UFC Fight Night 17 (Sat, Feb 7)

[CPT]

With all of the mega events happening recently, this card has gotten lost in the shuffle. I had kind of forgotten about it myself, but it's happening this Saturday. It took a big hit when Hermes Franca had to pull out of the main event, but there are still some interesting fights on the card.

MAIN CARD (Televised)
Joe Lauzon vs. Jeremy Stephens
Denis Stojnic vs. Cain Velasquez
Mac Danzig vs. Josh Neer
Luigi Fioravanti vs. Anthony Johnson

PRELIMINARY CARD (Un-televised)
Rob Emerson vs. Kurt Pellegrino
Dan Miller vs. Jake Rosholt
Matt Grice vs. Matt Veach
Rich Clementi vs. Gleison Tibau
Nick Catone vs. Derek Downey
Steve Bruno vs. Matthew Riddle

Lauzon vs. Franca would have been sweet, but Stephens is a pretty decent replacement on short notice. He's a student of Franca's as well, so I think he'll be prepared for the fight. Lauzon should still take it though.

Velasquez gets a nice can to crush. Carwin's got his test coming up with the fight against Gonzaga. I wonder when Velasquez will get his?

Danzig vs. Neer should be a good one. I think Danzig will get back on track with this fight, but Neer is a tough opponent for anyone.

Johnson vs. Fioravanti is another decent fight. I always get excited to see Rumble fight because he has so much potential, but I'm not convinced a fight against Fioravanti will tell us any more about where he stands in the WW division. I'd been hearing about a possible fight with Swick. Now that would be awesome.

The preliminary card has a few gems on it as well. Emerson vs. Pellegrino and Clementi vs. Tibau are both fights I'd like to see. I expect to see some quick stoppages, so maybe we'll get to see one or both of them, or some other fight on the prelims that ends up worth watching.

[Cammo101]

I'll take...

Lauzon
Cain
Danzig
Rumble
Emerson
Rosholt
Veach
Clementi
Catone
Riddle

I am a big Rosholt and Riddle fan, so I hope those 2 make it onto the TV card.

[El Hardee]

Nice free card, no big names but they all seem to be good match ups, I really hope we can see Riddle fight as well. He is a very cool down to earth dude, and that child like enthusiasm is no act. He's like a 16 teen year old kid having fun at no matter what he does. I really want to see Cain fight, that dude is a beast, he actually used to train with us, before he was with his current camp.
Gotta love a dude with BROWN PRIDE in old english on his chest. Rumble Johnson is going to smash poor Luigi, Johnson's hands and athletisism are freakish.

[Cammo101]

Rumble Johnson is going to smash poor Luigi, Johnson's hands and athletisism are freakish.

Luigi is a seasoned guy who has big time power and has fought a lot of tough guys. I think this will be a tougher fight than most expect.

[cowboyronnie]

This is awesome. Deep card with well-matched fights. Hard to think that this is actually a card plagued with injuries.

WTF, though, at those HWs making it to the maincard over Clementi and Pellegrino?

[Cammo101]

This is awesome. Deep card with well-matched fights. Hard to think that this is actually a card plagued with injuries.

WTF, though, at those HWs making it to the maincard over Clementi and Pellegrino?

It is all business. The UFC needs to sell Cain as a viable contender now, because once Brock/Mir happens...they have to find other guys to fight. Cain and Carwin should get a big push here soon.

[cowboyronnie]

4/4 great fights so far. I thought the first round of Danzig vs Neer was esp so. Neer was walking through a lot.

WTF, though, at those HWs making it to the maincard over Clementi and Pellegrino?

OK, now I understand.

[CPT]

Very good show.

Not a bad fight on the card, and Danzig vs. Neer was awesome. Would have liked to see Danzig take it, even though I don't really like the guy. Not sure what's next for either guy. Danzig probably gets a total can on a preliminary card, and Neer could get a fight with any number of young LWs that need a test. I didn't realize just how young he was though. He's only 25 and it seems like he's been around forever.

That Stojnic guy can take a beating; I think we'll see him again. Cain looked very good. They should put him up against someone like Herring next, see how he does. He seems intent on smashing cans to get experience though, so maybe he'll hold out on a real test for a while longer.

Johnson got the TKO over Fioravanti, which isn't the easiest thing to do, but it was expected. Doesn't tell us anything about Johnson, really. I'd like them to put together that fight against Mike Swick next. If not, one of Hazelett, Saunders, Davis, or Condit would be good.

Grice vs. Veach was very good. Too bad about the stoppage, Grice had a right to be pissed. He was a lot closer to finishing Veach earlier in the fight than Veach was to finishing him when it got stopped. The UFC will see that, and he'll be back.

Lauzon vs. Stephens was a good fight as well. Back and forth battle, and I always love when a guy who is busted open pulls off a sub. Good performance by Stephens on short notice, and a good win for Lauzon, who continues to be solid. He still wants to fight Franca because of what's been said between them leading up to this fight, and I think that would be a good fight for him.

Is anyone putting on a show next weekend? It will be the first time in a while that I won't have any new MMA to watch if not.

[cowboyronnie]

It's Valentine's Day, no events.

[SpReEfOrAlL]

After this show, my dislike for Neer has deepened immensely. Just about every post fight interview he does annoys me.

[Cammo101]

Anthony Johnson vs. Mike Swick
Joe Lauzon vs. Tyson Griffin
Josh Neer vs. Clay Guida
Cain Velasquez vs. Heath Herring

This is what I would like to see next from the winners. Make it happen Dana.

Also, I had Matt Veach on my 25 fighters to watch a few month back when no one knew who he was. I am so going to toot my own horn on that one.

[cowboyronnie]

Prelims: that forehead thing was disgusting, but Catone's wrestling looked awesome.