MMA: A Tale of Three Fight Cards

The months of July and August will provide some excellent mixed martial arts action for both the hardcore and casual MMA fans.

The UFC is putting their full weight behind this weekend’s UFC 100 event and the associated UFC Fan Expo in Las Vegas, NV.

Just around the corner in August, however, both Strikeforce and Affliction will put on equally impressive fight cards.

Zuffa has said all along they were going to do something “big” for the centennial event, and there really is no denying that UFC 100 is an excellent fight card. But is it any more spectacular than other UFC events in the past?

The main fight card features both the UFC’s heavyweight and welterweight belts on the line, as well as a No. 1 contender’s match in the middleweight division.

Throw in Jon Fitch and the North American debut of Yoshihiro Akiyama, and the PPV portion of UFC 100 is tough to top.

Not to be outdone, though, Affliction will hold their third event on Aug. 1, with their Affliction: Trilogy fight card.

Trilogy brings perhaps an even more star-studded lineup to their PPV main card. Fedor Emelianenko vs. Josh Barnett, Gegard Mousasi vs. Renato Sobral, Jorge Santiago vs. Vitor Belfort, Paul Buentello vs. Gilbert Yvel, Jay Hieron vs. Paul Daley, and the North American debut of Takanori Gomi.

While the average UFC fan might not get as excited for the Trilogy fight card, most MMA fans would have a hard time picking UFC 100 over Affliction: Trilogy.

Also throwing their cards into the mix, Strikeforce continues to add new fights to their event scheduled for Aug. 15 on Showtime.

Strikeforce will hold the first major MMA event to be headlined by a women’s fight as Gina Carano finally takes on Cristiane Santos.

Strikeforce will also one-up the UFC as they put three title belts on the line: Josh Thomson and Gilbert Melendez will rematch for the lightweight title, Alistair Overeem and Fabricio Werdum will fight for the heavyweight belt, and Nick Diaz and Joe Riggs will fight to crown a new welterweight champion.

Which fight card is best?

I don’t think it really matters. MMA fans are being treated to three excellent fight cards with stacked fight cards.

How can we be anything but happy?