November is the best month; I will accept no debate on it. My birthday and Thanksgiving, the two greatest holidays on Earth, both fall in these 30 days. The trees look great but it's not yet too cold to tolerate. Football is in the heart of the season, hockey is just getting rolling, and this year we even got a little World Series AND an extra hour of sleep (or Halloween partying, if that was your thing). Gorgeous. This year, November also has a TON (or if you're at UFC 105 it may be "tonne" - or is it in stones? Stupid Queen and her stupid measurements) of MMA action.
While November is light on blockbuster fights - owing to injuries in UFC and strange title situations in Strikeforce - there's plenty of competition for your MMA dollar this month, including a number of free cards that are definitely worth your time. Free, I say! Another reason November is awesome.
Fedor says "it's sweater weather". WHO ARE WE TO ARGUE
UFC: UFC is packing them in with two cards in eight days: UFC 105 on Nov. 14th and then 106 on the 21st.
UFC 105, across the pond in Manchester, England, is a mostly underwhelming affair - but the upside is that it won't cost U.S. viewers a thing, as it will air free on tape delay on Spike. The card will begin airing at 8 PM, which means even without a DVR you should be able to squeeze it in even if you want to see the Manny Pacquiao-Miguel Cotto boxing match also scheduled for that evening. The main event is Randy Couture against Brandon Vera, and if the Natural can't get an exciting fight out of Vera then the cause may be lost. Dan Hardy should have the British crowd behind him as he takes on Mike Swick in a match that should decide Georges St.-Pierre's next opponent when Rush returns from injury. The rest of the undercard is heavy on the locals, with three British TUF winners (Michael Bisping, James Wilks, Ross Pearson) each getting a fight. Would I buy this card if I was just a fan and not a hack MMA writer? Probably not. But it should be a fun night live with an amped up UK crowd and you can't argue with the price.
That said, I'm not sure I'd be thrilled paying for UFC 106 a week later, and that one is on PPV. In the UFC's defense, the card has been plagued by misfortune. Brock Lesnar and Shane Carwin were supposed to headline, but Lesnar caught the pig plague. Mark Coleman and Ricardo Almeida left the card due to injury and Thiago Alves, Kenny Florian, and Clay Guida were all pushed to UFC 107. We're left with a headliner between Tito Ortiz and Forrest Griffin, which may not be a stellar fight but should answer a number of questions about both men's ability to regain the form they showed in their primes.
Article comments
1 - Matthew T. Sussman
Fedor is just trying to bring in the Bill Cosby demographic.
2 - Brian aka Guppusmaximus
So much for Brett Rogers,eh? Seriously, what a poor sport! If you let the mental aspect beat you, that is your own fault. Don't act like a baby on national television... Have some fucking class!