On March 27th, 2010 Ultimate Fighting Championship 111 will take place at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. The Prudential Center was opened in 2007 and holds up to 19,000 spectators. It is currently the home of the New Jersey Devils and Seton Hall Pirates. In the future, the New Jersey Nets will play their home games at the Prudential Center. Newark, New Jersey is the largest city in New Jersey with a population of over 280,000. Newark is located just 8 miles west of Manhattan and 2 miles north of Staten Island. The UFC has been conducting fights across the country, and even overseas since 1993, when Denver Colorado held several bouts. The prime time fight for the night will feature Georges St-Pierre against Dan Hardy. St. Pierre is ranked as “pound for pound” the top fighter according to numerous mixed martial arts sources. Hardy, who made his UFC debut at UFC 89 is 23-6-1 overall. UFC 111 will be the first time a UFC fight has taken place at the Prudential Center.
The Main Bout
The UFC 111 fight that has all the makings for an incredible bout is Georges St-Pierre vs. Dan Hardy. St. Pierre will turn 29 years old in May, and was born in Quebec. He is known as Rush or GSP by his piers and fans around the world. He stands just 5’10 and weighs 170lbs. His specialties include Kyokushin, Wresting, Muay Thai and Brazilian Jit-Jitsu. He made his UFC debut in UFC 46 where he knocked off Karo Parisyan by a unanimous decision. In UFC 58, St. Pierre beat B.J. Penn for the UFC welterweight title. At UFC 69, St. Pierre lost the title to Matt Serra, but regained it again at UFC 83, beating Serra this time. Many sources have started St. Pierre has considered leaving the UFC to attempt to join the Canadian freestyle wrestling team, and compete in 2012 Olympics. Overall, St. Pierre is 19-2. His opponent, Dan Hardy, otherwise known as “The Outlaw” has won his last seven fights. His most recent fight was over American Mike Swick in a unanimous decision. His last loss came on December 1st, 2007 to Japanese fighter Yoshiuki Yoshida. His first fight within the UFC circuit came in UFC 89 where he downed Akihiro Gono.
The rest of the Main Card
The rest of the main card for UFC 111 includes Frank Mir against Shane Carwin, both American fighters. Also, in another battle between two Americans; Ben Saunders will fight Jake Ellenberger. Brazilian fighter Thiago Alves will take on Jon Fitch, of the United States. The final fight of the main card is between Jim Miller, of the United States and Canadian Mark Bocek. Frank Mir will turn 31 years old in May, and was born in Las Vegas. He continues to live and train in Las Vegas as well. Standing at 6’3 and weighing 265lbs, Mir is known best for his Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and Muay Thai. Mir is 13-4 in his professional fighting career, and his most recent bout was against Cheick Kongo, where he beat via Technical Submission. Carwin comes in as the # 9 heavyweight fighter according to Sherdog. Carwin is 11-0 in professional fights with his most recent win coming over Gabriel Gonzaga, as part of UFC 96 last March. Carwin was born and raised, and continues to train in Colorado.
In the first Welterweight bout Ben Saunders will take on Jake Ellenberger. Saunders will turn 27 in April and his from Florida. His overall MMA record is 8-1-2. Ellenberger is just 24 years old, but has competed in 27 MMA bouts. In his last fight, he beat Mike Pyle via TKO in Las Vegas. In the other welterweight fight American Jon Fitch will fight Brazilian Thiago Alves. Fitch, 32, from Indiana is best known for his wrestling and kickboxing style. He has won 21 of his 25 MMA fights overall. He has won three straight fights with his latest being at UFC 107 over Mike Pierce. Alves, other wise known as Pitbull, is 16-6 in 22 career fights. He recently was downed by Georges St. Pierre in UFC 100 last July. That loss snapped a streak of seven straight wins dating back to October of 2006.
In the lightweight bout at UFC 111, Jim Miller and Matt Bocek will go at it. Miller is 26 years old from Sparta New Jersey. He has fought in 18 MMA matches, including the UFC 108 back in early January. Overall, Miller is 16-2. He stands just 5’8 and weighs 155lbs. Bocek, from Canada, is one of the first Canadian’s to expertise in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. He has won three straight fights, including his rear naked choke submission over Joe Brammar back in December of 2009. Bocek will turn 29 years old in December.
The preliminary Card
UFC 111 will feature a Spike TV Card, and also a preliminary card with four fights. The Spike TV Card has American’s Nate Diaz and Rory Markham going against each other, and another set of American’s Ricardo Almeida and Matt Brown tangling in the ladder match.
In the preliminary card, there are four bouts: lightweight bout, light heavyweight bout, middleweight bout and welterweight bout. In the UFC 111 lightweight bout – Kurt Pellegrino will fight Fabricio Camoes. Pellegrino last UFC fight was in UFC 101: Declaration where he beat American Josh Neer. Camoes, from Brazil, fought a draw against Japanese fighter Caol Uno in UFC 106 back in November. That was his UFC debut. In the light heavyweight bout: Rodney Wallace and Jared Hamman will battle. Both fighters are American fighters. Wallace won his first nine fights, before falling in his most recent at UFC: The Ultimate Finale 10 in December. Brian Stann beat him in a unanimous decision. Hamman, otherwise known as switch, is also coming off a loss. On November 14th, 2009 Alexander Gustafsson of Sweden knocked him out. That was during UFC 105. In the middleweight bout Rousimar Palhares of Brazil will take on Tomasz Drwal of Poland. Palhares is 10-2 in professional fights. His biggest fight thus far was at UFC 88 where he was beat by American Dan Henderson. Drwal, who owns and operates a gym in Poland, has won his last three fights, with his most recent coming in UFC 103, back in September of 2009. The final fight in the preliminary card features Matthew Riddle and Greg Soto in the welterweight bout. Both fighters are Americans looking to make a name within the UFC circuit. Riddle was born in Allentown, PA, but now resides and trains in Las Vegas. He won his first three fights of his career, but lost his fourth and most recent to Nick Osipczak of England. Greg Soto fights out of Oakhurst, New Jersey has yet to beat beaten in his fighting career. His first fight came in 2006, and he has won six more since then. His most recent win was over Ray Steinbeiss back in October of 2009. UFC 111 will be the UFC debut for Soto.
Overall, UFC 111 should be a great fight that you won’t want to miss. Come back soon for our UFC 111 Odds overview and individual UFC 111 fight breakdowns including predictions and odds for each fight.
