- Joined
- Jul 11, 2017
- Messages
- 300
- Reaction score
- 23
First up, I'm totally with those that say that the 'solution' that's been cooked up to rescue the Till-Wonderboy main event is reckless and flies in the face of fighter safety.
What the desperation to save the one really good fight on the card also does, however, is bring into focus just how substandard the cards that the UFC is foisting on its extremely loyal and passionate European fans really are.
*If* the main event still gets pulled today (and I still think it may) we're left with a fairly uninspiring card 'headlined' by a fight between Neil Magny (no disrespect, but come on!) and the No.4 welterweight from Cage Warriors on his promotional debut.
Compare this with the upcoming FN card in Calgary, where you have a main card stacked with the likes of Alvarez-Poirier 2, Stephens-Aldo and JJ-Torres and you can see there's an alarming disparity and a sense that the UFC is, at best, taking its European fans (particularly those from the British Isles) for granted. Even the Bellator 200 main card took a dump on UFC Liverpool!
Perhaps the problem is that European fans (or at least those in the UK and Ireland) are too passionate and too loyal. Our shows routinely sell out in minutes, often before a main card has even been announced, whereas I'm pretty sure I could still pick up a selection of seats for that great card in Calgary if I wished too.
We love the UFC and will travel in numbers to support it (in under 12 months I'll have been to Hamburg, Liverpool and Gdansk to watch events and I'm currently wrestling over whether to head to Moscow in September) but the UFC needs to be aware that, if it continues to disrespect it's audience, that audience will eventually grow weary.
What the desperation to save the one really good fight on the card also does, however, is bring into focus just how substandard the cards that the UFC is foisting on its extremely loyal and passionate European fans really are.
*If* the main event still gets pulled today (and I still think it may) we're left with a fairly uninspiring card 'headlined' by a fight between Neil Magny (no disrespect, but come on!) and the No.4 welterweight from Cage Warriors on his promotional debut.
Compare this with the upcoming FN card in Calgary, where you have a main card stacked with the likes of Alvarez-Poirier 2, Stephens-Aldo and JJ-Torres and you can see there's an alarming disparity and a sense that the UFC is, at best, taking its European fans (particularly those from the British Isles) for granted. Even the Bellator 200 main card took a dump on UFC Liverpool!
Perhaps the problem is that European fans (or at least those in the UK and Ireland) are too passionate and too loyal. Our shows routinely sell out in minutes, often before a main card has even been announced, whereas I'm pretty sure I could still pick up a selection of seats for that great card in Calgary if I wished too.
We love the UFC and will travel in numbers to support it (in under 12 months I'll have been to Hamburg, Liverpool and Gdansk to watch events and I'm currently wrestling over whether to head to Moscow in September) but the UFC needs to be aware that, if it continues to disrespect it's audience, that audience will eventually grow weary.