Here was the landscape of the UFC the last time they were in Cincinnati, which was for UFC 77 on October 20th, 2007:
— The reigning light heavyweight champion was Quinton Jackson. Jon Jones and Alexander Gustafsson had both turned 20.
— Houston Alexander was for real.
— Brandon Vera was still a serious prospect with potential to contend in both heavyweight and light heavyweight divisions.
— There was no lightweight champion because Sean Sherk had been stripped of the title for failing his drug test.
— Anderson Silva had knocked Rich Franklin out for a 2nd successive time in the UFC 77 main event.
Fast forward to present day and the UFC has announced a return to Cincy for this coming May. The event will take place at US Bank Arena and air live on Fox Sports 1 as part of the Fight Night series.
Tickets go on sale March 21st, so expect some fights to be announced soon, including the main event and anything else significant. This is purely my own speculation, but Rich Franklin, who says his next fight will be his last, could very well end his career in his hometown in Cincinnati, whether that be at 185, 205, or a catchweight.
There’s also the chance that welterweight Matt Brown, whose back injury forced him out of a December fight with Carlos Condit, could appear here. It was revealed last month that Brown had been targeting a spring/early summer return, and May 10th fits the bill.
As it stands, the UFC’s May schedule now includes this card, UFC 173: Weidman vs. Belfort on the 24th, and Chael Sonnen against Wanderlei Silva in Brazil on the 31st.
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