FACEBOOK TWITTER RSS APP PODCAST Opinion & Analysis : Roundtables ROUNDTABLE (pt. 1 of 2): Which summer UFC card are you most looking forward to - UFC 116, UFC 117 or UFC 118? Williams, Sutcliffe, Hansen, Perez, Hobaugh and Pelkey

Jun 23, 2010 - 10:00:39 PM

Which of the upcoming summer fight cards are you most excited for and why between UFC 116, 117 and 118?

ALEX WILLIAMS, MMATORCH CONTRIBUTOR

I'm typically very critical of the events the UFC puts on (Chuck Liddell vs Rich Franklin and Pat Barry vs Mirko Cro Cop in 2010 may sell with the masses; it doesn't sell with me), but I really like the proposed fights for both UFC 117 and 118. I'm as hyped for them as any MMA events so far this year. If pressed, I'd go with UFC 117 because I am looking forward to literally every match on the main card. UFC 118 has one bout (Jorge Rivera vs Alessio Sakara) that will be televised merely for the benefit of fans with a "Talk Sh-t, Get Hit" mindset. (Which reminds me: don't let them read this.)

STEVE SUTCLIFFE, MMATORCH COLUMNIST

UFC 116 no question, one word: Brock. Suck it, hardcore fans.

RICH HANSEN, MMATORCH CONTRIBUTOR

Dude. How can you not pick UFC 117? Exception, if you're going 116 or 118, then fine, that trumps all. Matt, Jamie, and I covered this last month on the Sunday Conversation show. 117 is simply the deepest card in UFC history.

ANWAR PEREZ, MMATORCH COLUMNIST

Hands down the most exciting card is UFC 116. It has the fight of the summer in the headlining match between Shane Carwin and Brock Lesnar, in a fight that really either can win. The hype will be HUGE for this fight. This card is the real blockbuster of the summer. I predicted this before and I'll stick to it, that this fight will break the one-million mark in PPV buys and hands down solidify not only the UFC, but Brock Lesnar alone as a force to be reckoned with.

ERIC HOBAUGH, MMATORCH SPECIALIST

Each of the main events have the potential to be memorable. Each one has a great story and all of the fighters can win in devastating fashion. I have never hid my thoughts on Brock Lesnar very well. I think he is a punk who is bad for the sport. He showed us his true colors after he beat Frank Mir. His taunting after that fight was, in my opinion, much worse than what Anderson Silva did in his last fight. The only trouble with my opinion is that he sells fights, is exciting and wins. I am looking forward to this fight not because I think Lesnar will win, but because I think Carwin can and will knock Lesnar out. This should be the most exciting fight of the summer.
The undercard has excellent fights as well, as Chris Lytle vs Matt Brown should also be another exciting fight if Lytle can keep it standing. If he can he wins the decision.

MATT PELKEY, MMATORCH COLUMNIST

Its gotta be 117, but 118 isn't too far behind. When it comes to being excited for a card, I much prefer quality depth over one super-duper fight anchoring the card. That's why I was more excited for UFC 115 than I was for 114. 117 is currently four deep with fantastic fights and its not even full yet. 118 has the two fantastic lightweight clashes to satiate our action appetite, plus it has the freakshow intrigue of Toney-Couture. Carwin-Lesnar is huge, but there's a massive drop-off after that. With Silva-Sonnen, Fitch-Alves, Nelson-Dos Santos, and Almeida-Hughes (plus a load of quality undercard fights), UFC 117 is the card of the summer for this viewer.

UPCOMING ROUNDTABLE QUESTIONS

• If Frank Mir drops to light-heavyweight, name the three most intriguing even match-ups for him and predict how the fight would go.

[Anderson Silva art by Cory Gould (c) MMATorch.com]

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