Our UFC 148 Fight Parties in Las Vegas for July 7, 2012

Red Rock Casino, Resort, Spa – Rocks Lounge, $10 Cover – HD

• Doors open at 5pm – 11011 West Charleston Boulevard, Las Vegas, Nevada 89135  (702) 797-7777
• Special appearance by UFC fighter, Johny Hendricks

Aliante Station Casino + Hotel – Access Showroom, $10 Cover – HD

• Doors open at 5pm – 7300 Aliante Parkway, North Las Vegas, NV 89084 – 1-877-477-SOAR (7627)

Santa Fe Station – Centennial Ballroom, $10 Cover

• Doors open at 5:30 pm – 4949 N Rancho Dr Las Vegas, NV 89130 – (702) 658-4900
• Special appearance by UFC fighter, Clay Guida

Fiesta Henderson – Cancun Room, $10 Cover

• Doors Open at 6pm – 777 W. Lake Mead Pkwy, Henderson, NV 89015  – (702) 558-7000

Palace Station Hotel & Casino– Grand Ballrooms – $10 Cover – HD

• Doors Open at 6pm – 2411 W. Sahara Avenue, Las Vegas, NV 89102 – (702) 367-2411

Sunset Station Hotel & Casino  – Club Madrid – $10 Cover

• Doors Open at 5pm – 1301 W. Sunset Rd,  Henderson, NV 89014 – (702) 547-7777
• Special appearance by UFC fighter, Rory MacDonald

Biggest fight of the year? No doubt. Where will you be watching? If you’re lucky enough to get your hands on a ticket to the live event, we highly suggest not messing around and getting to the arena for this historic fight! The next best thing if you haven’t locked down your seat is one of Station Casinos 6 Fight Parties throughout the Las Vegas Valley! It all goes down on Saturday, as if this week didn’t have enough blockbusters in store with UFC International Fight Week in town and a little hush hush party we’re throwing for the nation’s birthday on the 4th of July! (Tweet #sclv4th!)  Oooh, this is gonna’ be good!

Dedicated fight fans won’t need any back story for this one, but this is a fight that even non-fight fans are going to tune into in record numbers. It’s likely that quite a few converts are going to be made this Saturday, as was the case after the now iconic Silva vs Sonnen I on August 7, 2010. For the uninitiated (and for fight freaks who just can’t get enough) here’s the nutshell version of this historic rivalry:

What do you get when you combine the universally accepted greatest MMA fighter of All-Time with an acid-tongued fight promoting savant who just happens to be the inarguable top contender for the Middleweight strap? Staying on theme, you get fireworks the likes of which Francis Scott Key could only dream about! The world witnessed something truly stunning in Silva vs Sonnen I. The world’s best fighter was thrown around like a proverbial ragdoll for 23 minutes before pulling off the most unlikely of come from behind submission victories in the history of the sport.

It was in fact the latest submission victory in a 5-Rounder (and therefore in any UFC fight since the modern definition of ‘Rounds’), and it cemented Anderson Silva as truly one of the greatest combat fighters in history. Silva’s skills were never in question. That his heart could match the level of his remarkable talent was the revelation. It was disappointing news to Chael Sonnen too, who despite his campaign as the ‘People’s Champ’ virtually since the day after their first meeting, was clearly thoroughly dumbfounded and crushed by the late reversal of fortune.

What makes this fight so highly anticipated? Given that the Champion Silva not only defended successfully against Sonnen once already, and reportedly did so while battling a severe rib injury, is it odd that this clash is viewed by many to be a uniquely interesting match-up? One need look no further than Hall of Famer Randy Couture’s recent analysis, in which he identified an unusual role reversal for a championship bout. Given the manner in which Sonnen completely dominated the first fight for better than four rounds (despite losing), it is Silva that has more adjustments to make going into Saturday’s rematch.

That’s an interesting take, and Couture knows a thing or two about rematches and championships! Couture’s analysis may prove spot on, but one thing is for certain: if Chael Sonnen is not Anderson Silva’s Kryptonite, he’s real darn close. Styles make fights as they say, and unfortunately for Silva (fortunately for us), he is forced to prove himself one more time against the man that landed more strikes on him in 23 minutes than all of his 15 previous opponents combined. Is Chael Sonnen that strong of a contender, or does he simply provide the worst possible stylistic match-up for the future Hall-of-Fame bound Silva, the longest reigning champion in the history of the sport?

All these questions and more will be answered this Saturday night at UFC 148! If the Middleweight Title fight wasn’t enough excitement for one event, Forrest Griffin is throwing a retirement party for Tito Ortiz the same night, and Patrick Cote will go against Cung Le. This will be Le’s first bout since being KO’d by fan favorite Wanderlei Silva in a memorable fight. We hope you take us up on our invitation and join us at one of our Station Casinos Fight Parties! Where will you be watching?

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