How much will UFC 75 cost you?

Caleb Newby of 411Mania.com is reporting the following:

UFC 75, featuring the anticipated bout between Quinton “Rampage” Jackson and Dan “Hollywood” Henderson, is not a lock to be shown on pay-per-view in the United States sources have told 411mania. Both Spike TV and HBO would be potential homes for the huge event (along with pay-per-view), though the status of any UFC programming on HBO has long been questionable. So while nothing has been finalized, UFC 75 appearing on free television (or nearly free television) is still viable as all parties involved work out the details.

You can read Caleb’s report by clicking here.

If it’s not going to be a PPV, my hope is that it’s on HBO. I just don’t know if I can deal with Dan Henderson vs. Quinton Jackson being on tape delay and having tons of commercials between rounds. If it’s a title unification match then it’s too important of a match not to be shown live.

If it is a Spike card, at least give people the option of paying to see it live on PPV.

Report: Henderson vs. Jackson to be a title fight

There appears to be some good news coming out of the UFC. According to UFCDaily.com, Stephen Quadros reported on his radio show at Sherdog.com yesterday that the scheduled bout between UFC light heavyweight champion Quinton “Rampage” Jackson and Pride middleweight champion Dan Henderson at UFC 75 on September 8 in London will be for the UFC light heavyweight title.

Click here for the full story.

Henderson vs. Jackson could be non-title

After previously saying a bout scheduled for UFC 75 on September 8 in London between UFC light heavyweight champion Quinton Jackson and Pride middleweight champion Dan Henderson would be title vs. title, UFC president Dana White has softened his stance and indicated during a conference call last week to promote UFC 73 that it could be a non-title bout.

According to Carlos Arias of the Orange County Register, White said the following when asked if the bout would be a title unification match:

“No. What we’re doing with that thing is we’re respecting both (the UFC and PRIDE) titles. The UFC title is the UFC champion and we’re respecting Dan as the PRIDE champion. Quinton will walk out with his belt if Dan wins and vice versa.”

So if the titles won’t be unified then I guess the Henderson vs. Jackson match can be considered a title bout? I wonder if that means it will only be three rounds instead of five. MMA is not regulated in the UK so if the UFC wants the match to be five round then they wouldn’t need to get special permission.

UFC officially announces UFC 75 in London

Brian Knapp from The Fight Network is reporting that the UFC officially announced at a London press conference today that UFC 75 will be taking place in London on September 8.

UFC light heavyweight champion Quinton Jackson will fight Pride middleweight (205 lbs.) champion Dan Henderson in a title unification bout in the main event.

No other matches were announced. Mirko Cro Cop was at the press conference but Cheick Kongo was not. Kongo has said he will be fighting Cro Cop and the UFC has presented the match to Cro Cop’s people, but a bout agreement has not been signed. There is a chance Cro Cop’s camp is holding out for a higher-profile opponent.

The reported bout between Michael Bisping and Ken Shamrock has not been announced. The Fight Network’s Loretta Hunt is claiming that a source close to the UFC and a source close to Bisping’s camp has said the match has been proposed.

Rod Donohoo, Shamrock’s agent, confirmed to TFN this morning that negotiations with the UFC for a comeback are taking place but a specific opponent has yet to be presented. Donohoo said they are open to the idea of fighting Bisping but are waiting for a call from the UFC to discuss particulars.

UFC makes offer to Sokoudjou?

According to written accounts, Dan Henderson was a recent guest on TAGG Radio and addressed a number of topics. One of them was the status of Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou, who trains under Henderson at Team Quest in Temecula, Calif.

Henderson was reported to have said that the UFC made an offer to Sokoudjou but said that it was “less than spectacular.”

If it’s true, then the UFC is making a mistake here, just like they are by not going out and preventing Denis Kang from signing elsewhere. Sokoudjou is an unbelievable talent and both he and Mauricio Rua are the future of the light heavyweight division in MMA.

Rampage: I have to fight in London

Sportscaster Jim Hill of the CBS affiliate in Los Angeles conducted an interview with UFC light heavyweight champ Quinton “Rampage” Jackson and during the interview Jackson states that his next match will be in London on September 8. He doesn’t refer to Dan Henderson by name, but said he has to fight “the champion of Japan.”

So while not official, it looks like there’s a strong chance we’re going to see Rampage vs. Henderson at UFC 75 this September in the UK.

You can watch the interview here:

http://cbs2.com/local/local_story_158210000.html

Jackson vs. Henderson in an overseas bout? I know Dana likes to throw fans a freebie once in awhile, but somehow I get the feeling that this match isn’t going to be shown on Spike TV.