The UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship) returns to Australian shores this weekend to unleash its action packed brand of mixed martial arts.  The UFC 127 event emanates this Sunday (February 27) from Sydney’s Acer Arena and will be watched live by millions around the world.  Not only is this the UFC’s second foray into the Australian market but the chance for Victoria’s own George Sotiropoulos to continue his march towards the lightweight title.  With a record of 14-2 (7-0 in the UFC), George will hope to continue his winning streak against dangerous German Dennis Siver.    

 The organisations return to Australia resulted in a 30 minute sell-out and will see 18,000 fans pack the Acer Arena on Sunday.  The UFC’s previous visit to Sydney (Last February’s UFC 110) set box office records at Acer, and sold out within two hours.  At that event, George Sotiropoulos scored an impressive victory over Joe Stevenson and is now looking for a similar performance in front of a raucous home crowd. 

“Soti” is one of the best Jiu Jitsu practitioners in not only the lightweight division but the entire UFC.  His impressive submission ground game has served him well since his last fight in Sydney, where George has gone on to record victories against Kurt Pellegrino and most recently Joe Lauzon.

 George’s November 20 showing against veteran Lauzon highlighted his continued rise and improvement. The American stunned the Geelong native early with a barrage of strikes, winning the first round. However, George composed himself in the second and expertly caught Joe in a kimura for the submission victory.  The bout earned both men “Fight of the Night” honours at the UFC 123 event.

 The Greek-Australians upcoming opponent Dennis Siver is coming off an impressive win of his own. At the UFC 122 event in November, the German lightweight took it to Andre Winner with strikes and a rear-naked choke to finish the bout.

  Siver does pose some problems for Sotiropoulos and should not be taken lightly.  He is an excellent kick boxer, with his spinning back kick becoming somewhat of a trademark.  While Siver is also skilled in the art of Jiu Jitsu, he is not at the level of Sotiropoulos.  His striking prowess will be his key to success on Sunday.

 The fight should be an entertaining one with both fighters capable of finishing the other.  Sotiropoulos has a mountain of momentum going into this fight and the home crowd support will only add to his deserved favouritism.  Siver’s best chance for victory is to keep the fight standing and avoid the takedown.  If Sotiropoulos finds a way to get Siver down quickly then it could end disastrously for Dennis.  “Soti” will be hoping that his superior ground game decides the fight.

 This bout will be the biggest in George’s seven year career and a win will surely thrust him into lightweight title contention.  UFC President Dana White agrees and stated as much during a recent conference call promoting the event.  “If he can win and pull this fight out, he’s in the line for the title shot,” White said. “There’s no doubt about it”.  

  While Sotiropoulos will be gunning for lightweight glory, title aspirations will also be at stake in the show’s main event.  UFC Legend, BJ Penn will take on Jon Fitch in a bout which could very well decide the no. 1 contender for the welterweight title.  The main card will also see Cypriot born Brit, Michael Bisping against Jorge Rivera, Chris Lytle vs. Brian Ebersole, and Australian Kyle Noke battling it out with Chris Camozzi.

 UFC 127 will take place on Sunday February 27 at 2pm.  The event can be purchased via pay-per-view on Main Event.