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Mixed martial arts (MMA) fans chose "C" -- none of the above.
That's because answer "A" was Mauricio Rua and answer "B" was Brandon Vera, when Dana White was asked which Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) light heavyweight fighter would move on to face the winner of Jon Jones vs. Dan Henderson, who fight for the 205-pound title at the UFC 151 pay-per-view (PPV) event next month in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Add two more names to that list.
Specifically, former division champion Lyoto Machida and his next opponent, Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 8 Champion Ryan Bader, who like "Shogun vs. Vera," will trade blows at the UFC on FOX 4 event this Saturday night (Aug. 4, 2012) from the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California.
White (via USA Today) explains how the fans helped him reevaluate his original booking, after the jump.
"I put together the fights that fans want to see. The fans didn't like the Rua and Vera choice, so here it is: The guy that wins most impressively on Saturday night out of the co-main event and the main event will get the shot at the winner of Jon Jones vs. Dan Henderson."
It's still a rematch for Jones any way you slice it.
"Bones" earned the division title by dominating Rua at the UFC 128 PPV in April 2011 -- just over a month after choking out Bader at the UFC 126 event in Las Vegas to establish himself as the number one contender. Machida tried to reclaim the belt at UFC 140 later that year in Toronto, but was put to sleep via guillotine choke late in the second stanza.
And "The Truth" was finished in just three minutes when they clashed in 2010.
The only compelling fights come from a "Hendo" upset and while a Rua bout would also be a rematch, based on their first go-round, I doubt anyone would call to complain.
So there you have it, Maniacs. Does this announcement make this weekend's FOX event any more intriguing? Or does the outcome still make little-to-no sense for the future of the light heavyweight division?
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