After the Saturday, April 24, show — which was boosted by the UFC’s promotional team and billed more as a UFC event than a WEC show — UFC President Dana White said every metric pointed to strong PPV numbers.
“It was a home run in every way, shape and form,” White said. “Those numbers come in (today), but I’m feeling confident about it. There’s a lot of ways for us to gauge — through the website and a number of other things — on the number that we think we’re going to do. If the polling that we’ve done is correct, it’s going to be a good night.”
Xenia’s Brown could face Lytle in Vegas
Xenia native Matt Brown is expected to get a rematch with Indianapolis firefighter Chris Lytle in a slugger-vs.-slugger welterweight match at UFC 116, which takes place July 3 in Las Vegas. If signed, the fight will likely be part of the night’s pay-per-view broadcast or a Spike TV “UFC Prelims” special.
After posting a 4-1 record in the UFC, Brown suffered a submission loss to Ricardo Almeida at UFC 111 in March. Lytle, meanwhile, is 3-1 in his past four fights, and he earned three of the UFC’s “Fight of the Night” bonuses during the span.
The fighters, who are both fan favorites with exciting go-for-broke fighting styles, first met at a United Fight League event in 2007 — right before Brown got a UFC contract. Brown suffered a submission loss in the fight and now has a shot at redemption.
Roger Bowling to fight on Showtime
His deal with Strikeforce has been in the works for nearly half a year, and now Cincinnati-based fighter and Team Vision member Roger Bowling finally has his first fight booked with the promotion.
Bowling, who’s posted a 7-0 record on the regional fight circuit, will make his national-television debut when he fights tough welterweight Bobby Voelker (21-7) at Strikeforce Challengers 8. The May 21 event airs live on Showtime from the Rose Garden Arena in Portland, Ore.
Bowling has stopped all seven of his opponents (six in the first round). Voelker, though, represents his most experienced opponent to date.
Dann Stupp is editor-in-chief of MMAjunkie.com, voted best media outlet in the 2008 and 2009 World MMA Awards. For the latest mixed-martial-arts news, go to MMAjunkie.com.
About the Author