UFC 137 Fight Card: Is It Still Worth the Money Without Georges St-Pierre?

The UFC 137 fight card took a big hit earlier this week when the scheduled main event between Georges St-Pierre and Carlos Condit was scrapped due to an injury sustained by the UFC welterweight champion GSP.

With the event now missing its biggest draw, critics are beginning to question whether the event will be worth the $44.99 price tag. The knee injury is only expected to keep St-Pierre out for a few weeks, so there is a realistic possibility that we will be seeing the fight between him and Condit as soon as January 2012.

Still, UFC 137 remains an excellent card even without St-Pierre vs. Condit.

Each person will have to make his or her own choice when it comes to buying this and any UFC event, but before you decide to say “no” to this one, please take the time to check out the top five reasons why you should be rushing to your cable box to order UFC 137. 

5. UFC Debut of Hatsu Hioki

Japan has long been a hotbed for mixed martial arts, particularly in the smaller weight classes. It has been awhile since a top-level Japanese fighter has come to the UFC. That will come to an end, though, when arguably the top current Japanese fighter, Hatsu Hioki, will make his debut against George Roop at UFC 137.

It will be interesting to see how the former Shooto champion will look in his first fight in the states.

4. Did You Miss out on UFC 136?

It’s no secret that the lighter weight classes typically do not have as much attention surrounding them as the heavier ones do, unless there is a superstar like BJ Penn involved.

UFC 136 featured the third fight between lightweight champion, Frankie Edgar, and challenged Gray Maynard who fought to a draw in their previous bout, in what was almost unanimously called one of the best fights of the year.

Unfortunately, unconfirmed reports today are indicating that UFC 136 did not do well in terms of pay-per-view buys. In fact, some reports are estimating that the event could have generated as few as 200k-250k buys, which would make it the lowest-purchased pay-per-view event since UFC 51 in Feb. 2005.

If these numbers are correct, there are quite a few UFC fans who missed one of the best events of the year.

Were you one of those fans?

Don’t miss out again!

3. Mirko Cro Cop’s Last Stand?

Legendary heavyweight fighter Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic might be the best fighter to ever compete who has never held a mixed martial arts championship—he did win the Pride Open-Weight Grand Prix in 2006.

This once dominant knockout artist has seen a dramatic drop-off in recent years, as he has failed to make a big splash in the UFC, including losing three of his past five fights in the Octagon. Not only that, but UFC President Dana White has made hints that a loss at UFC 137 could mean the end of Cro Cop’s run in the Octagon.

He’ll have a tough task ahead of him, too, as he will be going up against one of the division’s top fighters—the deceptively agile and talented Roy Nelson who has been hovering around the top 10 in the division for quite some time.

Cro Cop is one of the most universally loved fighters, so with this having the potential of being his final fight, if you too are a fan, you don’t want to miss it. 

2. Diaz vs. Penn Is an Awesome Fight

Look, I understand that the championship fight between Georges St-Pierre and Carlos Condit was the main attraction of UFC 137, but that doesn’t mean that we have to neglect the fact that a Nick Diaz vs. BJ Penn fight is still an incredible main event.

When you consider that we have seen recent main events, such as Rampage Jackson vs. Matt Hamill on pay-per-view, a “dream” fight between Nick Diaz and BJ Penn should be making fans giddy with delight.

The problem is that we have become spoiled in recent months with these ridiculously stacked cards, such as UFC 129, where numerous of the biggest draws in the sport are all competing on the same card. Those events are obviously great, but not every event is going to be able to include such a crazy lineup.

There’s nothing wrong with this new main event. Two of the best boxers in the sport who both have tremendous jiu-jitsu skills is the recipe for a very, very memorable fight. 

1. It’s the UFC!

The bottom line is that even without St-Pierre and Condit on the card, this event still has the potential to be extremely entertaining. While other promotions rely on the star-power of their top fighters, the UFC has the capability of putting on an amazing show even with fighters who many casual fans have never even heard of—they do it all the time on free TV.

This event has much more than that, though. With Diaz, Penn, Cro Cop, Nelson, Kongo and Mitrione on the card, there is plenty of star-power remaining and the fights should be excellent.

So do yourself a favor and don’t be bitter GSP-Condit being off the card. Instead, look at what you’re still getting. Would you have been disappointed if the UFC put this card out without GSP-Condit on it originally? Unless you’re one of the minority who hates both Penn and Diaz, chances are you’d still be pretty excited about this card.

Think about it—Diaz vs. Penn alone is worth the price. Then on top of that, you’re getting four other great fights.

This is the UFC, when do they not deliver?