Will the UFC Disappoint Us Again This Year?

Ok, so for the entire run of The Ultimate Fighter 6(TUF6) we have been lead to believe that a fight between Matt Serra Vs. Matt Hughes would be our big payoff. What began as a minor dislike for each other was crafted into a full fledged feud. It would be settled, like last year's grudge match between Little Evil Jens Pulver and The Prodigy BJ Penn, in the Octagon.

This Saturday, December 8th at the Palms in Las Vegas, we will be treated to a number of other good fights in their own right.

The undercard, which most likely for brevity, will be pared down, features some compelling matches:

JRoc vs. Upper-Decker Machine will definitely be interesting once we get to the ground game. Can you say "Lower Decker?" Probably can't show that on SpikeTV.

Roman vs. Dorian will be another one to watch. Roman was willing to step into the Octagon with a bloody stump and if it hadn't been for the cooler heads of the UFC doctors, he would have.

For those of us who's knowledge of UFC extends only as far as TUF, the main event maybe a fight between two strangers. For those of us in the know, The Matador Huerta vs. The Carpenter Guida will be an exciting match. I don't think any amount of hammering from the Carpenter is going to stop El Matador from a victory in this one however.

The championship bout will be Danzig vs. Speer and who knows who's going to win that fight! We know one thing, for sure: Hughes vs. Serra will not be fighting. They also will not be fighting in the pay-per-view UFC79:Nemesis. No, we get to see Hughes vs. Georges St. Pierre compete in something called an "interim welterweight title." It's a great match for die-hard UFC fans. For fair weather newbies that are fans of the TUF6 show, it's an incredible let-down.

Interim Title??!? Aren't they all interim titles? You're the champ until you're not. Serra couldn't fight because of an injury. No problem. (See Roman Mitichyan above.) The "real" fight for the championship will be decided after this match; winner going on to fight a healed up Serra. What if Hughes loses the match? It will then be GSP vs. Serra for the real Interim-Interim Welterweight Championship.

Championship belts in combat sports nowadays are a dime a dozen. Just look at the mess in professional boxing. There is no need to put up a "Championship" bout that means nothing. A match between Serra and Hughes would transcend any meaningful ranking in the UFC. Even if GSP lays waste to Hughes, Hughes should still fight with Serra. The "bottom-line" (read that MONEY) would be fulfilled with this match as well since TUF6 is an extremely high rated show.

Let's just hope that the champion of the show is real this time as well. If we go back to TUF5 Finale, Nate Diaz won because Manny Gamburyan dislocated his shoulder. Not because he was winning the match. Have we seen a rematch? No. This would have been an excellent undercard fight. They each are fighting other matches, Diaz is fighting Alvin Robinson on an upcoming UFC Fight Night 12 on January the 23rd. Manny Gamburyan fights a different "Nate," Nate Mohr at the aforementioned UFC:79. How much better would it have been to see Diaz vs. Gamburyan? A lot better.

Just like Hughes vs. Serra: Give Us the Fight We Were Promised!