UFC 88: Atlanta the likely destination on September 6

by MMAmania.com on May 20, 2008 12:05 PM EDT

phillips arena atlanta
UFC 88 will likely take place in Atlanta, Ga., on Saturday, September 6, setting up the first show for the promotion inside the "Peach State" in more than a decade.

In fact, UFC 11: "The Proving Ground" (September 1996) and UFC 13: "The Ultimate Force" (May 1997) were the only two shows ever held in Georgia, which took place at the Augusta Civic Center in Augusta.

No specific venue was identified; however it's speculated that the pay-per-view (PPV) event will be held at the Philips Arena -- home of the NBAs Atlanta Hawks and NHLs Atlanta Thrashers. The $213.5 million facility can hold approximately 18,500 screaming mixed martial arts maniacs.

The UFC has made a big push in recent years to explore new areas and revisit others. For example, UFC Fight Night 13 earlier this year was held in Colorado -- the first time since the early days back from 1993 to 1995.

On the international stage, the UFC has held recent events in England, Ireland and Canada, and will look to target Germany, the Philippines and Australia, specifically, in the months ahead.

Stay tuned for more details.

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Comments

hopefully it’s a better main event then 87, which I’m hoping and praying coleman wins!!!

by kevin on May 20, 2008 12:08 PM EDT reply actions

Lesnar/Coleman is NOT the main event. Look on the Maia/MacDonald thread.

by bnf on May 20, 2008 12:22 PM EDT up reply actions

lol sorry.. I’ll edit, I hope 88 has a better main event than the quick Kenny Florian victory over Roger Huerta at 87!

by kevin on May 20, 2008 12:23 PM EDT up reply actions

the main event is chuck liddel vs Rashad Evans

by MMAFREAK on Jun 14, 2008 11:57 PM EDT up reply actions

Coleman is too old and injured. herring is replacing him

by 8 mile on Jun 17, 2008 12:43 PM EDT up reply actions

GSP vs Fitch perhaps?

by Oskarbravo on May 20, 2008 12:10 PM EDT reply actions

is anyone actually looking forward to this fight? I can’t imagine one scenario where fitch gets out of the 1st round

by kevin on May 20, 2008 12:29 PM EDT up reply actions

I’m sure you couldn’t imagine Serra lasting more than one second with GSP as well. :)

by Bic on May 20, 2008 12:40 PM EDT up reply actions

quite the contrary. kevin was one of the biggest outspoken critics of GSP, calling for another easy Serra win and questioning GSP’s game all around.

by Hardcharger on May 20, 2008 12:43 PM EDT up reply actions

where you been? I picked serra to win, nice post though

by kevin on May 20, 2008 12:43 PM EDT up reply actions

thanks charger, and not afraid to admit the few times I’m wrong either

by kevin on May 20, 2008 12:48 PM EDT up reply actions

Kevin: GSP will win that fight, but he wont do it quickly and it probably wont be easy. I see that fight going into the 4th or 5th round…GSP/Overs is a great bet!

I hear Nogueira vs. Mir will be the main event, but could TUF 8 possibly be over by SEptember?

by john on May 20, 2008 12:54 PM EDT up reply actions

Nogueira-Mir can’t be the headliner. Their season of TUF won’t start until September, and they never do the coaches’ fight until the season is over. That makes it December before Nog-Mir.

Fitch can headline a UFC. The undefeated in the UFC angle is big, and GSP is the real star and drawing power.

by Hardcharger on May 20, 2008 1:20 PM EDT up reply actions

how bout karo/sanchez 2 or kos/sanchez3…setting up fight for Diego against GSP??

by kevin on May 20, 2008 1:24 PM EDT up reply actions

Kevin has great MMA insight and predictions. The thing is, just like some of the great NFL bettors, he almost won’t ever bet against his “home team”, in this case Serra and BJ.

by Pat on May 20, 2008 1:43 PM EDT up reply actions

lol, I like that, I wouldn’t call myself a big Serra fan, but he is very likeable. I was going to put 500 on BJ, but there isn’t any money in it at this point. He’s at -300! Don’t forget anderson Silva too!

GO CELTICS!!!!

by kevin on May 20, 2008 1:46 PM EDT up reply actions

Where are you getting BJ at -300? The only odds that I’m seeing are -250 and -240. You may want to do a little bit of checking on that one.

by the king adrock on May 20, 2008 2:28 PM EDT up reply actions

Diego fights in late June. Kos fights in early July. It would be a quick turnaround for either to fight in early Sept. Karo is in no position to main event a UFC

by Hardcharger on May 20, 2008 3:37 PM EDT up reply actions

notmain event, just on card. I’m tired of co main events, just set up a main event worthy of the title. Was rounding up, lowest I saw was BJ -280. I like it at 240-250, after 250 it isn’t worth it!

by kevin on May 20, 2008 5:04 PM EDT up reply actions

I’ve never been a fan of rematches; there’s too many match ups I’d like to see. However, I really want to see BJ and GSP. BJ conducted on seminar on GSP in that fight and somehow GSP got the decision. I like GSP but “it’s the wrong time to fight BJ right now”!!

by dave on Jun 6, 2008 8:39 PM EDT up reply actions

I don’t think the UFC would let Fitch carry a headliner… unless they start marketing the hell out of him. Hard to guess who all would be available to fill this card?

by Arnold on May 20, 2008 12:57 PM EDT up reply actions

My thoughts exactly. Atlanta’s a cool city, but I was really hoping they would have that one in Vegas.

Going to UFC events on the East Coast kind of sucks because by the time you get out, it’s 1 or 2 in the morning. It’s only 10 or 11 on the West Coast….the fun is just starting!

by TonyDrip on May 20, 2008 3:35 PM EDT up reply actions

Silva/Okami

by dpb on May 20, 2008 12:13 PM EDT reply actions

My guess is that Silva and Okami will headline 87 and that GSP and Fitch will headline 88.

The Lesnar and Coleman fight would be a strong co main event but they need a title fight to make it a strong card.

by tripleainto on May 20, 2008 1:23 PM EDT up reply actions

UFC 11: "The Proving Ground" (September 2006)

I demand that you fix this. Thank you.

by Rumbler on May 20, 2008 12:15 PM EDT reply actions

Holy crap, the Philippines? Brandon Vera fighting for the HW title would be HUGE there.

by Pat on May 20, 2008 12:16 PM EDT reply actions

YES YES YES YES YES!!!!!!!!!!! OMG FINALLY!!!!!!!!!!! Ive been wondering for soo long why the hell the UFC has not come to HOTLANTA YET. Such a big and well known city that its about DAMN TIME!!!!!!!! THIS IS THE BEST NEWS I HAVE HEARD IN A LONG LONG TIME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

by STUNNALATOR on May 20, 2008 12:28 PM EDT reply actions

This seems to be a natural event to have Forrest as a co-Main event, since Forrest spent many years down the road in Athens.

2 problems:

If Forrest beats Rampage, he’s the champ, and no way they have him defend 2 months later.

If Forrest loses to Rampage, it would be much easier to put him on this card, but it’s still only 2 months after his fight with Rampage.

GSP-Fitch seems a likely main event here

by Hardcharger on May 20, 2008 12:45 PM EDT reply actions

I wouldn’t be shocked to see St. Pierre vs. Fitch here. Also, we could see Anderson Silva vs. Okami. It could have two title fights on here. That would be cool.

by Jason on May 20, 2008 1:24 PM EDT reply actions

It’s unlikely that the UFC would put 2 titles on the line at the same event, what with injuries and TUF always holding up title fights. They’re gonna try to spread them out.

by Pat on May 20, 2008 1:46 PM EDT up reply actions

I just saw on UFC.com that the main event for UFC 87 hasn’t been announced. I will do some speculating…The UFC needs two main events one for UFC 87 and one for UFC 88. I don’t know how marketable Silva vs. Okami is or St. Pierre vs. Fitch. My prediction is that 87 will have Anderson Silva vs. Yushin Okami and 88 will have St. Pierre vs. Fitch and a co-main event of Rich Franklin vs. Dan Henderson.

by Jason on May 20, 2008 1:33 PM EDT reply actions

I think those main events would make a lot of sense. UFC 87 won’t need much to push it over the top, so if you’re going to have a title match that appears to be a mismatch, Silva-Okami would be the best choice.

by RUSH on May 20, 2008 5:50 PM EDT up reply actions

i cant fuckin wait for it!!!! waited tooo long for it to come to my hometown

by mr.rice-a-roni on May 20, 2008 1:57 PM EDT reply actions

hope they come to st louis soon! mma is huge in the midwest.

by b.w. on May 20, 2008 2:19 PM EDT reply actions

Liddell vs. Shogun…oh baby!

by Ground-Game on May 20, 2008 2:29 PM EDT reply actions

It was already rumored to be in Sept, so I think this is the main event.

by DirtbagHtr on May 20, 2008 7:30 PM EDT up reply actions

Atlanta is one of the worst and dirtiest cities in the United States. I can imagine this being one of the worst crowds to ever attend an MMA event. What is Lil Jon going to be in the crowd?

by "Wildfire" Johnny Rage on May 20, 2008 4:03 PM EDT reply actions

holyshit… if liddell v shogun is up for september, i will get VIP seat

by mr.rice-a-roni on May 20, 2008 4:08 PM EDT reply actions

Yea, I dont really see Atlanta as being much of an attraction but maybe its just me.

by bostonmmajunkie on May 20, 2008 4:27 PM EDT reply actions

Y’all obviously aren’t from down south. Atlanta is a big big place for MMA. There are fights going on at least twice a month, and in Georgia nearly every week.

by Issus on May 20, 2008 5:18 PM EDT reply actions

That is because you don’t know. A top ten featherweight resides in Atlanta and there is an MMA gym in every part of town. I expect this event to sell out.

by Rob on May 20, 2008 5:21 PM EDT reply actions

Brandom vera will never be champ of a ufc belt :)

by ufcsucks on May 20, 2008 5:37 PM EDT reply actions

DAMN!!!!!

Can’t wait to see this fight card!

by Cool Hand Chad on May 20, 2008 9:41 PM EDT reply actions

lol people that arent from georgia knows nothing about how big of the sport mma is here. the metro atlanta area is pretty crowded, and i guarantee u if the ufc puts together a great card it will be sold out… i know i will be there

by mr.rice-a-roni on May 20, 2008 9:57 PM EDT reply actions

i agree. if you dont know about atlanta, you dont know what youre missing

by g210 on May 20, 2008 10:48 PM EDT reply actions

atlanta is definitely not one of the worst and the dirtest cities in america… where are you from man?

by mr.rice-a-roni on May 21, 2008 3:24 AM EDT reply actions

Looking to have an event in Australia? Wow, that would be hard to pull off, no offense to our friends Down Under. As with any event, you’d need some big names on the card, but how long to adjust to that kind of time difference?

by chefdaddy on May 21, 2008 7:40 AM EDT reply actions

Who is gonna want to fight in Australlia apart from Elvis Sinosic?

by braveheart on May 21, 2008 10:08 AM EDT reply actions

you know whats even better? having it in the GA dome, right next to phillips arena…. now thats a crowd

by mr.rice-a-roni on May 22, 2008 1:00 AM EDT reply actions

Fitch will fight GSP at UFC 87.
UFC 88 should have one of these-
Rashad Evans vs. Lyoto Machida(both undefeated)
Michael Bisping vs. Anderson Silva
Thales Lieties vs. Rich Franklin
Dan Henderson vs. Wanderlei Silva (rematch)

by Unknown on Jun 13, 2008 3:22 AM EDT reply actions