The UFC began to fold in the roster of the WEC back in December. UFC 128 may be the first event where we really see the impact of adding all those fighters from the 135 and 145 pound divisions.
It's so deep that even with nine fights officially scheduled for viewing on Facebook, Spike and pay-per-view, Joseph Benavidez's fight against Ian Loveland may be unavailable to the masses. The No. 2 bantamweight in the world according to the USA Today/Bloody Elbow rankings was even passed over on Facebook for the Kurt Pellegrino-Gleison Tibau and Ricardo Almeida-Mike Pyle fights.
The slight snub has given Benavidez (on the right) extra motivation to get the win and score an impressive finish.
"I'm not scheduled to be on TV, but I'm going to be on TV. I'm going to finish this guy. That's one of the differences. We're both finishers. The only difference is he also gets finished," Benavidez told Sherdog. "That's what I'm looking to do. I think that was a strategic move by the UFC. Not to put me on TV knowing they could cheat the system and get me on TV when I get the finish. That's how I'm looking at it."
Eight former WEC fighters are featured on the card.
You can watch UFC 128 right here on Yahoo!
MAIN CARD (pay-per-view)
Mauricio "Shogun" Rua vs. Jon Jones
Urijah Faber vs. Eddie Wineland
Jim Miller vs. Kamal Shalorus
Nate Marquardt vs. Dan Miller
Mirko Filipovic vs. Brendan Schaub
PRELIMINARY CARD (Spike TV)
Luiz Cane vs. Eliot Marshall
Edson Barboza vs. Anthony Njokuani
PRELIMINARY CARD (Facebook)
Ricardo Almeida vs. Mike Pyle
Kurt Pellegrino vs. Gleison Tibau
PRELIMINARY CARD
Joseph Benavidez vs. Ian Loveland
Raphael Assuncao vs. Erik Koch Nick Catone vs. Costantinos Philippou
Houston Cougars California Golden Bears Texas Longhorns Baltimore Ravens Cincinnati Bengals Cleveland Browns
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