The Port Arthur News
— Last night's WEC 47 event marked the first of many MMA events on the docket for this spring. This week's column will look at those circled on the calendar as worthy events. More detailed previews and recaps will come as each event comes.
The WEC 47 event from Columbus, Ohio marked the fourth consecutive year that the UFC or WEC has held an event during the Arnold Schwarzenegger Sports Festival weekend. The multi-sport festival and expo is the largest of its kind in the nation.
UFC and WEC owners, Zuffa has keenly identified this weekend as the perfect place showcase MMA and festival attendees have absolutely eaten it up.
The next event on the horizon is UFC on Versus I on March 21. Yes, that is correct, the UFC will be aired on the Versus network, not Spike TV for this event. Versus airs events for the UFC's sister company, the WEC so fans may
wonder why the switcheroo.
This seems to be a business tactic by Zuffa. Last year, Versus was dropped by DirectTV's channel lineup leaving WEC fans in the dark. The UFC name is a bit more prestigious than the newer, lower weight class WEC. By adding two UFC
events a year to Versus, it'll surely add some leverage in re-newed contract negotiations between Versus and DirectTV.
TV contracts and negotiations aside, UFC on Versus I will be a very good show. The main event will feature a guy who's rightfully being billed as the next big thing in MMA, Jon "Bones" Jones. Dynamic and athletic, Bones Jones is one of the only people to have knocked down an opponent with a spinning back-elbow when he did it to Stephan Bonnar at UFC 94.
He's set to face off against Muay Thai wrecking machine, Brandon "The Truth" Vera, so fans should expect fireworks to fly for this one.
The co-main event will feature a fighter in the race to face Brock Lesnar for the heavyweight championship, Junior Dos Santos. Dos Santos raised eyebrows with his dismantling of Mirko Cro Cop up in Dallas last fall at UFC 103. He'll be impossible to ignore as a contender if he gets past gatekeeper, Gabriel Gonzaga.
Next in the line of spring offerings is UFC 111 on March 27. This one is going to feature the welterweight title bout between Georges St. Pierre and Englishman, Dan "The Outlaw" Hardy. GSP is a 7-1 favorite over Hardy, but fans
mustn't forget what happened when GSP was a 7-1 favorite over Matt Serra at UFC 69.
St. Pierre got knocked out by Serra in Houston's Toyota Center to fans' total astonishment.
The UFC 111 co-main event will be one of the most important bouts of the year. Shane Carwin and Frank Mir will go head to head for the chance to face Brock Lesnar in a heavyweight title bout. If Mir wins, faces will get a rubber match
between Mir and Lesnar. If Carwin wins, fans will get a fighter who matches up well against Lesnar size wise.
All of these March bouts will culminate into April with arguably the two best MMA events of the year thus far: UFC 112 from Abu Dhabi and Strikeforce on CBS II. Between the two events, five title belts will be on the line.
For UFC 112 on April 10, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu phenon, Damien Maia will face Anderson "The Spider" Silva for the middleweight title. Also, Frankie Edgar will go head to head with B.J. Penn for BJ's lightweight title.
Strikeforce will return to CBS on April 17th and three belts will be on the line. UFC and PRIDE legend, Dan Henderson will face under-publicized Strikeforce middleweight champion, Jake Shields for that title.
Gegard "The Dreamcatcher" Mousasi will defend his light heavyweight belt against Muhammed "King Mo" Lawal and Gilbert Melendez will defend his lightweight title against DREAM champion, Shinya Aoki.
David Estrada Jr. is a Mixed Martial Arts columnist for the Port Arthur News. He can be e-mailed at
DavidEstrada@DavidEstrada.com
