MMA You Want to Watch This Week 8/22 - 8/28

Not a lot going on this week in MMA.  No Strikeforce Challengers, no Bellator (though season five will be starting up soon, and we'll have Bellator every week again!).  But we have a couple of events that should make both hardcore and casual fans pretty happy.  If you had plans for Saturday night that didn't include watching some great fights, cancel those plans now.  There are fights from around 6pm eastern on into the night, and whether you prefer the UFC or smaller shows, you are going to be entertained.  And don't knock the smaller shows - I have seen better fights (more exciting and with better technique) at some local shows than some of the UFC undercards (Jason Reinhardt's last fight comes to mind). 

Personally, I'm not leaving the house this weekend.  This area is currently inundated with NASCAR fans all waiting eagerly to see a bunch of guys drive in circles for hours.  For an entire week, it's impossible to get a table at a restaurant, get across town in less than an hour, or drive down the road without seeing people in lawn chairs holding up signs that say NEED TICKETS (though why they didn't think about that part before making a cross-country trip to get here, I have no idea).  So I'm just fine with sitting at home enjoying some fights while these people turn the tri-city area into their own personal circus.  Thank goodness for MMA.

Evolution Fighting Championships 7

Saturday, August 27, 6pm, GoFightLive.tv

As of right now, there are 17 fights on this card.  The cost is $9.99, which compares favorably to the normal cost of a UFC card.  That works out to around 58 cents per fight, by the way.  There are worse ways to spend your money.  Seriously.  This event is live from Rahway, NJ, and it's a good bet there will be some incredible action on this card.  If the UFC event is too pricey for you, or you're just anti-Zuffa in general, consider checking this one out!

UFC 134: Rio

Saturday, August 27, 9pm, PPV

Facebook prelims around 6pm

Spike prelims 8pm

At long last, the UFC is back in Brazil.  And at long last, Yushin Okami and Anderson Silva meet again in the cage.  As you may have heard, they fought once before, and Okami won.  Yes, Okami beat Silva.  But only because Silva was DQ'd for landing a kick to Okami's chin while he (Okami) was on his knees.  Honestly, it was a beautiful kick.  And honestly, Okami is lucky it happened, because in my opinion he was losing the fight up to that point.  Both men are different fighters now and it wouldn't be fair to try to call the outcome of this fight based on the first one (but it's tempting to do anyway).  Okami has been training with Chael Sonnen for this fight.  Will that make a difference?  We'll have to wait and see.  Okami is a wrestler and judging from the Sonnen fight, that is Silva's weakness.  If he has one.  Again, we'll have to wait and see.

Some other intriguing fights on this card include Brendan Schaub vs. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira.  Is this a relevant fight as far as the heavyweight title picture goes?  Probably not really, though if Schaub wins, he will move up in the division somewhat.  Is it going to be a good scrap?  Oh, hell yeah! 

One other fight on the main card that I'm excited to see is Edson Barboza vs. Ross Pearson.  I am a firm fan of Barboza.  The man won two of his last three fights by leg kick TKO.  Then he beat Anthony Njokuani by unanimous decision in the FotN at UFC 128.  Badass.  Any chance to see this guy fight again makes me happy.  Ross, check those kicks, man.  Seriously.

And don't forget, Forrest Griffin vs. Mauricio Rua - that one should be pretty epic, and I can't wait to see how it goes.

Overall, this should be a pretty good event.  We'll be here Saturday starting at the beginning of the Facebook prelims, so join us for some discussion of the fights.  See you then!

SBN coverage of UFC 134: Rio