Weekend Fights Preview Friday Night Fights 03/18/11 UFC 128 03/19/11

Some good action this weekend in the octagon as well as the square ring.

In the MMA world that now begins and ends with Zuffa, UFC 128 is the only event that you need to see.

Mauricio “Shogun” Rua takes on Jon Jones in the main event that should not be missed. While some may not like Shogun, no one can say that he doesn't entertain. This will be an entertaining fight and will be hotly contested. Bones is essentially undefeated (besides his DQ) and doesn't seem to enjoy decisions as he has only gone the distance twice in his career. Great job on the UFC's part finding a good action fight when Rashard Evans went down with the injury.

In other action the co feature is Urijah Faber vs. Eddie Wineland.

The other fight I will be interested in is Crocop VS Shaub (who I still think looks like a gigantic version of my brother's friend).




Boxing starts off tonight with Friday Night Fights.

Brad Solomon (16-0, 7 KOs) takes on the toughest test of his career when he steps into the ring with Demetrius Hopkins (30-1-1, 11 KOs). This is a really interesting fight that really could go both ways. While Hopkins has the better jab, Solomon is pretty imposing. I think this is a close decision win for Hopkins.

This Saturday we have the return of Lucian Bute on Showtime along with prospect Vanes Martirosyan.

Bute (27-0, 22 KOs) should handle his opponent Irishman Brian Magee (34-3-1, 24 KOs) pretty easily with superior boxing skills in every category. This fight will likely not go the distance. Hopefully we can see Lucian take on tougher opponents before his eventual mega showdown with p4pder Andre Ward.

Finally also on Saturday we have the beginning of what Epix hopes is a new era in boxing for them. They are trying to become a premium channel, much like Showtime and HBO, and are using their same business model of using Boxing to get into our living rooms. This fight will also be streaming on Epixhd.com Vitali Kiltshko V Odlainer Solis. This will be a major step up in class for Odlainer (17-0, 12 KOs) beat Ray Austin via DQ in his last fight. I expect a wipeout here.

Random thoughts:

Lou Dibella has long been one of my favorite promoters in the sport. While many point to Dana White and his cursing during press conferences and interviews, few can beat Lou when it comes to candor. When asked if he would match up Sergio Martinez with Dmitry Pirog (WBO belt holder) he had this to say.

"Fuck Dmitry Pirog. We're never fighting Dmitriy Pirog, that was our belt that [the WBO] stole from him and we're not fighting Dmitry Pirog, who has never done anything but beat Daniel Jacobs to deserve a big fight. Fuck Dmitry Pirog."

Now that's a quote.

Sergio Martinez looked great against a guy nobody looks good against. Another impressive win.

Has anyone seen Floyd Mayweather?

Really UFC? The co feature is a TUF coach eliminator? This is getting a bit ridiculous don't you think?

Sigh, Donaire moves to Golden Boy and looks as though there is going to be a legal battle over the legality of it. Sound familiar? Yes, Pacman was in the same situation a few years ago. Can't we just all get along?

SW