The UFC Fight Night 60 card scheduled for Broomfield, Colo. on Feb 14 has seen it’s main event fall apart as Stephen Thompson (10-1) has pulled out of his welterweight bout with Brandon Thatch (11-1). With the show less than two weeks away, it is unclear who the UFC can put into the main event to face Thatch. The main event, though, pitting two good up and coming fighters, was already one of the UFC’s weaker offerings for a main event, and nothing else among the 10 scheduled fights fits the bill.
This is where the UFC needs someone like a Chael Sonnen, who can come in at the last minute and who has enough star power to fill a main event. With Belfort out a fight, you could easily have pulled off Belfort and Sonnen and done better than you would have with Weidman. No disrespect to Thatch, but this is not about finding a Joe Soto-type who steps up to face him at the last minute. That type of scenario is fine and desired as it gets Thatch afight, but you could not classify that as a main event.
The thing is that the UFC does have a Sonnen type around, and he happens to be from Colorado. Yes, Donald Cerrone is coming off a tough fight against Benson Henderson, and he has already fought twice in 2015. But he was not medically suspended, and he has the name value that he alone can make a main event. To give Cerrone a fair shake, we are not talking about him facing a Henderson or Eddie Alvarez type, or even an up and comer like Miles Jury. But there are free agents out there who could come in and face Cerrone as underdogs and deliver a good performance. There are fighters likely on the UFC roster who would step up and test themselves against Cerrone and, if you had to bring in someone from the outside, a veteran like Toby Imada has the style that could make for a thrilling fight with Cerrone.
If not for a life saver by “The Cowboy” the UFC Fight Night scheduled for Colorado has the look of one of the weakest cards in a long time.
Check out the UFC’s promo piece on Donald Cerrone as he visited the Daytona 500.
