UFC 84 Card taking shape as Three Light Heavyweight Bouts are finalized

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By Thomas Gerbasi

The deepest division in mixed martial arts will be on center stage at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada on May 24th, as three 205-pound bouts were officially added to the UFC 84: Ill Will card.

In action will be former PRIDE standouts Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou and Kazuhiro Nakamura, streaking contender Wilson Gouveia and UFC newcomer Goran Reljic, and unbeaten Brazilian Thiago Silva and Octagon debutant Antonio Mendes.

UFC 84: Ill Will is headlined by the UFC Lightweight Championship bout between BJ Penn and Sean Sherk, as well as light heavyweight bouts between Wanderlei Silva and Keith Jardine, and Lyoto Machida and Tito Ortiz. Tickets are on sale now.

Stakes are high for both Sokoudjou and Nakamura in their bout, as both are coming off disappointing losses in their UFC debuts, both to the undefeated Machida. But with the Octagon jitters out of their system, expect to see the best of Sokoudjou (owner of first round wins over Antonio Rogerio Nogueira and Ricardo Arona) and Nakamura (a victor over Murilo Bustamante, Kevin Randleman, and Igor Vovchanchyn) on May 24th.

After losing his UFC debut via a close decision to Keith Jardine back in 2006, Gouveia has since won four in a row, with each victory more impressive than the last. In his last bout, at UFC 80 in January, Gouveia scored a spectacular one punch knockout of Jason Lambert in the second round. Croatian ground fighting specialist Goran Reljic, who hasn’t lost yet in his seven fight pro career, will undoubtedly like to cool down Gouveia’s hot streak at UFC 84.

Speaking of cooling down hot streaks, undefeated Thiago Silva did just that to Houston Alexander at UFC 78 last November, stopping ‘The Assassin’ in a single round to move to 3-0 in the Octagon. But fellow Brazilian Antonio “Samuray” Mendes comes to the Octagon with a wealth of experience and 12 wins by KO, TKO, or submission, making him a dangerous roadblock on Silva’s journey to a world title shot.

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