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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief
The event doesn't even have an official name, but the UFC's historic debut event on network television has its first fight.
The UFC announced on Thursday evening that featherweights Dustin Poirier and Pablo Garza will square off on the very first UFC event on Fox, which will come to Anaheim, Calif. on November 12.
The exciting 145 lb. matchup pits two of the divisions up and comers. Garza enters this card off of two extremely impressive wins in the Octagon. After losing an opening round fight for The Ultimate Fighter 12, Garza went into the WEC, but in taking a fight with Tiequan Zhang on extremely short notice he suffered his first and only defeat.
However, he erased the memory of that loss with a vicious flying knee knockout over Fredson Paixao at The Ultimate Fighter 12 Finale, earning him that event's "Knockout of the Night." He followed that up with a "Submission of the Night" performance, defeating Yves Jabouin after locking on a flying triangle at UFC 129.
Poirier has posted a 3-1 mark in Zuffa organizations, splitting appearances in the WEC before winning two straight in the Octagon. The 10-1 fighter entered the UFC with a shockingly dominant upset over Josh Grispi at UFC 125, and in his second UFC fight he defeated Jason Young by decision at UFC 131.
Penick's Analysis: The UFC will be out to bring a really exciting event to network television for this first Fox event, and this fight absolutely fits that bill. Incredibly enough, this network television debut will come exactly 18 years after the UFC debuted on pay-per-view with the original Ultimate Fighting Championship tournament. Back to this fight, Garza has put on two exciting performances in the Octagon, winning bonuses in both his UFC fights, and Poirier has impressed in both of his fights as well. This is guaranteed to be an exciting fight and I'm really excited to see where it winds up on the card.
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Jamie Penick, editor-in-chief
(mmatorcheditor@gmail.com)
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