6 Must See Scraps: July 2012

It’s July and once again the MMA schedule for the month is packed to the gills. Four major events –UFC 148, UFC on FUEL TV 4, Strikeforce: Rockhold vs. Kennedy & UFC 149 – fill the July MMA schedule with plenty of pivotal match ups. There will be battles for respect, relevance, number one contendership and most important of all: championship glory.

July will undeniably have a number of memorable fights, however, only six can make the list. With that said, here are the fights you CANNOT miss this coming month.

In chronological order:

The Who: Forrest Griffin vs. Tito Ortiz (Light Heavyweight Bout)
The When: Saturday, July 7 – UFC 148: Silva vs. Sonnen II
The Where: MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
The Goods: The Ultimate Fighter season one winner Forrest Griffin and UFC Hall-of-Famer “The Huntington Beach Bad Boy” Tito Ortiz are set to share the cage with each other for the third and final time in the co-main event at UFC 148. Both fighters know each other so well at this point that they will be looking to repeat the success that won their respective bouts.

Griffin (18-7) has struggled to find consistency is recent years, dropping three of his last five contests. The 32-year-old last fought at UFC 134 in Brazil where Mauricio “Shogun” Rua knocked him out in less than two minutes. Prior to that fight, Griffin had won two straight bouts, including the split decision victory over Ortiz.

Ortiz (16-10-1) is on the downside of his career, going 1-6-1 in his last eight bouts with the lone win coming against Ryan Bader at UFC 132 in July 2011. He most recently fought against Antonio Rogerio Nogueira at UFC 140 last December, losing the fight by TKO in the first round. Ortiz has battled injuries over the last few years, and has let it be known the fight will be the last of his career. He has publicly declared he will retire from the sport win, lose or draw.

The Verdict: It all comes down to this. The two fan favorites have fought twice before, each winning one by split decision. The first fight took place back at UFC 59 in April 2006 and ended with Ortiz winning via controversial split decision. The pair had a rematch at UFC 106 in November 2009 and once again, the fight ended via hotly contested split decision, however it was Griffin who emerged as the victor. Look for both men to try and put a definitive ending to this epic series.

The Who: Anderson Silva vs. Chael Sonnen (Middleweight Championship Bout)
The When: Saturday, July 7 – UFC 148: Silva vs. Sonnen II
The Where: MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
The Goods: The most anticipated rematch in UFC history headlines UFC 148 on July 7 in Las Vegas as bitter-rivals Anderson “The Spider” Silva and Chael Sonnen are set to run it back for the second time in a rematch of their UFC 117 Fight of the Year winning bout from August 2010.

Silva (31-4) is the undisputed number one ranked pound-for-pound fighter on the planet. The longtime middleweight champion is undefeated in the UFC at 14-0 with nine wins by (T)KO. The Brazilian has not competed since defeating Yushin Okami by second round TKO at UFC 134 in August 2011, which is the longest layoff of his UFC career. The dynamic striker with dangerous submission skills will look to make it two-for-two with another win over Sonnen at UFC 148

Sonnen (27-11-1) finally earns his long awaited rematch against Silva at UFC 147. The Oregon native defeated Brian Stann and Michael Bisping to earn his shot at the belt, but ultimately it was his performance in the first fight against Silva at UFC 117 that had fans clamoring for a rematch. Sonnen is well known for his verbal attacks on Silva and has continued his verbal assault in the weeks leading up to the fight. Submission defense has long been the weakness of the raucous Sonnen, but for this fight he has brought in top BJJ and former M-1 LHW champion Vinny Magalhaes to tighten up his jiu-jitsu game.

The Verdict: The first fight between Silva and Sonnen is one of the most memorable in UFC history. Sonnen dominated the champion with a high volume ground-and-pound attack for four and a half rounds, only to have Silva score an incredible come-from-behind victory in the fifth round. Can Sonnen make the minor adjustment that caused him to lose the last fight just minutes before he handed Silva his first UFC defeat? Or will Silva succeed in his promise to break every limb in Sonnen’s body, making the Oregon native win number 15 on his UFC historic resume? This is the one fight in July that cannot be missed.

The Who: Mark Munoz vs. Chris Weidman (Middleweight Bout)
The When: Wednesday, July 11 – UFC on FUEL TV 4: Munoz vs. Weidman
The Where: HP Pavilion in San Jose, California, USA
The Goods: Just days after Anderson Silva and Chael Sonnen do battle for the second time, a 185-pound contenders bout that could determine a future challenger to the middleweight crown has top billing at UFC on FUEL TV 4 as Mark “The Wrecking Machine” Munoz takes on Chris “All-American” Weidman.

Munoz (12-2) returns to the octagon after undergoing surgery on his elbow to fix an injury that forced him out of a UFC on FOX 2 bout against Chael Sonnen. The fight against Sonnen was slated to determine the number one contender in the UFC middleweight division, and Munoz was understandably disappointed with the missed opportunity. “The Filipino Wrecking Machine” looks to reassert his position as one of the division’s top contenders at UFC on FUEL TV 4.

Weidman (8-0) earned the biggest win of his career last January when he defeated Demian Maia by a lopsided unanimous decision. Weidman took the bout against Maia on just 11 days notice and while it wasn’t pretty, the “All-American” grinded out the win. The 27-year-old holds a 4-0 record in the UFC and will headline a UFC event for the first time in his young career.

The Verdict: Both men are high caliber wrestlers which could mean the fight will be contested on the feet. Munoz has to be given the power advantage in the striking department, but with just eight professional fights under his belt, Weidman is dramatically improving every time he steps into the cage. This fight is incredible important for both athletes as the winner will be one or two wins away from a title shot while the loser will be sent to the back of the line in the suddenly-stacked middleweight division.

The Who: Robbie Lawler vs. Lorenz Larkin (Middleweight Bout)
The When: Saturday, July 14 – Strikeforce: Rockhold vs. Kennedy
The Where: Rose Garden in Portland, Oregon, USA
The Goods: Two of the hardest hitters in the Strikeforce middleweight division will collide on the main card of “Rockhold vs. Kennedy as crafty veteran “Ruthless” Robbie Lawler welcomes Lorenz “The Monsoon” Larken to the middleweight division in a bout should end in a gruesome knockout.

Lawler (19-8, 1 NC) has struggled to find consistency in recent years, going 4-4 in his past eight bouts. With 16 knockout victories out of 19-overall wins, the heavy-handed 30-year-old will be looking to win a second consecutive bout for the first time since 2007 with a victory at the July 14 event.

Larkin (12-0, 1 NC) has soundly defeated all of his opponents to date, with the exception of his last fight against Muhammed Lawal, which was ultimately ruled a “No Contest” after “King Mo” was busted for steroid used. The young fighter will drop to middleweight for the first time in his career and is out to prove he can defeat a striker of Lawler’s caliber.

The Verdict: The most fascinating aspect of this fight is how Larkin will handle the cut to 185-pounds. The 25-year-old has never had to make the weight cut for an MMA fight and the 20-pound gap between light heavyweight and middleweight is significant. As for the fight itself, both men have tremendous knockout power (24 combined knockouts) so the fight has potential to end within the blink of an eye. Watch out.

The Who: Hector Lombard vs. Tim Boetsch (Middleweight Bout)
The When: Saturday, July 21 – UFC 149: Faber vs. Barao
The Where: Scotiabank Saddledome in Calgary, Alberta, Canada
The Goods: Fireworks are expected in the co-main event of the night at UFC 149 when Tim “The Barbarian” Boetsch welcomes Hector Lombard to the UFC roster in a middleweight contenders fight. Lombard was originally slated to face Brian Stann in the main event of UFC on FOX 4, but when Stann pulled out of the fight with an injury, Lombard was left with an opponent for the Aug. 4. It wasn’t long before he fought a new fight, though, as the 34-year-old stepped in for an injured Michael Bisping against Boetsch.

Lombard (31-2-1) joins the UFC middleweight division on an outstanding 25-fight unbeaten streak. The Cuban-Australian fighter holds dynamite in his fists as 17 of his 31 career victories have come by (T)KO. Lombard has beaten essentially every name 185-pounder outside the ZUFFA umbrella and finally has the chance to test his skills against the best fighters in the world.

Boetsch (15-4) is undefeated at 3-0 in the UFC middleweight division since dropping down from 205 pounds in 2011. Boetsch most recently scored a memorable come from behind knockout victory of Yushin Okami at UFC 144 in Japan, and attempts to add another solid win to his resume when he takes on Lombard.

The Verdict: Similar to the Munoz vs. Weidman bout on July 11, this fight has serious implications in the UFC middleweight division. Lombard has basically been promised a title-shot with a win at UFC 149, and while Boetsch has not been promised the same, it would seemingly make sense for him to get the same opportunity should he pull off an impressive victory. Both men like to keep their fights on the feet and look for the knockout, so don’t blink when these two brawlers step in the cage.

The Who: Urijah Faber vs. Renan Barao (Interim Bantamweight Championship Bout)
The When: Saturday, July 21 – UFC 149: Faber vs. Barao
The Where: Scotiabank Saddledome in Calgary, Alberta, Canada
The Goods: For the first time in the history of the organization, an interim champion will be crowned at 135-pounds as former WEC champion “The California Kid” Urijah Faber and Brazilian phenom Renan Barao will do battle in the main event of the first UFC show in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.

Faber (26-5) established himself as the number one contender in the bantamweight division with a dominant win over Brian Bowles at UFC 139 last November. He was scheduled to fight undisputed bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz at the conclusion of their coaching stint on “The Ultimate Fighter: Live”, but after Cruz suffered a knee injury, the two rivals were forced to wait to settle and Barao was given the opportunity to compete against Faber for the interim belt. Faber is 3-1 as a bantamweight and will look to claim UFC gold for the first time in his career at UFC 149.

Barao (28-1, 1 NC) is presented with the opportunity of a lifetime as he has the opportunity to fight for the bantamweight championship at the misfortune of Dominick Cruz. Barao is currently riding an unprecedented 25-fight unbeaten streak with a 3-0 record inside the UFC. After losing the first fight of his career, the Brazilian has evolved into one of the best bantamweight fighters on the planet and has the chance to become the second champion out of the Nova Uniao gym alongside UFC featherweight champion, Jose Aldo.

The Verdict: While neither fighter can make the claim at being the undisputed number one bantamweight in the world with a win at UFC 149 (that honor still goes to Cruz), this match up is arguably more competitive than Faber vs. Cruz. Both are extremely well rounded and are capable of finishing the fight on the feet and on the ground. Quick and talented bantamweight fighters pitted against each other are the ingredients for an exciting fight any day of the week.

Mike Bohn, founder and lead writer of FightCove.com, wrote this article. You can follow Mike on Twitter at @FightCoveMike. Also, follow @FightCove on Twitter and “Like” Fight Cove on Facebook.