The UFC in Abu Dhabi! Under a giant tent in the desert! Flying carpets! A singing genie! And if this weekend’s ground-breaking edition goes off without a hitch, expect Octagon ventures in such exotic locales as Antarctica (UFC 119: “Ultimate F-ing Cold”), Zimbabwe (UFC 124: “Ultimate Raped by Mandrills”) and Tibet (UFC 131: “Ultimate Yeti Sighting”). Predictions!
- Rafael dos Anjos versus Terry Etim and Kendall Grove versus Mark Munoz are the kind of match-ups you get when spend all your budget on the fighters in the marquee bouts. Seriously, I think dos Anjos, Etim, Grove and Munoz’s combined salary for this one is about three camels.
- Untouchable lightweight champ BJ Penn gets a softball in the form of challenger Frankie Edgar. Now don’t get me wrong, I love Edgar and think he’s a top fighter, but I still stand by my statement from last year: Edgar, Gray Maynard and Jim Miller have a shot a defeating the Hawaiian MMA legend - but only if they all attack him at once.
- Middleweight champ Anderson Silva is fighting Demian Maia because… everyone else was injured and the Sheik wanted to see Silva fight I guess. This one has “ugly rape” written all over it.
- Renzo Gracie – the most beloved and capable of all fighters in the Gracie clan – finally sets foot into the Octagon as a competitor, and his “tune-up” fight is Matt Hughes? If that right there doesn’t establish that Renzo sports a gigantic pair of balls, I don’t know what else would.
- Go Renzo!