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THE PEOPLE'S BLOG

Posted by: arielhelwani
05/22/08
Views: 1271
Comments: 3
Tags: ufc
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By now you've heard the news that Mark Coleman has been forced to pull out of his UFC 87 fight against Brock Lesnar due to a torn MCL. I guess that's the risk in promoting a fight featuring a 43-year-old five months in advance. While Coleman's injury is certainly a bummer, the UFC did help turn our frowns upside down by announcing today that Georges St. Pierre will defend his newly-won welterweight title against Jon Fitch at UFC 87. I have a feeling this fight was going to take place on this card anyways but it certainly softens the Coleman injury blow by announcing both items on the same day. This is the second-time in six months that GSP has been used to "save" a card. Of course, he recently stepped in to replace an injured Matt Serra at UFC 79 against Matt Hughes. It's safe to say that he has officially paid the UFC back for pulling out of two major fights in the past; A September 2006 rematch against Hughes and a February 2007 fight against Serra. Meanwhile, UFC 87 is shaping up to be the battle of the really nice guys and that might seem a little strange to us after a string of intense grudge matches. We've had GSP-Serra II, Penn-Sherk, Tito-Dana and, coming up, Jackson-Griffin. UFC 87 features St. Pierre, Fitch, Roger Huerta and Kenny Florian - four of the nicest fighters in the sport. Don't expect a ton of trash-talking coming from these candidates (although, I must say that Huerta and Florian have been showing signs of fire as of late). As for Lesnar, where does he go from here? The UFC has already announced that the Minnesotan will still be fighting at the Target Center on August 9, however, an opponent has yet to be named. I can't help but wonder if Justin McCully, once rumored to be facing Lesnar, will step in as a replacement. Sadly, a Lesnar-McCully scrap (or any potential fight given the UFC's thin heavyweight roster) doesn't possess the cache of Lesnar-Coleman but, fear not, as one can probably expect Lesnar and Coleman to meet once "The Hammer" heals. Should we plan for the undercard of Nogueira-Mir in December? Anyhow, a big thank you to GSP for saving the day...once again.

Comments (3)

08/25/08
I'm not sure I would call this one GSP saving the day. I agree that GSP steps up when it is necessary, and he did so against Hughes. But this event NEVER had Lesnar vs. Coleman billed as the main event. In fact, there was lots of speculation as to why, wondering what they were going to put atop the card. Originially I think they were probably thinking Hughes vs. Serra, but that got postponed due to Hughes stepping up to actually save an event. GSP vs. Fitch was probably always a strong consideration for this event as Minnesota isn't too far to travel for the Canadian fans that want to see GSP. And it isn't short notice for GSP or Fitch, as they were likely to fight sometime in the fall regardless. I would say it is simply more of a coincidence of circumstances that the GSP announcement was made at the same time as the announcement for Coleman's injury. Or at least timed to make Coleman's injury less of a story. Either way, I really don't think this fight was thrown together to save the card once they found out Coleman was injured.
Anonymous
08/25/08
Isn't this UFC in August? How is GSP saving this UFC simply by signing to headline the fight. I don't get it? It isn't short notice. It is just a UFC headlined by GSP, that Mark Coleman was on, and he got injured.
Anonymous
08/25/08
Go GSP!!! St. Pierre is the best ever!
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