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Every now and then I see fans and fighters complaining about the order of fights on events. This week has highlighted it with the injustice of Joaquin Buckley and Stephen Thompson being on the prelims.
I thought maybe there could be a systematic way of sorting out which fight goes where. My idea was to use popularity based off of social media numbers of the combined two fighters in each fight. It's a fair way of viewing fan popularity, and can't really cause reason for dispute.
Here's what UFC 307 would look like if this were the criteria used (I've personally used instagram followers):
Main card:
- Alex Pereira vs. Khalil Rountree Jr. (5,213,000 followers)
- Jose Aldo vs. Mario Bautista (2,915,100 followers)
- Stephen Thompson vs. Joaquin Buckley (1,241,000 followers)
- Roman Dolidze vs. Kevin Holland (820,000 followers)
- Raquel Pennington vs. Julianna Pena (678,000 followers)
Prelims:
- Carla Esparza vs. Tecia Pennington (431,000 followers)
- Kayla Harrison vs. Ketlen Vieira (398,000 followers)
- Tim Means vs. Court McGee (124,500 followers)
- Ihor Potieira vs. Cesar Almeida (121,800 followers)
Early prelims:
- Marina Rodriguez vs. Iasmin Lucindo (102,494 followers)
- Ovince St. Preux vs. Ryan Spann (81,800 followers)
- Alexander Hernandez vs. Austin Hubbard (59,800 followers)
What do you guys think of this bout order, as opposed to the official one?
I personally think it's a much better flowing card, with deserved spots for each fight. I know there's the issue of a title fight opening the main card, but I kinda like that? Breaks up the potential for two 5-rounders back-to-back (although we know Alex ain't going the full 5). Sort of highlights the women's title fight, like when they opened the main card with Gaethje/chandler.
Let me know your opinions, may do this for most cards, if not just the PPVs
I thought maybe there could be a systematic way of sorting out which fight goes where. My idea was to use popularity based off of social media numbers of the combined two fighters in each fight. It's a fair way of viewing fan popularity, and can't really cause reason for dispute.
Here's what UFC 307 would look like if this were the criteria used (I've personally used instagram followers):
Main card:
- Alex Pereira vs. Khalil Rountree Jr. (5,213,000 followers)
- Jose Aldo vs. Mario Bautista (2,915,100 followers)
- Stephen Thompson vs. Joaquin Buckley (1,241,000 followers)
- Roman Dolidze vs. Kevin Holland (820,000 followers)
- Raquel Pennington vs. Julianna Pena (678,000 followers)
Prelims:
- Carla Esparza vs. Tecia Pennington (431,000 followers)
- Kayla Harrison vs. Ketlen Vieira (398,000 followers)
- Tim Means vs. Court McGee (124,500 followers)
- Ihor Potieira vs. Cesar Almeida (121,800 followers)
Early prelims:
- Marina Rodriguez vs. Iasmin Lucindo (102,494 followers)
- Ovince St. Preux vs. Ryan Spann (81,800 followers)
- Alexander Hernandez vs. Austin Hubbard (59,800 followers)
What do you guys think of this bout order, as opposed to the official one?
I personally think it's a much better flowing card, with deserved spots for each fight. I know there's the issue of a title fight opening the main card, but I kinda like that? Breaks up the potential for two 5-rounders back-to-back (although we know Alex ain't going the full 5). Sort of highlights the women's title fight, like when they opened the main card with Gaethje/chandler.
Let me know your opinions, may do this for most cards, if not just the PPVs