Looking A Gift Horse In The Mouth: UFC 120's Underwhelming Main Event

After the debacle that was UFC 112's main event, you may recall Dana White promising fans that he'd somehow "make it up" to them. Well, it seems as if Dana White and the UFC's gift to the fans may have arrived in the form of a free card that looks to be -- how do I say this? -- not very good.

After paying $50-60 for a card featuring a main event that more closely resembled an episode of Soul Train than the destructive ballets we've come to expect from Anderson Silva, fans had a right to be upset. And who can fault them for having significantly raised expectations when White spoke of making reparations? Some theorized that the payoff might involve a free Anderson Silva fight or perhaps something equally tantalizing. While realistically, no one thought Brock Lesnar's next bout would be aired on Spike TV, when Dana White mentioned reparations, many had lofty dreams of a PPV-quality free card. Well just as I spent Christmas morning in 1992, hopeful that I'd be tearing into new Super Nintendo games, only to plummet down to earth as I unwrapped package after package of pajamas and socks; that bubble may have unceremoniously burst when the UFC officially announced UFC 120, which will air live via tape-delay on October 16th. 

Since UFC 70 became the first numbered event to air on Spike TV in 2007, fans have, rightly or wrongly, come to expect at least one free UFC numbered event on Spike each year. Keeping in mind that this is the first (and assuredly, last) UFC numbered event to air on Spike in 2010, the question becomes, if Anderson Silva had finished Demian Maia at UFC 112, wouldn't UFC 120 still have aired on Spike? I tend to think that, yes, it would have. So then, how much of a "make-up" gift -- if any -- is UFC 120? As much as I believe that Dana White was truly mortified by the behavior of Anderson Silva during UFC 112's main event and wanted to make it up to fans, I have to call shenanigans on UFC 120 as the peace offering that he promised to those unfortunate enough to have paid good money for UFC 112. 

Ok, so now we know that UFC 120 will be free, but will it be good? It sure doesn't look like it on paper. Not every UFC numbered event on Spike can have the spectacular fight line-up and main event that UFC 75 offered, but is it too much to ask for a main event between two fighters who are at least top contenders in their division?

On one hand you have Yoshihiro Akiyama, a under-sized middleweight who would be better served dropping down to 170, and on the other you have Michael Bisping, who just can't seem to get over the hump and win the big one. He's had three attempts and has come up short each time, first to Rashad Evans, then to Dan Henderson, and most recently against Wanderlei Silva. Akiyama is 1-1 in the UFC, coming off a loss to Chris Leben (who Bisping has already defeated), with his sole win a split-decision which many felt he should have lost. Where does a win over Bisping put him? As far as Bisping is concerned, let's be honest here, a victory over Akiyama isn't going to instantly vault him into a position where he can challenge for the title. At best, he'll still be 2-3 fights away. 

UFC 120's main event lacks the number one contender showdown that UFC 70 offered, it lacks the division debut intrigue and great sell of TUF 1 winner vs. TUF 2 winner that UFC 95 had, and it lacks the ageless superstar versus young lion angle that UFC 105 featured. In terms of Spike-aired cards, UFC 120 most closely resembles UFC 89 in its non-relevance to the division in which the main event is being contested. Even then, the glaring difference is that UFC 89's main event was enticing for its promise of providing Bisping with his first real test at middleweight. In fact, it's difficult to see any redeeming value in UFC 120's main event other than we're not being asked to pay for it. 

It's impossible, of course, to predict how "good" a fight card will turn out to be. There have been countless times where cards that have looked stacked on paper have not produced fireworks, and certainly, vice versa. Despite its lack of a captivating main event, there's a strong chance that UFC 120 will turn out to be a highly entertaining event -- just as UFC 95 was before it. If that's the case, I'll gladly admit that I was wrong for pooh-poohing it beforehand. However, I won't apologize for asking for stronger main events from Spike-aired UFC numbered events in the future, with more emphasis on pivotal match-ups between top contenders, and less on irrelevant divisional bouts that no one asked for.