UFC on FOX 5

[Kris P Lettus]

We might bitch about UFC pay-per-view cards being watered down, but fans are definitely going to get their money’s worth on the next free UFC on FOX card. As first reported by MMA Junkie, the December 8th event (venue TBA) will be stacked with three must-see showdowns, headlined by Ben Henderson‘s second lightweight title defense against Nate Diaz. Diaz has earned his shot at the belt with three consecutive wins over Takanori Gomi (first-round armbar), Donald Cerrone (gangsterish unanimous decision), and Jim Miller (second-round guillotine choke). Meanwhile, Henderson is a perfect 5-0 in the UFC, and just beat Frankie Edgar for the second time last weekend at UFC 150. Will Diaz be the one to stop Bendo’s juggernaut-like momentum? In other UFC on FOX 5 booking news… The welterweight inter-generational battle between BJ Penn and Rory MacDonald will indeed be postponed to 12/8, after Rory was forced to pull out of their original UFC 152 meeting due to a nasty gash suffered in training. And in the light-heavyweight division, legendary banger Mauricio “Shogun” Rua will return from his exciting four-round win over Brandon Vera at the last UFC on FOX card to face hot Swedish prospect Alexander Gustafsson. With five consecutive wins under his belt against tough competition, the aggressive and rangy Gustafsson is widely considered to be a future title contender — and if he can get past Shogun, he may clinch his shot as the next challenger in line after Lyoto Machida. A fourth main-card fight is expected to be added to the FOX broadcast in the near future. For now, I’m gonna go with…Henderson by unanimous decision, MacDonald by second-round TKO, and Gustafsson by split decision. Your thoughts?

Benson vs Nate for the LW Title
BJ vs Rory
Shogun vs Gustoffson
Shaub vs Lavar "Big" Johnson

WHAT??