UFC: 5 Fights to Watch in June

The UFC continues its busy schedule with five very fun fight cards in June. Starting with tonight's Ultimate Fighter finale, the month will culminate with a fight between Wanderlei Silva and Rich Franklin at UFC 147 in Brazil. 

Prepare yourselves as every week is fight week. And enjoy when fighters become contenders in their respective divisions. 

Take a look at the top five most anticipated fights in June. 

Ultimate Fighter Live Finale: Charles Oliveira vs. Jonathan Brookins

Tonight at the Ultimate Fighter Finale, featherweights Charles "Do Bronx" Oliveira and Jonathan Brookins face each other on the main card. 

Charles Oliveira had many thinking he was the future of the lightweight division when he made his UFC debut. Unfortunately, a key loss to Jim Miller caused him to cut weight and drop down to featherweight. That decision ended up being for the best as Oliveira has established himself as a name to beat in the division. 

Brookins is a former opponent of Jose Aldo and an Ultimate Fighter winner. He too tried his hand at lightweight before dropping back down to his more natural weight of 145 pounds. 

This fight will allow us to see just how far these two fighters have come and who will be one of the future stars of the division. 

Ultimate Fighter Live Finale: Jake Ellenberger vs. Martin Kampmann

Jake Ellenberger and Martin Kampmann headline the Ultimate Fighter Live Finale live from Las Vegas. This fight is supposedly for the number one contender in the welterweight division. I have previously written about the current log jam in the division and how there are multiple fighters all awaiting title shots. 

Jake Ellenberger has built himself up with impressive wins over Diego Sanchez and Jake Shields. The Shields fight caught fan attention as it was such an unexpected win. The fight with Sanchez firmly established Ellenberger as a fighter to fear and respect at welterweight. 

Martin Kampmann is extremely unlucky when fights go to the judges as his opponents are usually awarded the win. It happens so often that fans joke that he's actually on a four-fight winning streak. He holds impressive wins over Rick Story and Thiago Alves.

Expect the winner of this bout to receive word they are fighting for a title sometime this summer. 

UFC on FX 3: Ian McCall vs. Demetrious Johnson

The first time these two fought, they stole the show in Australia. The fight also ended in controversy as the commission tabulated the scores wrong and announced a winner when the fight should in fact have gone to a fourth round. 

The winner of this fight will face Joseph Benavidez for the newly minted UFC flyweight title. The title holder will be the consensus number one flyweight in the world. 

UFC on FX 4: Gray Maynard vs. Clay Guida

Clay Guida and Gray Maynard headline UFC on FX 4 in Atlantic City on June 22. 

These lightweight fighters are two of the most aggressive in the division. Clay Guida's never stop attitude has led to him being considered by many as the most exciting fighter at 155. Gray Maynard possesses extremely heavy hands and dominant wrestling. 

To add even more intrigue, this will be Maynard's first fight back since leaving Xtreme Couture for American Kickboxing Academy and Nova União. Will the change of camp see Maynard get back in the win column or will Guida reestablish himself as a contender in the division?

There's only one way to find out. 

UFC 147: Wanderlei Silva vs Rich Franklin

So this is no longer a grudge match between two long-time rivals. That kind of stinks. Instead we get to see a rematch between two all-time greats. 

Wanderlei Silva has been spending his time as a coach on the inaugural season of The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil opposite of Vitor Belfort. The two were expected to face one another in the main event of UFC 147. Unfortunately Belfort suffered a broken hand in training and was forced to pull out of the fight. 

Rich Franklin was preparing for Cung Le at UFC 148 when he got the call to step in for the injured Belfort. This new fight is purely for fans of the sport. Neither fighter has ever been in a boring fight and both are in the twilight of their respective careers. 

Good on the UFC for matching two legends up instead of trying to use them for their name value to build up a younger fighter.