UFC Announces UFC 175, TUF 19 Finale, & Annual Fan Expo For Blockbuster Fourth Of July Weekend
It looks like the UFC is looking to make this year’s traditional Fourth of July weekend show the biggest it has ever been.
Today, they announced some absolutely huge plans for the third annual International Fight Week. In addition to the usual pay-per-view, the UFC has also booked the annual fan expo for the same weekend in Las Vegas, but the hits don’t stop coming there. The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 19 Finale, featuring a trilogy-ending grudge match between former lightweight champions Frankie Edgar and B.J. Penn, will also go down that weekend on Sunday, July 6.
The UFC released their big summer plans via a press release today:
“The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and Las Vegas are teaming up for the third annual UFC International Fight Week™ July 1-6, 2014. The weeklong celebration for fans around the world returns with its biggest plans yet and something for everyone including entertainment, dining, arts, charitable events, shopping and, of course, all things UFC. The event will also feature for the first-time ever, two huge fight cards in one weekend in the UFC’s hometown of Las Vegas – UFC 175 and The Ultimate Fighter 19 Finale and multiple events offered around town every day.”
It’s a huge announcement that could go down as one of the biggest weekends in MMA history, but then again, who’s going to be fighting on the card? Anderson Silva and Georges St. Pierre are gone (at least for the time being), the world’s No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter Jon Jones is fighting at the end of April and will be highly unlikely to make a turnaround before early July, and Nos. 2 and 3 Jose Aldo and Renan Barao just aren’t that big of pay-per-view draws.
Newly minted welterweight champ Johny Hendricks could potentially headline the card, but with “Bigg Rigg” nearly pulling out of last weekend’s UFC 171 with an elbow injury, he’s far from guaranteed to be ready by early July. He even said he’ll be targeted an early fall return.
What’s more, lightweight champ Anthony Pettis is still healing from a torn PCL before he faces Gilbert Melendez on TUF 20, and heavyweight champ Cain Velasquez is targeting a November return from shoulder surgery.
That would leave the promotion’s biggest draw, women’s bantamweight champ Ronda Rousey, to step in and carry her employer through the busiest weekend the sport has ever seen. She’s been linked to some huge fights against former Strikeforce women’s champs Gina Carano and Cristiane “Cyborg” Justino, and former multi-time boxing champ Holly Holm.
There aren’t many fights that could potentially bring in more hype and buys than the blockbuster affairs featuring Rousey, but we’ll have to wait and see what gets booked.
The Fourth of July extravaganza will be the second time in two months where there are two cards in one weekend. Is it just a byproduct of the sport becoming bigger than it ever has been, or is it too much of a good thing?
