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ROUNDTABLE (pt. 2 of 2): Thoughts on the UFC 119 and 120 cards with their respectively "weak" headliners? Pelkey, Williams, Hyden, Lee, Matthew and Penick
What do you think about the UFC 119 and 120 cards with Mir-Nogueira II and Bisping Akiyama as their respective headliners?
MATT PELKEY, MMATORCH COLUMNIST
I think they're fine. Both cards, while not loaded with big names or title eliminators, are quality cards and will be worth the money (keeping in mind UFC 120 will be free on Spike). Starting with UFC 111, it's been a long run of cards filled with either huge main events, quality card depth, or both. That streak will continue with both UFC 117 and UFC 118 this month and will pick back up with UFC 121 shortly afterward. If we're complaining about cards like UFC 119 and UFC 120, I believe we've become a bit spoiled.
ALEX WILLIAMS, MMATORCH CONTRIBUTOR
Frank Mir vs Minotauro II is a terrible headline fight. The whole UFC 119 card is a dreadful joke of a $50 pay-per-view. Yoshihiro Akiyama vs Michael Bisping would be an even worse pay-per-view main event, but it's perfectly fine for a card televised on Spike.
FRANK HYDEN, MMATORCH CONTRIBUTOR
I think both fights are very underwhelming main events. Frank Mir vs. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira would be much more exciting if both guys hadn't been lapped by other heavyweights in the UFC. Neither guy is close to a title shot, so is it really that big a fight? Michael Bisping vs. Yoshihiro Akiyama isn't any better. Bisping is 2-2 in his last 4 fights, and Akiyama just lost by submission to Chris Leben. Back to the 119 fight, it isn't for a title shot either, so it shouldn't be the headliner. I don't think that non-title fights, with no title contention hopes riding on the outcome, should ever main event a Pay-Per-View. They may be good fights, but they shouldn't be the headliners.
ERIC LEE, MMATORCH CONTRIBUTOR
UFC 119 looks like an awesome card already. Just stacked with good fights. UFC 120 needs a better headliner. Bisping vs. Akiyama is a good fight for co-main event status. I could see 120 being really unsuccessful unless they find a better headliner. It seems like all the title fights and title contention fights are already planned. But maybe something like Machida vs. Jackson. That would be awesome!
SAM MATTHEW, MMATORCH COLUMNIST
I am extremely intrigued to see the Mir-Nogueira rematch as both fighters are coming off losses to the top two heavyweight contenders in the world. Everyone wants to know what a healthy Nogueira can do at his age while many questions still surround the strategy Mir employs in the cage. Despite Nogueira’s staph infection weakening him in their first bout, I still don’t think he has what it takes to beat the bigger, stronger Mir. The Brazilian heavyweight just doesn’t have the size and strength that Lesnar and Carwin have used to dominate, while technically they are on an even keel. I wouldn’t give a distinct advantage to either man on the ground but definitely believe Mir has the better kickboxing. Expect to see Mir test Nogueira’s chin like he did in their first fight and which is still in question after being decimated by Velasquez.
As far as Michael Bisping headlining another UK show, that’s an obvious choice. His opponent however, Yoshihiro Akiyama, comes as a bit of a surprise, especially considering his recent loss to Chris Leben, a man Bisping has beaten. I still think this is a tough matchup for both fighters but at this point I actually favor Akiyama. Bisping doesn’t hit nearly as hard as Leben and he certainly can’t take the kind of shots “The Crippler” received from Akiyama. But the Japanese sensation has to chase down the quick Brit and actually land a shot to do any damage. We all know how much Bisping loves to avoid exchanges, backpedaling the entire duration of a fight while tossing out fast but weak combos to out-point his foes for a decision victory.
JAMIE PENICK, MMATORCH EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
The only problem I see with having Michael Bisping and Yoshihiro Akiyama in the main event of UFC 120 is that it's being put together as a numbered event. Were it given the "Fight Night" name, the headliner would make perfect sense. It's airing on Spike TV in the U.S., so fans on this side of the pond don't have much of an issue with the card as a whole, whereas fans in the U.K. might feel a bit upset about a less than stellar card when the UFC hasn't been there in a year. But other than that, there's nothing wrong with the fight itself, and Dan Hardy vs. Carlos Condit in the co-main event almost makes up for it in itself anyway.
As for UFC 119, the fight with Frank Mir and Antonio Nogueira is one I've wanted to see again since it happened in December of 2008, so in all honesty I have no problem with this fight at all. Would it have meant more if it had happened before February of this year, with both fighters suffering knockout losses after that time? Of course. Does that mean it's not a good rematch anymore? Not at all. If Nogueira can come into this fight healthy, which is something he's had a problem with in his last few fights, we can finally get a better gauge on what happened at UFC 92. With a ton of talk surrounding his staph infection leading to his zombie-like performance in that first fight, Mir has a chance to duplicate the results against a healthier fighter. Or, Nogueira gets retribution. Either way, it should be a good fight and, while perhaps not headline worthy considering both fighters are coming of a loss, it's still a good fight.
RELATED STORY: Part one of this roundtable with responses from Perez, Bacior, Hobaugh, Marsh and Hansen: CLICK TO READ PART ONE
UPCOMING ROUNDTABLE QUESTIONS
• What are your early thoughts on how Brock Lesnar and Cain Velasquez match up in their UFC 121 showdown?
RELATED: Part one of this roundtable with responses from Perez, Bacior, Hobaugh, Marsh and Hansen: [CLICK TO READ FULL ROUNDTABLE]
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