Watch UFC Live Friday on Sportsnet ONE
Posted March 2, 2012 1:56 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
The second UFC on FX event takes place from Sydney, Australia, and the whole card, featuring five hours of fights, will air live on Friday night on Sportsnet ONE.
The preliminary fights begin at 6 p.m. ET, followed by the two-hour main card at 9 p.m. ET. Readers can also follow live results throughout on sportsnet.ca, where they can also watch the post-fight press conference.
The explosive night of Friday night fights features an expected war between two top welterweights as well as the two semi-final bouts in the first UFC flyweight title tournament.
In the main event, 170-pound contenders Thiago Alves and Martin Kampmann collide in a three-rounder which will see the winner edge closer to a UFC title shot.
“Alves vs Kampmann is a big, important win for one of these guys,” UFC president Dana White said. “Alves has scored more knockdowns and as many knockouts as any welterweight in the UFC, while Kampmann has finished 11 opponents. Both guys want to get back up there and push for a title shot, and this is a huge fight in both their careers.”
Despite being a headliner, it will not be five rounds because the fight was already signed before it was announced that all main events going forward — even those on FX and FUEL TV — will be five rounds.
Alves likes his chances in the matchup.
“He’s a pretty well-rounded fighter so I’m prepared for everything,” Alves told sportsnet.ca. “He’s a striker by trade but I know he’s well rounded so I’m prepared for a war wherever the fight goes. I’m going to break him.”
Kampman is confident as well but hopes to avoid any controversial decisions that have plagued him a couple times in the past.
“I can beat the best in the division. I feel some of my losses were really wins but the judges went the other way with BS decisions,” Kampmann said. “Thiago is very technical with his strikes and has power too, and I want to stay away from those bombs. I used to want to trade with these guys, but now I’m going to be a little more smart.”
The four best 125-pound fighters in the world will battle it out in two matches to decide which fighters will compete for the newly-minted UFC flyweight title later this year.
First, Demetrious (Mighty Mouse) Johnson, 14-2 in his mixed martial arts career, takes on highly-rated UFC newcomer Ian (Uncle Creepy) McCall, 11-2. And in the second semi-final, Joseph Benavidez, the 15-2 buzzsaw who took Dominick Cruz to a split decision for the bantamweight world title, takes on Japanese sensation Yasuhiro Urushitani, 19-4, who has long been considered the best 125-pound fighter in the world.
White said introducing the flyweights is a sign of the growth of the UFC — which he said at one point didn’t even have a lightweight division.
“It’s a testament to how big the sport has become that we can now do this flyweight division. A lot of people have been waiting for this weight class to arrive, here it is, and we are very excited.
“These two fights are going to set the tone for this division and show everyone what the UFC 125-pound division is all about.”
The four-fight main card also features the middleweight clash between The Ultimate Fighter season 11 winner Court McGee and Costantinos Philippou.
The preliminary card features Canadian light-heavyweight Nick Penner, making his UFC debut against Australia’s Anthony Perosh. Two other Aussies fight on the undercard: James Te-Huna takes on Aaron Rosa and Kyle Noke meets newcomer Andrew Craig.
