Matt Wiman vs. Rafael dos Anjos Booked for UFC 103
Lightweights Matt Wiman and Rafael dos Anjos, both losers of two-straight, will square off at UFC 103 on September 19 in Dallas with their UFC future likely on the line.
InTheGuard.tv first reported the matchup on Friday.
Wiman (6-3) was knocked out by a Spencer Fisher flying knee in his UFC debut at UFC 60 in mid-2006 but was still cast for The Ultimate Fighter 5. On the show, Wiman was eliminated in the quarterfinals by eventual finalist Manny Gamburyan. At the Finale “Handsome” defeat Brian Geraghty, which started a four-fight win streak that also included UFC victories over Michihiro Omigawa, Justin Buchholz, and Thiago Tavares. Wiman was unable to find success in his two most-recent fights against Jim Miller and Sam Stout, suffering unanimous decision losses in both bouts.
Dos Anjos (11-4), who came to the UFC with an 11-2 record after competing almost exclusively in Brazil, was knocked out by Jeremy Stephens in the third-round of his UFC debut in November then suffered a unanimous decision loss to Tyson Griffin at UFC Fight Night 18 in April.
Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic vs. Junior dos Santos is expected to co-headline UFC 103 alongside a main event featuring Rich Franklin against an opponent to-be-announced. Mike Swick vs. Martin Kampmann, Josh Koscheck vs. Frank Trigg, and Efrain Escudero vs. Cole Miller are also rumored for the card.
For the latest UFC rumors check out the MMAFrenzy.com MMA rumors section.
[Pictured: Matt Wiman]
Loading ...
This card is shaping up pretty nicely IMO, and its still 2 months out.
I’ve noticed all over these boards that Texas MMA fans are pitching a fit over a lack of a “main event” level bout.
And yes, while I agree that there is no title defenses scheduled, or even top contender matches aside from Swick-Kampmann, the UFC seems intent on stocking this card with as much talent as they can reasonably pull together.
I’m also thinking that if native Texas son Heath Herring was ready to go, they would hvae booked him into a match he would have had at least a shot of winning.
Also, in the interests of fairness, I should mention that I’m going to UFC 102, so my outlook might be jaded. If I were going to UFC 103, I’d probably be far less objective and understanding of my main event being Rich Franklin versus “some dude, maybe Luiz Cane”.
And as I’ve said before, if Franklin agrees to fight a no-name like Cane, he’s an Fing retard, and deserves whatever he gets both in the Octagon and the front office.
Matt Wiman and Rafeal dos Anjos is most likely a “winner keeps his job” fight, as they are both coming off two straight losses. This should be some extra incentive for these two to “put some stank on it” as I’ve heard Texans say in sports bars and MMA events.
I’m also sure that the UFC will try to build up the CroCop-dos Santos fight as having title implications, but thats just window dressing. Sure, if CroCop murders dos Santos and Frank Mir beats Lesnar, both fairly unlikely, then Mirko might get a shot at Mir if the stars are aligned and the right moon is in the right house and so on.
Otherwise, this is just a fight that can be good, may be great, but will probably be just OK, seeing as how Mirko has somehow sort of lost his mojo when he went from PRIDE to the UFC.
i doubt franklin vs cane will be the main event cane just isnt ready to headline even as the underdog although i think he’s good enough. but its not 100% about being good, look at jon fitch he had to get the longest winning streak in ufc to get a title shot, wiman didnt look graet in the stout fight (phsically), mentally he was brilliant though the way he entered the octagon and fought was MENTLE, still dos anjos actually looked pretty good in his fight against tyson i think he’l win, whata you think dude?
UFC 103 Main event will probably be decided on the outcomes of some of the fights at UFC 100.. throwing some ideas if the fights end quickly and the fighter is ready to go…
Mark Coleman
Stephan Bonnar
SHOOT…maybe Jon ‘BONES’ Jones…that would be good for Franklin matchup.
Should I throw out Akiyama if he gets past Belcher quickly they might match him up with W. Silva.
I CAN ONLY DREAM
I see Dos Anjos edging out a Dec here. He was doing fine against Stevens until he got a tyson uppercut from he11. Plus he looked ok against a tough and talented Griffin. The key to beating Wiman it seems is to overwhelm him and stay busy the entire fight. Which is what Manny and Miller did. Expect a good scrap from these guys that know their job is on the line.