UFC 117: Stacked From Top to Bottom

With UFC 117 only a little over three weeks away, the anticipation for the event is growing among MMA fans.

The card that has been put together rivals any card ever assembled, in my opinion. The card includes UFC 100, which was more heavily publicized due to the fact that it was an anniversary event and they had two big draws on the card in Brock Lesnar and GSP.

In the main event, we have arguably the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world in Anderson Silva vs. your neighborhood big mouth Cheal Sonnen. In this event, I believe Sonnen will fully eat his words and then some after the night is over.

In the co-main event of the evening, Hall of Famer Matt Hughes takes on Ricardo Almeida in what could be Hughes' last fight in the octagon or even his last chance at relevance in today's world of MMA. Also, this could possibly serve as Ricardo Almeida's coming out party if he can win and win in impressive fashion.

Next up is the rematch of all rematches coming from the Welterweight division, with Jon Fitch taking on Thiago Alves. The winner of this match is likely to be next in line for a title shot after GSP takes on Josh Koschek later on down the road. The first fight ended with an up-kick from Jon Fitch then finished with punches. The rematch should be a different story, considering Alves was still a very raw fighter and is in a completely different league now.

Then it's time for the big boys: Junior Dos Santos vs. Roy Nelson, who are also looking to jockey themselves into position for either a fight with Frank Mir (if he can get past Nogueira) or better yet, to be next in line for a title shot after Cain Velasquez and Brock Lesnar face off.

It doesn't stop there; also on this card is fan favorite Clay Guida, heavy-handed Thiago Silva, and up-and-comers Johny Hendricks, Stefan Struve, and Ben Saunders.

This will without a doubt be one of, if not the best, cards of the year and is definitely not one to miss!

UFC 117 fight card listed below:

*Main Card Bouts*

Anderson Silva vs. Chael Sonnen
Jon Fitch vs. Thiago Alves
Clay Guida vs. Rafael Dos Anjos
Matt Hughes vs. Ricardo Almeida
Roy Nelson vs. Junior Dos Santos

*Preliminary Bouts *
Thiago Silva vs. Tim Boetsch
Dustin Hazelett vs. Rick Story
Stefan Struve vs. Christian Morecraft
Johny Hendricks vs. Charlie Brenneman
Ben Saunders vs. Dennis Hallman
Rodney Wallace vs. Stanislav Nedko