There are plenty of things to do on a Saturday morning. However, most don’t involve watching two men locked inside of a cage attempting to punch, kick, knee, and choke their way to victory. In reality, though, few things match the excitement.
For the first time in the organization’s history, the octagon travels to China as UFC on FUEL TV 6: Franklin vs. Le takes place this Saturday (November 10th) from Cotai Arena at the Venetian Macau Resort Hotel in Macau, China. A five-round middleweight bout headlines the event as former UFC middleweight kingpin Rich Franklin takes on former Strikeforce middleweight champ Cung Le.
If you weren’t planning on tuning in already, here are five reasons why you should invite some friends over, order a few pizzas, grab a couple beers, and tune into UFC on FUEL TV 6: Franklin vs. Le this Saturday at 9:00 a.m. ET/6:00 a.m. PT, only on FUEL TV.
5. A Showcase Of Asian Talent
UFC on FUEL TV 6: Franklin vs. Le features nine fighters of Asian decent, seven of which have fought in the Octagon before.
Notable names such as Takanori Gomi, Dong Hyun Kim and Cung Le fill the card with plenty others competing as well. There is a historic meme Asian fighters fail when they come over to America to compete — and the record shows Asian imports do struggle when fighting in the UFC — but how will these fighters perform on their home stage when they don’t have to travel around the world to fight.
Granted some of these fighters would lose, travel or no travel, because their opponents are better, but the Asian fighter will get a chance to put on a show in front of a partial audience and prove that MMA is still alive and well in Asian and the continent still produces some of the best fighters in the sport today.
4. Two Welterweight Look To Prove Their Worth
A welterweight bout between Dong Hyun Kim and Paulo Thiago serves as one of the six main card bouts when the UFC travels to China for the first time.
Kim missed out on the opportunity to compete in Japan when the UFC held an event there earlier this year, but has the chance to fight on Asian soil for the first time since Oct. 2007 when he meets Thiago. Kim is a dangerous and overwhelming grappling specialist that is quickly improving his striking abilities and comes as an all-around threat to his opponents. After losing to Demian Maia as the result of a rib injury at UF 148, The ‘Stun Gun’ attempts to get back in the win column not far from his home country of South Korea.
Thiago needs a win as anyone on the UFC on FUEL TV 6 fight card, as the Brazilian has lost three of his last four UFC fights including a brutal 42-second knockout defeat at the hands of Siyar Bahadurzada last April. The 31-year-old has had issues with injuries in recent years which has only allowed him to compete three times in the last 24-months. When he is fighting at 100 percent, Thiago possesses heavy hands and above average grappling that gives many opponents fits.
Kim and Thiago were both defeated in their last UFC bouts and badly need a victory to get back on track. Both men are well rounded and come out to fight hard every time they step into the cage. It was not long ago Kim and Thiago were flirting with the top-10 in the world at 170-pounds, now they are fighting simply to hold on to relevance in the welterweight division.
3. A Clash Of Former Middleweight Champions
One of the UFC’s biggest Asian stars headlines the organization’s debut event in the country of China as former Strikeforce middleweight champion takes on one of the UFC’s biggest stars, former UFC middleweight champion Rich ‘Ace’ Franklin in a 185-pound affair.
Franklin returned from over one-year away from the sport with a unanimous decision win over Wanderlei Silva at UFC 147 in June. The 38-year-old announced his return to the middleweight division earlier this year, however, the fight against Silva took place at a 190-pound catchweight due to the short-notice nature of the contest. UFC on FUEL TV 6 marks Franklin’s first 185-pound fight since April 2008 and the future Hall-of-Fame inductee looks to make an emphatic return to the division he once ruled with an iron fist.
Le picked up his long-awaited first UFC victory when he beat Patrick Cote by unanimous decision at UFC 148. Le is an exciting fighter to watch due to his unique style that is heavy on spinning attacks and kicks. The UFC made it known that they wanted the Vietnamese fighter to headline the UFC on FUEL TV 6 fight card, and the organization got their wish as the fighter/actor headlines a UFC event for the first time.
Franklin and Le were scheduled to face one another at UFC 148 in July, but a number of injuries resulted in Franklin fighting at UFC 147 and Le competing at UFC 148. With both men coming out of their fights victorious, it was clear the UFC still wanted the fight to happen and they put it together, and on a free television event no less. Franklin vs. Le is an above average main event for a FUEL TV card and the fans should be thankful they get to see two of the UFC’s top middleweights go to battle on free television.
2. A Six-Fight Main Card
UFC fight card on pay-per-view usually air five-fight on the main card, FX events air four fights – but what makes the UFC on FUEL TV fight card special is the fact main cards feature a whopping six fights on the broadcast.
Along with the two headlining bouts of Rich Franklin vs. Cung Le and Thiago Silva vs. Stanislav Nedkov, a ton of familiar names including Paulo Thiago, Mac Danzig and Takeya Mizugaki are all set to compete on the main card.
The UFC on FUEL TV 6 fight card features plenty of competitive match ups that should be able to keep fans on the edge of their seats from the opening fight to the last.
1. The Event Is Free!
For the fifteenth time this year, the UFC will deliver a free card to the fans, this one going down at Cotai Arena at the Venetian Macau Resort Hotel in Macau, China.
If you’re tight on cash and can’t afford to spend $55 on next weekend’s UFC 154 pay-per-view event, the organization has put together a respectable fight card for Saturday that won’t cost you a dime. There card lacks bouts that have immediate title implications, but there are a number of enticing match ups including the main event of Rich Franklin vs. Cung Le.
If you’re in the mood for a UFC fix, tune into UFC on FUEL TV 6 this Saturday morning at 9:00 a.m. ET/6:00 a.m. for some free UFC action.
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