with "Uncle Creepy" for a possible contender fight with Demetrious Johnson.

170lb: Erik Silva vs Stephen Thompson

Erik Silva has recently defeated Mike Pierce via 3rd round TKO in Brazil, but had to take time off due to a hand injury. In the meantime Stephen Thompson wowed fans with his 3rd consecutive first round knockout, his victims (Dan Stittgen, Matt Brown and Papy Abedi) all going by way of vicious head-kick.

155lb: Edson Barboza vs Anthony Pettis (No. 1 Contender matchup)

Edson Barboza has rocketed into the top echelon at 155 after finishing Evan Dunham by TKO and then winning a decision against Donald Cerrone in his last fight. He is pitted against Anthony Pettis who has to win one more fight to earn a title shot due to the recent signing of Gilbert Melendez by the UFC. The winner of this is to be given a title shot in the very near future.

145lb: Erik Koch vs Diego Nunes

After demoralising Josh Grispi, Erik Koch is one fight away from a possible number 1 contender matchup against the winner of fast-rising Jim Hettes and Japanese stalwart Hatsu Hioki. Here he is put to the test against Diego Nunes who has hit his stride in recent victories over Manny Gamburyan and Dennis Siver.

205lb: Alexander Gustafsson vs Glover Teixeira (No. 1 Contender matchup)

Alexander Gustafsson’s 5 fight win streak is making him look like the guy to watch at 205 - and his last fight against Thiago Silva showed he can overcome adversity after being hurt in the first round, but coming back to win by TKO in the second. Glover Teixeira, who has exploded onto the scene by destroying Kyle Kingsbury by KO then James Te-Huna by Submission – both in the first round, has made a case as a potential contender with an excellent record.

265lb: Mark Hunt vs Sergei Kharitonov

Mark Hunts recent KO of Stephan Struve has buoyed his continuously growing fan-base in the UFC, he is still a fight or two away from being labelled a serious contender and is welcoming Russian kickboxer Sergei Kharitonov to the UFC in what should be an explosive end to the prelims card.

Main Card:

145lb: Patricio Friere vs Dustin Poirier (No. 1 contender matchup)

Patricio Friere has made a name for himself at 145 in Bellator and other promotions with spectacular finishes - and has only one blemish on his record. His first fight in the UFC is a number 1 contender bout with Dustin Poirier to determine who will fight Jose Aldo for the 145 title next. Poirier is fresh off a decision win against Chan Jung Sung and appears to improve with each outing.

135lb: Renan Barao vs Michael McDonald (No. 1 contender matchup)

After embarrassing Ivan Menjivar at UFC 148, Renan Barao’s star continues to grow. This fight sees him against Michael McDonald who has won his last nine fights, adding veterans Miguel Torres and Scott Jorgensen to his resume in exciting fashion. The winner of this fight is to face Dominic Cruz who beat Uriah Faber to put a stamp on their trilogy.

170lb: Rory MacDonald vs Jake Ellenberger (No. 1 contender matchup)

Due to the return of Nick Diaz and the ensuing events which took place, Jake Ellenberger is made to work just that little bit more for his title shot at 170lbs, even after making short work of Martin Kampman in his last fight. Rory Macdonald has been both active and impressive, dispatching Che Mills by first round TKO and following it up with a submission over Dong Hyung Kim, winning every minute of both fights. These two are made to square off to determine who will fight the winner of this events 170lb title fight.

265lb: Fedor Emelianenko vs Daniel Cormier (No. 1 contender matchup)

Fedor is finally to fight in the UFC, after leaving M1 and having gone on a 4-0 win streak, including a stellar victory over Bellators Kole Conrad which showed the Russian returning to the form which made him famous – he is placed in a 265lb no.1 contender fight against the winner of the Strikeforce HW GP – Daniel Cormier. The winner is to face Junior Dos Santos, who defeated Alistair Overeem by KO in round 1 of their title fight.

155lb: Ben Henderson vs Gilbert Melendez (LW Title Fight)

Ben Henderson has recently defeated Frankie Edgar in a rematch, then Nate Diaz who got past Jim Miller to earn a title shot – both by decision. Gilbert Melendez has come over from Strikeforce and been given an immediate title shot to determine who is the best in the world at 155, in the post BJ Penn era.

170lb: George St Pierre vs Nick Diaz (WW Title Fight)

George St Pierre returned from injury to defeat Carlos Condit by decision and reclaim his UFC WW title. In a turn of events, Nick Diaz has come out of his ‘announced’ retirement only to have Dana White place him against Johnny Hendricks in what Dana assumed might be a punishment of sorts. After Diaz rocked and subsequently submitted Hendricks in the second round of a performance filled with the typical Diaz nuances, goading, mocking, taunting – Diaz has been given this shot at the belt, with the fans being given the fight which a great deal of people feel they were initially robbed of.

185lb: Anderson Silva vs Hector Lombard (MW Title Fight)

Hector Lombard, finally under the Zuffa banner wowed the UFC fans with a domination of Mark Munz, en route to earning his title shot against arguably the best 185’er, if not fighter, in the entire world. Anderson has been resting since decimating Chael Sonnen in the 3rd round of their re-match and is poised to settle the 185lb argument once and for all.

So there you have it, my dream event. Sure, it was hard not to put Mark Hunt on the main card, sure, I’ve taken extensive liberties throughout – but as an exercise in creative thinking on a topic I am extremely passionate about, it’s been a fun exercise.

What about you, Bloody Elbow bretheren – what’s your dream card? Be unrealistic if you have/want to – I’ve just tried to make something that offers up both entertainment and implications in every fight. You might wonder why I have left off so many ‘big names’ – Rampage, Shogun, Dan Henderson, Jon Jones – but understand that I am more than familiar with all of the people who should theoretically sell PPV’s, but have an equal if not greater appreciation of the emerging new guard.

Thanks for reading and I hope this didn’t feel like a waste of your time.

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