The Latest On UFC 132: Bowles vs. Mizugaki, Cruz vs. Faber, Ortiz vs. Bader, Condit vs. "Stun Gun", And More

Although all eyes are focused on the upcoming UFC 129 mega-event, which is scheduled to take place in front of over 55,000 fans, the UFC continues to plan months and months ahead. In this latest bit of forward thinking, the largest and most prestigious MMA organization on the planet recently made seven fights official for UFC 132, in some cases confirming weeks of speculation. Here are all the details.

We head over to the one and only Sherdog for the scoop. According to their report, all seven of the following fights are now official for UFC 132: Brian Bowles vs. Takeya Mizugaki, Carlos Condit vs. Dong Hyun Kim, Urijah Faber vs. Dominick Cruz, George Sotiropoulos vs. Evan Dunham, Dennis Siver vs. Matt Wiman, Melvin Guillard vs. Shane Roller, and Ryan Bader vs. Tito Ortiz.

UFC 132 is currently scheduled for July 2, 2011 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Looking at this card, I’m beginning to think that this might be the UFC’s standard for the summer. There are a lot of very different but very skilled fighters in these seven match-ups alone, they all have plenty of potential but some have it for very different reasons. I’m also loving the fact that this card will see a main event between two Featherweight fighters. I’ll always be a fan of the WEC, and I think Faber vs. Cruz is going to be an excellent match. As a proud and vocal supporter of lighter-weight fighters, it makes me very happy that the UFC is giving their two new weight divisions the respect, credibility, and main event slots that they rightfully deserve.

Here’s a question for you, fans and friends: is it wrong that I hope Carlos Condit KTFO’s Dong Hyun Kim? It’s not like I want “Stun Gun” seriously injured, I just think there’s been a lot of hype building around him and to tell you the truth, I’m just not seeing any of it. I don’t like how Kim used “Lay and Pray” tactics to win his last fight, and I certainly don’t like that Kim thought that performance was so good that it warranted him a shot against Georges St. Pierre. Carlos Condit, on the other hand, is a very exciting fighter and he’s on a three-fight win-streak with two back-to-back (T)KO’s. I may catch some flack for this, but I can’t help the way I feel. And right now, I feel like I want to see Condit give Kim the first non-overturned loss of his career by way of KTFO.

I honestly hope Tito Ortiz retires if Ryan Bader beats him. I just feel like Ortiz has been in this bubble since returning to the UFC, I think that the only one that hasn’t noticed that this comeback isn’t working is Ortiz himself. I’m tired of the excuses, I’m tired of the pre-fight hype where he swears he’s never felt better, I’m tired of it all. It’s put up or shut up time for Tito Ortiz, and if he’s not able to beat a quality opponent like Bader, I’d like to see him retire with a little dignity and not continue chasing the comeback that will likely never happen.

And that’s what I think, fans and friends. At least so far. And what about you? Any thoughts on UFC 132?