Our UFC 149 Fight Parties in Las Vegas for July 21, 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

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 6:00 pm – 4949 N Rancho Dr Las Vegas, NV 89130 – (702) 658-4900

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

 

The UFC returns to Calgary this Saturday for UFC 149 Faber vs. Barao. This fight card has been plagued with injuries, with 9 of the originally planned fights having been affected by injury. In his own words, Dana White called this event with all it’s twists and turns “the craziest of all time. “Just a handful of the big names that will NOT  be fighting include Jose Aldo, Antonio Nogueira, Mauricio Rua, Michael Bisping, Thiago Alves, Thiago Silva….  getting the picture? The 20,000 seat Saddledome (home of the Calgary Flames) is likely to still be substantially full, however. You see, Canadians are not at all averse to a good brawl, on or off the ice.

The solution? Former featherweight title holder Urijah Faber will take a second shot at the bantamweight belt. This time it’s the interim strap and the opponent is Renan Barão, a streaking Brazilian with an astounding 28-1 record. Faber has long been a fan favorite for his relentless “take no prisoners” fighting style and numerous Fight Of The Night performances. He’s won a fair portion of his current following from incredibly gutsy outings…. going 4-1/2 rounds with a broken hand against Mike Brown at WEC 41 comes immediately to mind.

So an exciting main event is a virtual given at 149, but will it be enough to make this a memorable night of fights? MMA is first and foremost an unpredictable phenomenon, hence the addictive appeal which has helped fuel the UFC on it’s way to overtaking boxing, all other conventional combat sports, and several mainstream sports. It’s impossible to say whether or not 149 can come anywhere close to the epic intensity of it’s predecessor 148, but the 2012 version of the UFC is one with an incredibly deep pool of fighters. This allows the company to compensate when a plague of injuries erupts.

Dana White (with a fair amount of help from matchmaker Joe Silva) has become a master of filling the proverbial “holes in the dam,” and in the case of UFC 149 the mission appears to be accomplished by plugging in quite a few fighters known for their crowd pleasing “all or nothing” fight styles. The 31-2-1 Hector Lombard goes against the 15-4 “Barbarian” Tim Boetsch in a middleweight bout that can’t possibly disappoint , and the always willing “stand and trade” banger Cheick Kongo (who weighed in at a substantial 240 lbs.) takes on a truly massive heavyweight in Shawn Jordan. Jordan is 13-3 and weighed in at 260 lbs. That’s a big dude.

The balance of the card is filled with second tier names, but all the kind of fighters that we’ve been looking forward to seeing again. Court McGee takes on Nick Ring, Matt Riddle takes on Chris Clements at 170lbs., and the 50-14-1 veteran Brian Ebersole goes against the 8-2 James Head (also at welterweight).

Six bouts will be broadcast for free via Facebook and the FX Network, while the main card will be broadcast exclusively via Pay-Per-View. It should be another a great night of Professional MMA! Where will you be watching?