Guida vs. Henderson and 5 Prelim Fights Not to Miss in 2011

A lot of fight fans are a bit angry that a possible No. 1 contenders fight between Clay Guida and Ben Henderson isn’t going to make next weeks FOX broadcast, and Dana White and company can’t blame them.

Both fighters bring it every time they step into the cage and this could be a potential fight of the year candidate, but unless you have a Facebook account or watch it on FOX.com, there is no way to see the fight.

This isn’t the only fight left this year that could bring the house down but is in danger of being unaired, and while a few of these fights may make a Spike TV broadcast, sadly none of them will make a main card.

Clay Guida vs. Ben Henderson

I’m not one to add WWE style stipulations to fights, but would anyone really complain if they made this a loser shaves his head fight?

Hair jokes aside, this is a huge fight in the lightweight division between two of the most intense fighters in the UFC.

Don’t be surprised if the winner is fighting Frankie Edgar for a UFC title in early 2012.

Dustin Poirier vs. Pablo Garza

If it wasn’t for Guida and Henderson, this would be the preliminary fight that fans were talking about leading up to this weeks event.

Poirier has been awesome in the UFC, winning fights against Josh Grispi and Jason Young already, but a win over Pablo Garza would make him a legit contender at 145.

However, title contention is also the goal for Garza, who is 2-0 inside the Octagon with two incredible wins on his resume, a flying knee knockout over Fredson Paixio and a flying triangle choke victory over Yves Jabouin.

Ryan Bader vs. Jason Brilz

It’s been a tough year for Ryan Bader, who’s gone from a top prospect in the toughest division in MMA, to fighting for his job in less than a year.

While losses to Jon Jones and Tito Ortiz are nothing to cry about, Bader needs a win over Jason Brilz at UFC 139 to remain relevant in the UFC.

Brilz actually gained some momentum last summer when he came oh so close to taking out Rogerio Nogueira at UFC 114, but a long layoff due to injuries and a subsequent knockout loss to Vladimir Matyushenko has Brilz in danger of being cut as well.

John Makdessi vs. Dennis Hallman

Even though MMA fans usually start hyping young fighters from the second they see them do anything remotely special, John Makdessi has somehow remained under the radar after his first two UFC bouts.

After destroying Pat Audinwood at UFC 124, Makdessi fought TUF veteran Kyle Watson on the prelims of UFC 129, catching Watson with a brutal spinning backfist that knocked him clean out.

Hallman has over 65 career fights, holds wins over Matt Hughes and Karo Parisyan in his career, and is not to be taken lightly.

It will be interesting to see if Hallman can drag Makdessi to the mat and impose his will on the ground.

Manny Gamburyan vs. Diego Nunes

This fight was originally set to go down at UFC 135, but both men were injured and removed from the card.

Now they are set to fight at UFC 141 in what could be a possible fight of the night on a card with some of the most exciting fighters in the sport.

Gamburyan lost a close decision to Tyson Griffin earlier this year and is looking to rebound from back-to-back losses when he fights Nunes.

Diego Nunes hasn’t fought since a close loss to Kenny Florian at UFC 131, and if he had won that fight, he may have earned a title fight by now.

Instead, he will get a fight with a very tough and hard hitting Gamburyan.