The UFC’s last (and only) trip to Minnesota was one of the best shows in UFC history. It saw the debut of current LHW champion Jon Jones, an 11 second KO by Rob Emerson on Manny Gamburyan, an epic grappling battle between Demian Maia and Jason McDonald, Brock Lesnar’s first UFC win, and Georges St. Pierre batter Jon Fitch like no other man has ever done. That was way back in 2008, and now they’re in Minneapolis once again for UFC on FX 5 this Friday. The main event is a heavyweight title between Travis Browne and Antonio Silva as part of a loaded lineup of 12 fights across FX, FUEL, and Facebook. It’s a big fight not just in size but in importance, as Silva is looking to avoid a 3rd straight (lopsided) loss while “Hapa” is trying to notch another W on his way to contender status.
Also on the card is an IFL rematch between Jay Hieron and Jake Ellenberger, rescued from the scrapped UFC 151 card. A potential #1 contender fight opens up the broadcast, as Jussier Formiga makes his UFC debut against John Dodson in a key flyweight matchup. Curiously, the UFC made zero attempt to promote the fight on their event poster, which instead has the potentially fun but ultimately irrelevant welterweight fight between Josh Neer and Justin Edwards.
IMPORTANT NOTE: Because The Ultimate Fighter is on tape-delay and this card effectively is a lead-in to the show, this means that UFC on FX will be tape-delayed to the West Coast instead of its normal live coast-to-coast slot.
Oct 5th, live on FX from Minneapolis, MN:
Main Card (FX, 8 PM ET/PT)
Travis Browne (13-0-1) vs. Antonio Silva (16-4)
Jake Ellenberger (27-6) vs. Jay Hieron (23-5)
Jussier da Silva (14-1) vs. John Dodson (13-5)
Josh Neer (33-11-1) vs. Justin Edwards (7-2)
Preliminary Card (FUEL TV)
Yves Edwards (41-18-1) vs. Jeremy Stephens (20-8)
Danny Castillo (14-4) vs. Michael Johnson (11-5)
Dennis Hallman (51-14-2, 1 NC) vs. Thiago Tavares (17-4-1)
Shane Roller (11-6) vs. Jacob Volkmann (14-3)
Diego Nunes (17-3) vs. Bart Palaszewski (36-15)
Phil Harris (21-9, 1 NC) vs. Darren Uyenoyama (7-3)
Preliminary Card (Facebook)
Marcus LeVesseur (21-6) vs. Carlo Prater (30-11-1)
Mike Pierce (14-5) vs. Aaron Simpson (12-3)
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