I am really, really, REALLY, looking forward to Ultimate Fight Night. There is something about a live UFC show that gets the blood pumping, and for once I don't actually have to PAY to see it. WWE fans don't really understand that, because RAW has been on live since 1993 and shows like Superstars, SNME, Challenge, WCW Saturday Night, etc. have been on even earlier, a show like UFN is to be treasured. I own almost every UFC Event DVD (and with LOTC, we have every one since UFC 43) and I can say with all honesty there isn't a bad one in the bunch. The UFC has been extremely consistent over the past few years, and I hope they continue the string of great shows with Ultimate Fight Night.

For 3 HOURS, a UFC card will be presented on SPIKE TV starting at 9pm EST. Joe Rogan and Mike Goldberg - the best announce team going today - will call the action. This team has grown so much in the 3 or 4 years they've been working together. I used to think Goldberg was nothing but a shill - which is still true for the most part - but I've come to appreciate his ability to direct the flow of chatter and weave together match commentary and shilling DVD's, CD's, PPV's. His genuine enthusiasm for the sport and his belief in it is shown in his commentary, plus he has a great voice for it. I've said this about Rogan before, but there are times when I am thinking something, and then right after Rogan brings it up. He knows his stuff, and is basically a smark on commentary - but not the same way ROH commentators are. The two complement each other very well, and you can see they have respect for each other and for what they are doing. They are, essentially, the opposite of JR and King. And it's refreshing.

The main card is a typical UFC PPV style card - 5 fights. However, this time I doubt they will show any extra fights from the undercard due to commercial restraints. Unless Mike Swick manages to stop another fight in under 30 seconds... I imagine there will be lengthy fight previews and fighter interviews, which in my view, is something the UFC does very well. They manage to familiarize someone more with a fighter and a fight in a minute than the WWE can in an entire month leading up to a PPV. I remember Mike Kyle fighting Justin Eilers at UFC 49 - I never heard of either guy and the way they explained it, made me actually want to see the fight. It was amazing.

Main card

Josh Koscheck vs. Pete Spratt

IMO, this is a bad opener. Yes, Koscheck had two good fights against Diego Sanchez and Chris Sanford. But he also had a complete stinker against Chris Leben, where he was content with just laying on the guy for the win. The reason he did that is the same reason he could possibly do that against Spratt - he doesn't want to get knocked out. They should have put this on the undercard and if it were good, choose to show it later on in the show. Spratt has shown weakness against good wrestlers with submission skills (Newton and St Pierre come to mind) as he tapped out in short time to both men. Koscheck, a man with Brock Lesnar-like qualifications in terms of amateur wrestling, can take Spratt down - what he does when he's down there will determine the quality of the fight.

Nate Quarry vs. Pete Sell

How can you not like Nate "Rock" Quarry? His interview with Insidefighting was hilarious ("Nate Quarry does not speak of himself in the third person"), and he effectively destroyed his previous two opponents. The guy is a stud - just look at those arms; they look digitally enhanced. The problem is, he's going up against Pete "Drago" Sell. Drago is an undefeated fighter, which is dangerous because you don't know if he's just that good, or if his opponents were just that bad. His most notable win was over Baroni, and if you look at what Phil has done after that fight (KO wins over Minowa and top ranked MW Ryo Chonan), then it's an impressive win. If you look at what Barnoi did before that (two straight losses against Evan Tanner and Matt Linland, respectively) then Dragos accomplishment lessens.

This fight is a test for both men - can Quarry really shine in the middleweight division, or is Drago the real deal? This makes for an exciting fight. IMO, this fight should have gone on first. Sell trains under Matt Serra, while Quarry trains under Team Quest and has been found in the corners of Randy Couture, Linland and Dan Henderson. Sell showed a willingness to bang with one of the best boxers in MMA in Baroni, a Quarry showed excellent combinations against Lodune Sincaid and Shonie Carter. Grappling-wise and Striking-wise these guys can get it done, so what this fight may come down to are some of the more intricate things in fighting - training, conditioning, controlling the pace, countering, etc. This is where MMA is at right now in some points and where it is certainly going in the future - its more than just style vs. style now. It's about strategy and preparation, like in any sport.

And it's about time. At 33 years of age, the time is now for Nate to start challenging for UFC gold. Fighting is, despite the freakish nature of the Natural, a young mans game. Sell is a young man, Nate is not. Will this be a factor in this fight? It might be. I'm hoping for a Quarry win, but I am not Selling Drago short, he might be the real deal.

Stephan Bonnar vs. Sam Hoger

In his fight against Forrest Griffin, for Stephan Bonnar, it was about business. The winner would get a 6-figure UFC contract, whether or not they liked each other was irrelevant. Through true grit, balls, and determination, both men ended up with the prize. This time, it's personal.

The bible says it bluntly - Thou Shalt Not Steal. So this fight is not just about winning or losing, it's about heaven and hell and gods word. Hoger, from the cold wasteland of Alaska, defied that commandment. With his cocky grin, Sam set the TUF house ablaze with his sticky fingers. Confident in his abilities, some say to a point of near hubris, Sam is a walking, talking, sinner. Bonnar fights to uphold gods will.

... or he just wants his UFC BEANIE.

Chris Leben vs. Patrick Cote

Chris Leben is a slugger. He wants you, his opponent, to come out and throw down with him. He has heavy hands and he's willing to swing em and knock you the fuck out. Problem is, for him -not us, cause this is going to be fun-, Patrick Cote likes to do the exact same thing, and he's probably better at it.

The best part is, both these guys are tough motherfuckers. Cote took some sick elbows from Tito Ortiz in his debut UFC fight and didn't even flinch. Leben will let you punch him in the face if it means he can punch yours at the same time, cause he's confident his punch will knock you out and your punch won't. So here we have two guys who can hit hard and can get hit hard - see why this fight is fun? Plus, they're both fighting to be in the UFC - Cote has two previous losses (his last fight was an exciting one against Joe Doerkson) and Leben has two losses in TUF. A loss for either just about means they're outta here. I imagine the UFC wants Leben around because he's one of the standouts from the Ultimate Fighter show, and set up this match with Cote in hopes that Leben gets to properly show his skills.

The thing is, Cote is a more technical boxer. He's a better boxer. While Leben is throwing huge haymakers, Cote will be on the inside throwing jabs, crosses and hooks. He's a dangerous guy for Leben to be facing, which is why I think Leben will try to take him down and pound away like he did against Jason Thacker. Hopefully we'll get to see fireworks, either way.

Nathan Marquardt vs. Ivan Salaverry.

I always get Nathan Marquardt and Ricardo Almeida confused, and it's not because they faced each other. I guess it's because Ricardo looks more like a "Nathan" than Nathan does (Almeida looks like a guy named Nathan I know). Why do I say this? Because that's about all I know about the 7 time King of Pancrase.

Ivan Salaverry, however, is a fighter I enjoy watch fight. The guy is very well rounded, he has a slick triangle, and his post-match celebration is the goofiest thing I've seen in the octagon. I really, really, really, really, really want to see him fight current MW champ Rich Franklin, because that would be a killer fight. And, apparently, so does Zuffa because if Salaverry wins there would be just cause for putting him into title contention. Marquardt is a high quality fighter, so by no means is this a Ken Shamrock fight (Shamrock having been lead to Rich Franklins slaughter on the last live UFC show on SPIKE).

Overall, the feelings I have right now are excitement mixed in with worry - what if this card sucks? What if it doesn't live up to expectations? What if the ratings are so low that SPIKE gives up on the UFC and all the growth in the past few years are for naught? To be an MMA fan is to be invested in it. As someone who watched for a decade-plus and has seen the evolution and is seeing it now on national television, I can't help but feel joy when something good happens and feel devastated when something bad happens. This sport deserves to be on TV, it deserves to be covered by the sports media, it deserves to be known by a national audience, it deserves mainstream acceptance. But it's not for me to decide, so for now I'll just stay excited and nervous and hope for the best.