UFC 87: A fan’s dream card

• By MATT RAMSAY
• Special to 2theadvocate.com
• Published: Aug 6, 2008 - UPDATED: 1:30 p.m.

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Ask yourself this question, “What fight is the main event for UFC 87 on Saturday, Aug. 9?” Chances are if you guess, you may get it wrong.

UFC 87 is no doubt a Mixed Martial Arts fan’s dream card with two of the best lightweight fighters, Kenny Florian and Roger Huerta, battling it out followed by one of the most anticipated heavyweight bouts of the year with Heath Herring vs. Brock Lesnar. The welterweight championship fight with George St. Pierre vs. Jon Fitch tops it off. This is the card that will make you forget about that price increase to $44.95 for Pay-Per-View events.

I can already feel the hair standing up on the back of my neck hearing play by play commentator Mike Goldberg’s catch phrase to start each fight of “and here we go!” Expect fellow color commentator Joe Rogan’s regular use of phrases such as “Wow!” “Unbelievable!” and “This is crazy!” to hit triple-platinum status by the end of the night.

If you only purchase one live MMA event this year, make it this one. There is at least one main event, well, at least one fight on this card that will make it all worth it.

Main Event

George St. Pierre vs. Jon Fitch:

In an interview with George St. Pierre, he said his specialty is competing against wrestlers. He feels he matches up better with wrestlers more than any other fighting style. With two straight dominations of future hall of famer Matt Hughes and a unanimous decision against Josh Koscheck, expect the domination to continue.

George St. Pierre by Submission (Guillotine Choke) - Fourth Round

Brock Lesnar vs. Heath Herring:

Is this the fight we find out if Lesnar has learned from his mistakes, or does Lesnar once again win 99 percent of the fight and get caught in another submission? Lesnar admitted he got caught in a submission he trained to defend over a thousand times in practice. Lesnar is still very raw and most of all appears to be very stubborn. It’s still hard to bet against a guy with such power, speed and a wrestling background that many former heavyweights (such as Randy Couture) have used to dominate. We will take Lesnar on his word that he has learned from his mistakes and is a more patient and controlled mixed martial artist, not just a wrestler.

Lesnar by TKO (Ground-n-Pound) – First Round

Kenny Florian vs. Roger Huerta:

Don’t miss this just because it’s not the main event on the card. This clearly looks like a candidate for fight of the night. In noting Huerta’s past four fights, two have earned fight of the night honors, and he has not lost since 2004 with an almost unblemished record of 22-1-1. Florian also earned fight of the night honors in his last fight and made it to “The Ultimate Fighter Finale" as a middleweight, two weight classes above his normal fighting weight. Florian lost his chance for the title against Sherk. It’s Huerta’s time.