“UFC 82 Countdown” Debuts Feb. 25

“UFC 82 Countdown: Silva vs. Henderson,” the official preview show for next month’s UFC pay-per-view event in Columbus, Ohio, debuts on Monday, Feb. 25 at 11 p.m. ET/PT on Spike TV.

Replays of the show are set to air Wednesday, Feb. 27 at 11 p.m. ET/PT; Friday, Feb. 29 at 11 p.m. ET/8 p.m. PT; and Saturday, March 1 at 6 p.m. ET/PT.

The show will focus primarily on a main event between UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva and challenger Dan Henderson. The fight caps off one of the most talent-rich UFC events in recent history. So full of talent is UFC 82 that fighters such as Andrei Arlovski, Josh Koscheck and Diego Sanchez have been stuck on the night’s un-televised preliminary card.

Televised fights for the event include Heath Herring vs. Cheick Kongo, Chris Leben vs. Alessio Sakara, Yushin Okami vs. Evan Tanner, and Jon Fitch vs. Chris Wilson.

UFC 82 takes place at Nationwide Arena, the same venue that hosted last year’s UFC 68 event. The event set a still-standing UFC record for total attendance, and the event also shattered venue records for tickets sold, live gate and merchandise sales.

Also, be sure to stop by MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) tomorrow for a recap of our weekly Dayton Daily News “MMA Insider” column. We’ll have an update on a rumor that’s been swirling about UFC 82.

Additionally, as we previously mentioned, MMAjunkie.com will be teaming up with the good folks at American Fighter for two UFC 82 pre-parties in Columbus. For more information about those events, which are sure to be packed with MMA celebrities, check out last week’s UFC 82 pre-party post.