This is a new idea for a series that I’m starting up. I’ll post the first day of every month and just look into the upcoming UFC cards of the month. Let’s get this started.

First of all, there are only two cards this month. Usually the UFC puts on around 3 or more a month, however with the cancellation of UFC 151, there will only be two cards.

I think September is going to be a good year, even with two cards, however we’ll have to wait a little while to see the first one as it’s not until the later part of the month:

UFC 152

UFC 152 – September 22nd – Toronto, Canada

This is going to be a HUGE card. It was already stacked when we had Joseph Benavidez vs. Demetrious Johnson for the Flyweight title, and a very entertaining co-main event in Michael Bisping vs. Brian Stann. This card also was slated to have Rory MacDonald vs. BJ Penn, however due to a cut sustained during training, that fight will be moved to UFC on Fox 5.

Added to card late was the new main event: Jon Jones vs. Vitor Belfort for the UFC Light Heavyweight Title. This fight was added after Dan Henderson suffered a knee injury just a few weeks before the fight, but wasn’t released to the public until 9 days before UFC 151 (Which was suppose to take place tonight, September 1st). After a few futile attempts to save the card, Dana White declared the first event-cancellation in UFC history. The main event was turned into Jones vs. Belfort, and added to UFC 152; making this one hell of a card.

Let’s get things started the prelims on Facebook;

Kyle Noke vs. Charlie Brenneman
Mitch Gagnon vs. Walel Watson
Seth Baczynski vs. Simeon Thoresen

The highlight of these three fights for me personally will be the Noke/Brenneman match up. I think this is a pretty match up, star-power wise compared to the other two, and has the potential to spark up a possible contender if they give a really good performance. Also, this fight was originally scheduled for UFC 151, but was moved to this card after its cancellation.

Prelims on FX;

Jimy Hettes vs. Marcus Brimage
Sean Pierson vs. Lance Benoist
TJ Grant vs. Evan Dunham
Igor Pokrajac vs. Vinny Magalhaes

Two fights here really catch my eye; Hettes/Brimage and Pokrajac/Magalhaes. Jimy Hettes has been hyped up like crazy after his dominant grappling clinic he put on against Nam Phan, and I have to say, this guy is talented! We’re slowly starting to see more and more exciting new breeds of grapplers and I’m excited to see how he’ll perform against a brute in Marcus Brimage. Also on the card is the return of Vinny Magalhaes. After having a slow start in the UFC, he was cut and went off to make his name well known at M-1. He won the light-heavyweight title and showed everybody his true potential when the fight hits the mat. I think this will be a tough first test back into the Octagon, but I think it should be a very interesting fight.

Main Card on PPV;

Cub Swanson vs. Charles Oliveira
Matt Hamill vs. Vladimir Matyushenko
Michael Bisping vs. Brian Stann
Demetrious Johnson vs. Joseph Benavidez
Jon Jones vs. Vitor Belfort

Wow! What a stacked main event! In my opinion, all of these fights could headline their own respectable cards. To start it off we have my favorite match up of the whole card; Swanson vs. Oliveira. I’m a certified member of the “Da Bronx” hype train and I’m very excited to see him try to climb higher in the featherweight division since going 2-0 down there. He first started off at lightweight, and while he gained lots of hype and showed us all his true potential, he was just too small. Since cutting down he’s put on a clinic on these fighters, and will try to get passed Cub Swanson who is on his own little career revival since dismantling popular British contender Ross Pearson.

Moving on we have the return of Matt Hamill who will be coming out of retirement to face Vladimir Matyushenko, two very well seen faces in the Octagon, this should be a good battle. Michael Bisping will also finally be facing Brian Stann. Either this fight has been scheduled for a full year or I bought too much into the hype too early, but it’s to know that this fight will finally happen. Bisping has been claiming that he’s the guy to get the next shot, but he’s going to have a very tough test in front of him in Brian Stann. The winner of this fight could very well become the next top contender along side Chris Weidman.

Now moving onto the championship fights. For the first time, there will be a flyweight champion in the UFC. It’ll come down to two former bantamweight contenders who are known for their fast paced fighting and their well-rounded skill sets in the cage. This should be a fun fight as both of these guys never fail to disappoint the audience. And now the main event; Jon Jones vs. Vitor Belfort. While Belfort may be a last minute replacement, he definitely has the power and the skills to pull off the upset. Jones will be looking for his fourth title defense in this fight, and will be looking to close the gate on the division and possibly look at new options in the MMA world if he wins.

UFC on Fuel

UFC on Fuel TV: Struve vs. Miocic – September 29th – Nottingham, England

You can’t go wrong with these English cards. While they may lack star power and big name match ups, these guys go out there and put on a show. If you’re not a hardcore MMA fan, you probably don’t know who half of these guys are, but I promise you that some of these match ups are destined to be exciting.

Prelims on Facebook;

Fabio Maldonado vs. Jorgen Kruth
Jason Young vs. Robbie Peralta
Pascal Krauss vs. Gunnar Nelson
Tom Watson vs. Brad Tavares
Andy Ogle vs. Akira Corassani
Kyle Kingsbury vs. Jimi Manuwa

While I think all of these fights are going to be good, I just want to make a few highlights. First of all, what better way to start off the event than an excellent match up like Maldonada/Kruth. If you don’t know, Fabio Maldonado is probably one of the best boxers in the UFC, he has a big name in the striking industry and he’ll be facing a UFC newcomer in Jorgen Kruth, who also has lots of striking experience. Maldonado holds an undefeated boxing record of 22-0, while Jorgen Kruth has a kickboxing record of 71-14 and is noted as one of the greatest Scandinavian kickboxers of all time. This should be an exciting fight! Also on the card is the UFC debut of the popular, Gunnar Nelson. Gunnar Nelson is a Pan-American No-Gi gold medalist champion, and is a black belt under Renzo Gracie. He is undefeated in MMA and will be making his debut in the prelims

Main Card on Fuel TV;

Che Mills vs. Duane Ludwig
John Hathaway vs. John Maguire
Paul Sass vs. Matt Wiman
Yves Jabouin vs. Brad Pickett
Dan Hardy vs. Amir Sadollah
Stefan Struve vs. Stipe Miocic

This is going to be an exciting main card! Much like UFC 152’s main card, this card has so many fights that are such good match ups. First of all, Che Mills and Duane Ludwig, wow, what more could you ask for? Both guys are exciting welterweights who like to bang on the feet and I expect nothing less from them. Also, Paul Sass will be looking to put another win to his impressive streak in the UFC as he takes on long time UFC veteran Matt Wiman. Paul Sass probably has some of the best submissions in the UFC and is so consistent with them. Holding the longest submission via triangle choke, Paul Sass will be looking to get his “Sass-angle” working on Matt Wiman.

Also, two more fantastic stand up match ups between Yves Jabouin and Brad Pickett, and then Dan Hardy vs. Amir Sadollah. Both of these fights should be great stand up bouts as Jabouin and Pickett face each other in what should be an explosive bout, and Dan Hardy faces Amir Sadollah to try and get back on track in the UFC.

Moving onto the main event of the evening, Stefan Struve will try to hang in there with rising heavyweight prospect Stipe Miocic. Both fighters are coming off of impressive victories and will be looking to cement in the upper echelon of the division. While Miocic seems like the perfect poison for Stefan Struve, we’ve seen Struve last through some of worst punishments I’ve see and come back for the victory, so it’ll be interesting to see if Miocic can bring anything Struve hasn’t seen to the table.

Should be a great night of fights, I’m just mad I face to wait till the second half of the month when there SHOULD have been a card the first day of the month.

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