Poor quality of European cards exposed by Till conundrum

Late Starter

Orange Belt
@Orange
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.
 
Yeah it’s a horrendous card.

They generally are. That's the point. Don't get me wrong, there'll be some good fights and I'll enjoy attending but there ought to be a much better main card.
 
They generally are. That's the point. Don't get me wrong, there'll be some good fights and I'll enjoy attending but there ought to be a much better main card.

They always enter a new country with super cards but then only put on shitty cards supporter by a strong main event.
 
They always enter a new country with super cards but then only put on shitty cards supporter by a strong main event.

Let's look at this another way: Edwards-Cerrone is a nonsensical main event for Singapore but would've been a solid addition to the main card in Liverpool. Moreover, why are popular British fighters like Jimi Manuwa and Jo Calderwood being left in mothballs? It makes no sense.
 
They always enter a new country with super cards but then only put on shitty cards supporter by a strong main event.
After a first impression your actions don't carry nearly as much weight. After that it has to build up over time. Psychology nibba. Dana white is a smart man.
 
After a first impression your actions don't carry nearly as much weight. After that it has to build up over time. Psychology nibba. Dana white is a smart man.

Similar approach to that adopted by millions of blokes when dating women. Same blokes usually look surprised and wounded when they get dumped
 
It's Seagal's fault.

2b33dt.jpg
 
There may not be many big names on the card, which tbh is what the ufc is all about being the premiere promotion, but there are actually a few good fights on the card other than the main event- Arnold Allen - Mads Burnell, Makwan Amirkhani - Jason Knight, Molly Mcann - Gillian Robertson etc

But yeah, compared to Calgary it’s pretty trash.
 
They generally are. That's the point. Don't get me wrong, there'll be some good fights and I'll enjoy attending but there ought to be a much better main card.

There lies the problem though. You and many others will still be attending. The fact the tickets sold out in minutes despite putting on a sub par card says it all. They don't NEED to put on good cards, because they'll sell all the tickets anyway.

It certainly doesn't help that Gunnar Nelson got injured however, but they didn't exactly get an inspiring replacement.
 
There may not be many big names on the card, which tbh is what the ufc is all about being the premiere promotion, but there are actually a few good fights on the card other than the main event- Arnold Allen - Mads Burnell, Makwan Amirkhani - Jason Knight, Molly Mcann - Gillian Robertson etc

But yeah, compared to Calgary it’s pretty trash.

There's definitely going to be some good fights and talented fighters but the point is: if Till is ruled out, should Magny-White really be headlining a card in the world's premier MMA organisation?
 
There lies the problem though. You and many others will still be attending. The fact the tickets sold out in minutes despite putting on a sub par card says it all. They don't NEED to put on good cards, because they'll sell all the tickets anyway.

It certainly doesn't help that Gunnar Nelson got injured however, but they didn't exactly get an inspiring replacement.

That's pretty much the point I was making originally.

However, more serious than the fans' loyalty being exploited is the possibility that the low-key undercard is potentially prompting unnecessary risks with fighter welfare in the main event.
 
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.
i dont think it was the till situation that exposed the weak european cards, that was established LONG ago.
 
Isn't it because the ufc favors "local" fighters on cards? U.S. events are best because of talent pool, followed by Brazil, etc.? Plus time zone differences really affect their largest viewing audience in the U.S. Agree it sucks and they should definitely put a few more high-interest fights on them but I don't think it's realistic to expect hugely stacked cards in Liverpool or Santiago either.

Thinking of going to Hamburg too and possibly Russia. Don't forget Bellator events too the ones in Budapest so far have been a blast.
 
Last edited:
Back
Top