UFC Fight Night 60 Preview
The start of the year for the UFC was supposed to be a celebration of the best of the promotion with great events and great fighters taking centre stage. It started out well enough with some big names kicking off the year but lately it has all fallen apart. The first fight of the year was fantastic with Jon Jones defending his belt but soon after it was revealed that he had tested positive for cocaine before his fight. It was a shock and a hit to one of the most popular fighters in the UFC and after he went to treatment and left questions continue to surround the light heavyweight champion. Then came the revelation that in the second pay-per-view event both of the main event fighters had tested positive for drugs. Anderson Silva had tested positive before the fight for PEDs while Nick Diaz had failed a drug test after the fight for marijuana. Although it was a shock it was revealed that Diaz had been given a licence for marijuana days before the fight. Silva meanwhile has been one of the biggest supporters of banning fighters for life if they are found to be using PEDs and now he was caught using the very drugs of which he had been such an opponent. The UFC continues to investigate the failed test and will ensure that they don’t do anything before finding out if Silva had used the drug in question and whether or not he has been using it for a long time. As if these drug test issues were not enough for the UFC to deal with, the injury bug began to bite again and ravaged multiple cards. For one the UFC 184 main event was scrapped when middleweight champion Chris Weidman was injured while an injury to Raphael Assunção forced the UFC to cancel UFC Fight Night 62. There may not have been more changes to a card than UFC Fight Night 60 though, as the main event has changed three times in just over a month. Originally the UFC’s return to Colorado was to feature Matt Brown and Tarec Saffiedine in what promised to be a great welterweight matchup between top fighters. Then Saffiedine was injured and Brown was left without an opponent. The main event was replaced by a younger matchup between Stephen Thompson and Brandon Thatch who were meant to face-off in a match of two young fighters getting their chance to take the spotlight by moving from co-main event to the main event. An injury to Thompson ended that fight though and for a time the next co-main event stepped up to the plate as Max Holloway and Cole Miller were set to take the role. Finally a fighter that had only fought a few short weeks ago stepped up to save the card as Benson Henderson agreed to take a short break and fight Brandon Thatch in the main event. After all of the changes in the Fight Night 60 there is now an official fight as Thatch looks to take out a former champion while Henderson fights in his first welterweight match looking to make some noise. For the methodical striker it is only his third fight in the UFC and he will get the chance to make an impression in his first main event. Meanwhile the wrestler that has spent his time in the UFC as a lightweight gets to make a big impression in his first welterweight fight if he can beat a rising star in this new division. The UFC has dealt with plenty of issues in the last few months and after plenty of changes to this card UFC Fight Night 60 is ready to go as the promotion looks to get back to fighting rather than the news outside of the octagon.
After Henderson jumped into the main event and essentially saved the card with a big name in the main event the co-main event was pushed back to their original spot. The fight between Max Holloway and Cole Miller has already had plenty of drama as they moved up and down the card with the number of injuries changing the card. Holloway and Miller had been moved from a main card fight to the co-main event and to the main event before falling back to the co-main event. The movement hasn’t changed much for either fighter though as they both are looking to get something going in the featherweight division. Neither fighter is too far up the rankings in the division although they have shown promise before. Holloway seemed like he was on his way to the top in 2012 when he won three in a row before dropping two more. Now he is on his way back and on a four fight win streak on the line as he hopes to move into the top 10 with another win. Meanwhile Miller has been gone for just over a year after a win against Sam Sicilia and a hand injury that cancelled his July fight against Conor McGregor. Now he returns to the octagon and after losing his shot against a top contender he is trying to get back into the rankings against a fighter looking to gain some traction once again. They may not be the main event anymore but both of these fighters are attempting to make an impact on the featherweight division and despite not being the main focus they remain a big-ticket with two fighters trying to take over the night.
The Sport Addiction 