This Memorial Day weekend kicks off an eventful summer of MMA. The results of Saturday night's UFC 98 event were not known by press time, but today's column will touch on several major events on the docket for the season.

This first event to mention will be a sight to behold, but unfortunately most American's won't be able to view it. The Japanese DREAM 9 event will be aired on the somewhat lowly subscribed HDNet channel this Tuesday at 4 A.M. Central.

It'll feature the continuation of its featherweight grand prix tournament. Competitors in this quarterfinal stage have the talent level of featherweights seen in the American WEC promotion.

DREAM 9 will include a second tournament within it called the Super Hulk tournament. Low on talent, but high on "what the . . ", this particular competition features an open weight class.

Giants like 6-4, 340 pound Bob "The Beast" Sapp will be participating. In what's going to be a train wreck of a bout, 7-2 Korean kickboxer Hong Man Choi will be fighting Jose Canseco. Yes, that Jose Canseco -- the former

baseball player/admitted juicer. He'll be making his MMA debut and has a tall order ahead of him.

Japanese promoters love to throw these spectacles of a fight. In America, bouts like these are largely seen as mockeries to the sport and would never be held in a reputable MMA organization like the UFC.

Sunday, June 6th will feature the biggest featherweight bout in American history. "The California Kid" Urijah Faber will be looking to get his WEC featherweight championship belt back from Mike Brown at WEC 41.

Brown stunned the MMA world last November when he took out the then 21-1 Faber with a right hook. After defending his belt in Corpus Christi at WEC 39, Mike Brown proved to the world he isn't a fluke. In fact, Brown is actually favored against the once indomitable Faber in their rematch.

On June 13, the UFC heads to Germany for the first time with UFC 99. The headliner for this one will feature Rich "Ace" Franklin versus Wanderlei "The Axe Murderer" Silva. This is the bout that can draw a comparison to Rocky III as Franklin's longtime nemesis, Anderson Silva will be training him for it.

Also at UFC 99, Mirko Cro Cop will be back in the Octagon. After having high hopes for UFC success dashed by a Gabriel Gonzaga head kick, and fighting in Japan for a year and half, the former Croatian commando will be taking a second run in the UFC. It's smart of the UFC to pick up Cro Cop now since he's so popular in Europe.

The highly anticipated UFC 100 scheduled for July 11th will feature two title bouts.

One is a bout that many have waited years for -- a welterweight showdown between Thiago "Pitbull" Alves and current champion Georges "Rush" St. Pierre. In the other bout, Brock Lesnar will be facing Frank Mir for the second time.

The undisputed UFC heavyweight championship belt will be on the line. After controlling their first fight early on, Lesnar succumbed to a Mir administered kneebar. It'll be interesting to see if Lesnar has learned and grown as a fighter.

Lastly, UFC 101 set for August will be a dandy in its own right. For the first time the UFC will be entering Philadelphia. To see MMA's reception in what is widely regarded to be a boxing town will be interesting. Perhaps if successful, this will be seen as one more passing of the torch between the two combat sports.