Following the announcement of another big fight for the second FOX show, UFC is now promoting the January 28 card as a “triple-header.”
The rumored Michael Bisping vs. Demian Maia match has been made official, and it will join Rashad Evans vs. Phil Davis and Chael Sonnen vs. Mark Munoz on the main card. UFC will formally discuss the card at a press conference Wednesday afternoon.
While the three matchups carry intrigue and title implications (in at least two of the cases), there remains discussion about UFC’s booking logic for the show. None of the three bouts warrants a “blockbuster” classification, and two put hotly-anticipated title matches at risk. If Davis beats Evans, Evans will not be the one facing either Jon Jones or Lyoto Machida for the Light Heavyweight Championship; both, particularly the former, would be expected to draw well on pay-per-view.
If Munoz beats Sonnen, fans can say goodbye, in the short-term, to a Chael Sonnen-Anderson Silva title match, one which would also be a blockbuster main-event.
Another point of criticism is the fact that UFC opted not to instead go with Chael Sonnen vs. Michael Bisping as the middleweight eliminator. While Munoz has looked more impressive recently, would likely be favored against Bisping in a fight and seems to match-up better with Anderson Silva, Bisping is a bigger star with a bigger personality. The feeling is that he and Sonnen, both great at hyping fights, could turn their FOX fight into a big attraction.
And, regardless of who ended up winning, both would be a more animated and buzzworthy challenger for Anderson Silva, even though it may be true that Munoz is a threat to Silva in the cage.