When I read the title of this topic I said to myself 'Erin19 is gonna shit all over that card for sure in that topic'. And there you go. Anyway, the card is lacking for sure. The new international fight pass cards are the weakest free cards we got in years. At least they have been entertaining so far.
My only problem is the main event. If Mark Hunt were available, this card would look pretty good to me.
This is a tiny market with a documented lack of interest in MMA, i'm sorry no "Big" names are on the card. People should be spending their money to see good fights, not gawk at famous fighters. Te-Huna X Marquardt, Hioki X Do Bronx and Whitaker X Rhodes should all be exciting enough to give you your moneys worth.
I'm probably a touch byast as an Australian, but their are some decent fights their. Hioki vs Oliveira and Te Huna vs Marquardt should be entertaining, and Grujic vs Indich could be a chance for Fight of the Night in my opinion.
Yes, tickets and everything will be way more expensive then any MMA promotions ever but there's three letters stamped on the cage and the gloves and stuff. Plus if you also pay to be a fight club member you could reserve your overpriced tickets earlier. Those fighter are going to rip it into pieces. They magically became better and more interesting the second they signed that 8k contract. Remember the card is subject to change. So maybe one time that will mean it will change for the better. Probably not but you never know. This one is for the hardcore fans anyways, oh wait...'The hardcore fans are fucking stupid' said the president of the company.
Not super stacked, but there are some very good fights on that card for a fan: You get Soa v Rosholt, Marquardt v Te Huna, Hioki v Oliveira, and a few others that have the potential to be sleeper hits - Considering that it
It's a regional card, what do you expect? This is one of the events that the UFC hold to further their brand in that market. This isn't a card that is built for anyone except the New Zealand audience. Regional cards will always be shit, with no names from that area. Why do you think it's not on TV, no one wants to take the risk with a card like this. That's why they have Fight Pass now.
They're putting the UFC name on it. There are fans in New Zealand that might want to be able to go to a real UFC event. Sure, they'll pay UFC prices but this isn't a UFC card. Actually I take that back. This shit is becoming more and more common.
People really expect Palelei vs Rosholt to be a barnburner? Palelei finished his last two fights quickly so he didnt gas but now he is facing a WRESTLER. I can see Rosholt laying on Soa for a good part of the fight with both guys gassed as fuck. Hope Im wrong though.
Its not a bad card man, its the same day as a much bigger UFC event in Texas. UFC isn't forcing fans to go to this event and without Fight Pass this card would never have happened and New Zealand would have never got an event. I'm sure fans would rather have the option to go or not. And Da Bronx/Hioki, Nate/Te Huna and Soa/Rosholt is pretty solid. Throw in Whittaker and its not bad at all. Fans have a choice and that's the good news, they have a choice now. They can go to a UFC event if they want to or not, rather then hoping the UFC comes around once every four years.
Yeah I'm surprised at the amount of people with high expectations for that fight. Either Soa wins a gasfest or Rosholt lays on him for a 29-28 type deal. And the story behind this card is more interesting than the fights. The UFC wanted to go to the Philippines for this show but the venue they had in mind backed out for some reason. They had to put a card together for Fight Pass (can't sell a monthly subscription based product based on a card a month without a card in June) so they went with New Zealand and started putting a card together on like two hours notice. They were hoping for Mark Hunt but hey, shit happens. Either it'll sell well and they'll come back to New Zealand or it wont and they won't. Hopefully they get another card.
