UFC On Fox 5 (December 8)

[Rob_Floyd]

...is shaping up to be the greatest free card ever

Benson Henderson vs. Nate Diaz
BJ Penn vs. Rory MacDonald
Mauricio Rua vs. Alexander Gustafsson

Let's just pray that it isn't plagued by injuries.

Ultimate Fighting Championship's lightweight title will be defended on network television.

USA TODAY Sports and MMAjunkie.com ([Only registered and activated users can see links. ]) confirmed with UFC officials that current lightweight champion Benson Henderson (17-2 MMA, 5-0 UFC) will face Nate Diaz (14-3-1, 9-3-1) at UFC on FOX 5, which takes place Dec. 8 at a host site to be announced.

A light-heavyweight matchup between former champion Mauricio "Shogun" Rua (21-6, 5-4) and Alexander Gustafsson (14-1, 6-1) serves as the night's co-feature, and a B.J. Penn (16-8-2, 12-7-2) vs. Rory MacDonald (13-1 MMA, 4-1 UFC) fight also has been rebooked for the card.

A fourth main-card fight is expected to be added to the FOX broadcast in the coming weeks.

Henderson headlined this past weekend's UFC 150 event and scored the first successful defense of his title with a split-decision victory over Frankie Edgar, whom he also narrowly defeated in February to win the title. Despite the close nature of the rematch, UFC President Dana White immediately made it clear that Diaz, who was promised a title shot following a May win over Jim Miller, would get the next crack at the belt.

Rua returns to action following a victory over Brandon Vera earlier this month in UFC on FOX 4's headliner. The Brazilian had an opportunity to earn a title shot against the winner of next month's UFC 151 headliner of champ Jon Jones vs. Dan Henderson, but fellow ex-champ Lyoto Machida leapfrogged him with an impressive stoppage of Ryan Bader.

Rua now faces Gustafsson, who's been inactive since an April win over Thiago Silva in his native Sweden. "The Mauler," one of the light-heavyweight division's top prospects, currently boasts a five-fight win streak. A win over a former champ would serve as a signature victory and propel Gustafsson to serious title consideration.

MacDonald and Penn, meanwhile, initially were slated to co-headline next month's UFC 152 event in Toronto. However, MacDonald suffered a cut in training that required 38 stitches, and the bout was postponed.

Penn, a former two-division champ and future UFC Hall of Famer, hasn't fought since a loss this past October to Nick Diaz at UFC 137. The young MacDonald, meanwhile, recently posted a dominant second-round TKO of Che Mills in UFC 145's co-headliner in April, which marked his third consecutive victory.

UFC on FOX 5 is the fourth and final UFC event to air on network TV this year.

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[Stoo]

Pretty good card. I think it's a good time to put Shogun and BJ out to pasture and making names, potentially, of Rory and Guf makes sense on a free event

[thewinfella]

Gustaffson is gonna get flattened by Shogun !!!!

[tri-pod]

That's a free card? It's better than some of the PPV's this year.

[Vic-JofreBRASIL]

Hendo vs Diaz should be awesome !

[greathamza]

Still a better card than ufc 149

[BewareofDawg]

I can't believe they are putting BJ on Fox. I know he is somewhat irrelevant in the WW division, but his name alone will sell a PPV.

[unloco]

the ufc is going down hill , the meat heads at my gym don't enven talk about it anymore , they were the dumb asses buying up all the ufc gear ,ordering every ppv and pretending to know how to fight

i miss pride , which was the real deal of orgs imho

[kokoko]

Originally Posted by tri-pod

That's a free card? It's better than some of the PPV's this year.

Exactly what I was thinking.

[Wilhelm]

Originally Posted by BewareofDawg

I can't believe they are putting BJ on Fox. I know he is somewhat irrelevant in the WW division, but his name alone will sell a PPV.

[jimmie]

Wow this is one of the best cards in years IMO. Most of the PPVs suck these days atleast on paper.

[Kittikasem]

Originally Posted by Stoo

Pretty good card. I think it's a good time to put Shogun and BJ out to pasture and making names, potentially, of Rory and Guf makes sense on a free event

This is their intention, and BJ will lose, but I bet Shogun ends up KOing Gustafsson... and ensuring that Fail Sonnen gets a lhw title shot as that kills the anticipated Jones-Gus showdown.

[Stoo]

That's the nature of combat spots I guess. Shogun is more than capable of putting Guf away, but he always had a little trouble with taller straight punching guys like Reem , Lil Nog, Diabate in the stand up and of course Jones. Nostalgia is all well and good but the smart money is on Guf for a wide UD

[Kittikasem]

Originally Posted by Stoo

That's the nature of combat spots I guess. Shogun is more than capable of putting Guf away, but he always had a little trouble with taller straight punching guys like Reem , Lil Nog, Diabate in the stand up and of course Jones. Nostalgia is all well and good but the smart money is on Guf for a wide UD

I haven't been especially impressed by Gus, don't really see what the fuss is about. Decent fighter, nothing more. Shogun hasn't looked good recently, but I still think he can dredge up a punch and then finish it off even if he's losing this one. Still, you never know. Shogun could come in flabby and get outworked all night.

[Stoo]

Im just playing the percentage, Guf is quite fluid & mobile and works the jab and front kicks well, Shogun is stiff, lacking in defensive fundamentals other than his grade A chin and has no cardio

Punchers chance at best imo he should actually work for the TD's in this one and try to work some gnp or he'll have a VERY hard time closing the distance without getting out struck