UFC This Weekend

Saw the original odds for UFC this weekend, and then the revised odds. The money pretty much went in the direction I expected it every time. I see Rich Franklin vs. Nate Quarry and Matt Hughes vs. Joe Riggs essentially being squash matches, which is fine I guess. They're interesting enough matches even if I don't see the challengers winning. Quarry just isn't as good as Franklin, and I expect a first round KO. Riggs is damn good and is powerful, so maybe he'll be able to offset Hughes' strength somewhat. Problem is, Hughes will still get him down. I'd like to see Riggs pull off the upset, but I would find it surprising. Sherk-St. Pierre is the best matchup. I have to root for my boy GSP, but Sherk is a formidable challenge. Still, St. Pierre was very comfortable on the ground against Matt Hughes, and he dominated Frank Trigg. Those guys are pretty much the same mold as the Muscle Shark, so St. Pierre should be ready. Sherk isn't the most exciting of fighters, but he's no pushover. Horn vs. Prangley is a very interesting matchup. Prangley is an underrated fighter. That guy is damn good in all facets of the game, and he's naturally a big guy. Horn better come in ready fully or he might not be back in UFC in a while. Horn was initially a ridiculous favorite, but the money is coming in on Prangley. After that it's not much of a card. UFC no longer feels the need to deliver 8 interesting fights at every card like they used to. They fill up the main card with 4 or 5 interesting fights and then throw whoever on the undercard, which is discouraging for us hardcores, but probably doesn't have any affect whatsover on business. Still, I don't get as excited for UFC when they don't have a deeper lineup. That's what drew me into MMA: these deep cards with 8 fights that were all interesting. It's somewhat different than pro wrestling where you have the money match and then throw everything else together. I miss shows like UFC 43, where you had Kimo-Tank, Yves Edwards, Belfort-Eastman, White-Freeman, Frank Mir, Matt Lindland and Rizzo-Telligman all under Couture-Liddell. That's an extra four interesting fights over the current format.