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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief The UFC on Wednesday confirmed the remaining bouts for the historic UFC 100 card on July 11th. In addition to two title fights and a showdown of the Ultimate Fighter 9 coaches, the card also features former Welterweight Title challenger Jon Fitch, UFC Hall of Famer Mark Coleman and Japanese star Yoshihiro Akiyama, to name a few.
Fitch faces Paulo Thiago on the main card of the event, the same Thiago who shocked Fitch's American Kickboxing Academy teammate Josh Koscheck by TKO earlier this year in Thiago's debut. Fitch holds a 9-1 record in the Octagon, losing only to Georges St. Pierre in their five round war last August in Minneapolis at UFC 87.
Coleman faces off against Ultimate Fighter I finalist Stephan Bonnar on the under card of the event. Both fighters are rebounding from losses in their previous bouts, Coleman to Mauricio "Shogun" Rua and Bonnar to the increasingly impressive Jon Jones, and both are in need of a win. The UFC Hall of Famer Coleman is out to prove he's still got what it takes to be a viable force in the sport, and Bonnar is looking to prove Coleman wrong.
Yoshihiro Akiyama is 12-1 coming into his UFC debut with two no contests. The K-1 Hero's and DREAM star often referred to as "Sexyama" brings with him an outgoing, and star making, personality to the Octagon, and will be looking to make a splash to fans in the U.S. with this debut. Alan Belcher wouldn't mind playing the spoiler to yet another debuting fighter, much like he did to longtime PRIDE and Spirit MC standout Denis Kang in January. At 5-3 in the Octagon, Belcher has won two straight and is looking to show his improvement as he makes a case to be considered among the top fighters at 185 lbs.
The full card for UFC 100 is below:
Main Televised Card
-Brock Lesnar vs. Frank Mir (Undisputed Heavyweight Championship bout)
-Georges St. Pierre vs. Thiago Alves (Welterweight Championship)
-Michael Bisping vs. Dan Henderson
-Yoshihiro Akiyama vs. Alan Belcher
-Jon Fitch vs. Paulo Thiago
Preliminary Card
-Stephan Bonnar vs. Mark Coleman
-Jon Jones vs. Jake O'Brien
-Mac Danzig vs. Jim Miller
-C.B. Dollaway vs. Tom Lawlor
-Matt Grice vs. Shannon Gugerty
(A bout between Dong Hyun Kim and T.J. Grant is also expected but has not yet been made official)
Penick's Analysis: This is certainly a packed card. Either of the top three bouts could headline differing levels of shows on their own, and the fact that all three of them are on one gives this a powerhouse trio at the top, but the rest of the card ain't too shabby. The debut of Akiyama and the return of Jon Fitch to the main card are welcome, though it's a bit shocking a UFC Hall of Famer takes an undercard spot under their fights. It makes sense in some ways, especially considering that both are coming back after losses, but the rest of the undercard should be action packed as well. We're less than a month away now, and the hype's only going to get amped up from here.
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Jamie Penick, editor-in-chief
(mmatorcheditor@gmail.com)
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Chris Park - Matt Pelkey
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