MMA WEEKLY NEWS UPDATE: UFC 92 is Mixed Martial Arts’ Explosive Year-End Card

When this card was first announced, most of us at MMA Weekly thought it was too good to be true. Nog and Mir, and Griffin and Evans? As if this was not enough to get us reeling, Dana White threw in the names of Quinton Jackson and Wanderlei Silva – all in a single mixed martial arts night!. We could miss Thanksgiving at our in-laws but not this!

Dana White just couldn’t help himself when he said he wanted to “stack” this card with mostly the popular UFC fighters for its traditional New Year’s Eve Weekend. Talk about stack and awe.

Let’s not get too drunk on Christmas Day and the day after that so we could have more six-packs on the 27^th of December (fight date, at the MGM Grand Garden Arena or on Pay-Per-View).

THE MAIN EVENT :

UFC Light heavyweight champion Forrest Griffin (6 feet-three inches; 205 lbs.; Boxing, Muai Thai, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu; 16 wins-4 losses) vs. Rashad Evans (5’11”; 205 lbs.; Wrestling, Kickboxing; 12 wins-no losses).

Evans may rely solely on his wrestling skills on this and nothing else. Griffin may opt to stay on his feet to trade blows.

The interim Heavyweight championship bout between Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (6’3”; 241 lbs.; BJJ, Boxing, Judo; 31 wins-4 losses) vs. Frank Mir (5’3”; 255 lbs.; BJJ, Wrestling; 11 wins – 3 losses).

Nogueira, having been an active part of mixed martial arts since 1999, is the more experienced old-timer of mixed martial arts. He has placed himself on the top ranks of the heavyweight division convincingly. Some of the MMA big names he has defeated include the likes of Heath Herring (twice), Tim Sylvia, Josh Bartnett, Mark Coleman, Mirko “Cro Cop” and Dan Henderson. His 4 losses all came from decisions. Two were with his fights with Fedor Emelianenko, today’s greatest heavyweight fighter, (which make them not difficult to swallow) and another two from split decision to Josh Barnett and Dan Henderson.

Nog and Mir are two of UFC’s top BJJ warriors who have never been submitted before. Would this New Year’s Weekend bash mark the first time one of them tap out? While we are dying to know the outcome of this fight, we actually do not expect fireworks on this one. In fact, this could actually be boring as both are just on the OK scale when it comes to fisticuffs (if they opt for a stand-up fight), but what interests us most is who would end up fighting the still-hot-from-the-oven-new-champ Brock Lesnar.

Is Dana White crossing his fingers for a Frank Mir win so that he will be assured of another blockbuster card early next year? For sure, a lot would be eager to see a repeat of a Lesnar-Mir tiff.