Revenge of the UFC Begins with March Madness of MMA

The UFC hopes they have survived their slowest growth period in years as countless fight cards have been ravaged by various injuries and illnesses.

Things are starting to look up for MMA fans as the UFC is coming back with a vengeance now that their roster is finally back up to full strength.

It all started when UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar fell ill to diverticulitis  and was forced off of UFC 106  and then again UFC 108  after it was learned that his career could be over.

From there, former light heavyweight champion Quinton “Rampage” Jackson “retired” which forced Rashad Evans and Jackson off of UFC 107 , which was purposely scheduled for Jackson’s hometown of Memphis, TN.

Then, UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva underwent elbow surgery while his Black House teammate and light heavyweight champ Lyoto Machida had surgery on his hand.

March marks the dawn of a new era as the UFC is set to host their first event on theVersus Network on the 21st. Brandon Vera headlines the show against Jon Jones in a light heavyweight scrap.

After that, it’s off to New Jersey and UFC 111  where we’ll see the return of UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre—who is coming back from an injured groin himself. He will defend his title against Dan Hardy on the Mar. 27 pay-per-view broadcast.

Frank Mir and Shane Carwin will also fight to determine Lesnar’s next challenger. Remember, it was Carwin who was supposed to test Lesnar at UFC 106, then again at UFC 108 before his illness took over.

Just when you thought March was over, the UFC squeezed in “UFC Fight Night 21 ” and have Kenny Florian headline against the UFC’s newest lightweight sensation, Takanori Gomi.

That’s where the UFC will FINALLY give fight fans a short break before UFC 112  jumps off in Abu Dhabi where two titles being defended. BJ Penn will put his lightweight strap on the line against Frank Edgar while Anderson Silva will defend against Demian Maia.

When the calendar finally turns to May, fans won’t know what to do with themselves as the UFC will put UFC 113 and UFC 114 in the same month and have promised even more big fights on the way.

The highly-anticipated rematch between Lyoto Machida and Mauricio “Shogun” Rua will finally go down at UFC 113 and former TUF coaches Rashad Evans and Quinton Jackson will finally have their day at UFC 114 .

Wow, that was a lot of information. Here’s how the UFC’s upcoming March-May calendar looks … Try and keep up:

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UFC on Versus: Vera vs. Jones
Mar. 21, 2010

UFC 111: St-Pierre vs. Hardy
Mar. 27, 2010

UFC Fight Night 21
Mar. 31, 2010

UFC 112: Invincible
Apr. 10, 2010

UFC 113: Machida vs. Rua II
May 8, 2010

UFC 114
May 29, 2010

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Is that enough MMA for you? (Don’t forget that we didn’t even mention what the WEC, Strikeforce and Dream have planned either!)