The UFC has long talked about making five round non-title fights and it appears that it’s closer to reality than ever before.
During the UFC Fan Expo Q&A, UFC President Dana White says that they are getting very close to making the five round non-title fights, and almost debuted it at UFC 131.
“We were actually going to start it Brock Lesnar and Junior Dos Santos, but we had already made the fight,” White said about five round super fights. “We had already made the fight so it’s kind of hard to go back to those guys after you already make the fight and say you know what this is going to be five (rounds) instead of three (rounds).”
Lesnar and Dos Santos are scheduled to meet in Vancouver in June, with the winner facing UFC heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez later this year, possibly in October 2011.
As White explained, with both fighters already in camp and preparing for a three round fight, but otherwise it would have likely been a five round bout.
With possible super fights also on the horizon in the future, five round non-title bouts could happen in the UFC more often than not.
“We’re very close to doing it,” White revealed.
White also mentioned how much he dislikes draws like in the fight with Jon Fitch and B.J. Penn. While White didn’t mention any possibility of it happening, the rematch between those two could be just the tester the UFC is looking for with a five round non-title fight.
It remains to be seen when the UFC will actually implement the five round non-title fights, but it could happen in the Octagon very soon.