The rumors are swirling that Roger Huerta will be on the August UFC card in Minneapolis.
My first thought was that this is positioning for a possible title shot for the Matador. He is on a short list of fighters who are ready for a shot.
That list may actually only have two names on it, Roger Huerta and Kenny Florian.
Florian had a chance at the strap late in 2006, but lost a decision to then champion Sean Sherk.
Huerta should get the winner of the upcoming Penn vs. Sherk fight.
The guy has won six straight in the UFC, normally I would say that he hasn't fought a top 10 guy, but they are hard to come by in the UFC lightweight division.
Huerta has beaten what has been served up to him and done so in stunning fashion.
He is one of those guys who has the ability to give fight of the night every time he steps in the cage.
If Sean Sherk, a Minnesota native, beats Penn, he would love a chance to fight in front of a hometown crowd.
If Sherk wins the belt and the UFC doesn't put Sherk vs. Huerta on the card, it would be a colossal mistake. Three local fighters in the top two bouts, bottle that up and you got liquid gold!
The only other fight that I would be willing to accept would be Florian vs. Huerta for a No. 1 contender spot. It would finally give us a true No. 1 contender and a chance to prove my "Kenny Florian really isn't that great" theory.
Huerta will get a title fight, it's simply a matter of when and if he has to get through Florian to do it.
Dream just announced that they will be having the Aoki vs. Gesias "JZ" Calvancante rematch at the next card. This just reminds me how the UFC really stacks up in lightweights and it's not pretty.
The UFC has one or two legitimate top 10 guys.
Before the hater comments start, I ask that you go watch Aoki, Calvancante, Gomi, Gilbert Melendez, Vitor "Shaolin" Ribeiro, and Kawajiri.
Then you can try to argue that UFC has a great lightweight division.
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3 months ago
i agree with you 100% on the UFC having a weak lightweight division compared with other MMA organizations just like i mentioned in my top 10 lightweight rankings article. I had only 2 UFC fighters in the top 10 and the next 2 or 3 fighters I cut from the top 10 were non-UFC fighters as well.
i hear people say all the time that the UFC heavyweight and middleweight classes are thin, but in reality its the lightweight division.
Looking forward to JZ/Aoki rematch just as much, if not more, than the Penn/Sherk fight
3 months ago
look you are right that other organizations have great lightweights but I don't think that makes the UFC lightweights any less credible. You also have to account for the fact that the UFC lightweight is a newer weight it will catch up. But BJ Penn is considered by many to be the best all around fighter in the world. And Sherk, while caught up in the steroid controversy, is a decent fighter as well. And you have something against Florian so your bias is adding to your article. Nothing wrong with the way you feel I am just looking at from a non-bias perspective.
3 months ago
I think BJ is the second best pound for pound fighter on the planet. I think he is going to be bored if the UFC doesn't find some competition for him at lightweight. He beats Sherk and Huerta, then what. BJ will want to move weight classes again, maybe another shot at GSP? IF BJ feels their isn't enough guys to challenge him he has been known to move to greener pastures. As far as Kenny florian goes, he should be the gatekeeper at lightweight. He hasn't shown me anything that indicates this guy can win a strap. He will be the guy if you can beat him you can scrap into the top ten and maybe get a shot. If he beats Penn, Sherk, or Huerta I will change my thinking, until then I just can't get behind him.
The next great fight at lightweight will be Diaz vs. Griffin. They don't like each other and have some history. This will be a fight to see who the next big thing is.
2 months ago
Let's try to be a little objective here. Huerta's first five UFC fights were against guys making their debut. He mas getting manhandled by Guida before catching him with a lucky knee in the third round (yes, I said lucky).
Huerta was even getting outwrestled by the much smaller Doug Evans. The UFC was building him up so that they can expand into Mexico; he is their Latino posterboy.
He has little power and poor wrestling. Heart and determination can only get you so far. The division is filled with strong grapplers, and they won't make the same mistake Guida did.
Unfortunately for Huerta, he is scheduled to fight Florian next. I can't wait for Florian to end his hype train. It should be a fun fight to watch. Huerta can always go back to fighting guys making their UFC debut.
And you can bring this comment back up if Huerta wins. Lightning won't strike twice.
about 1 month ago
roger huerta has to be almost my favorite fighter right now and i would love to see him fight for the title but i think if he beat florian he deserves it and i think he will win the title this guy is like the goerge st pirre of the lightweight division but he has some holes he could work on,but i think he is one of the best fighters in the game and will get better in time go roger
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