Why Doesn't the UFC Have Backup Fighters Available?

Yes, the stupid weight cutting is why.

Great point about dropping the price after losing the co-main event.
 
Floofyboy said:
Remember when Aldo got injured, they offered Mcgregor Mendes (which was arguably a very scary matchup for him at that time), and Conor just accepted it no question asked.

Fuck Ortega. Stephens isn't even scary at all compared to Holloway.
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It was for an interim belt.
 
Bend NvR Break said:
Are you going to pay that stand by fighter for his time and effort to train, make weight and focus on a potential fight? Or do you expect him to be ready just out the goodness of his heart?
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yes, of course you pay him
 
cade187 said:
Actually it's been discussed ad nauseum. You can't expect top 10 fighters to just go through a full training camp with no fight scheduled, and most likely not get a fight for less money than if they had an actual fight scheduled. The more realistic option is to have another fight scheduled in the same weight class on that card, but it's irrelevant since Ortega turned down a replacement fight with Stephens.
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You don't even have to do that....

You schedule the backup fighter (someone who is believable to be in the main/co-main and/or title shot) to have an actual fight lower in the card (the 10pm fight). It's a 100% legit fight with win/loss ramifications but not a main or co-main that could derail and entire card if the guy is pulled to fight in the main/co-main.

That way you're not wasting the guy and having him sit around and IF he is called on, he just went through a full camp. It's easier to cancel the 10pm fight than it is a main/co-main which usually are the ones that sell the card.

If the backup fighter needs to be pulled to go to the main event, you pay his opponent his full show/half his win money for being a good sport which could be a hell of a lot cheaper than the amount of PPV buys you may lose.
 
Floofyboy said:
Remember when Aldo got injured, they offered Mcgregor Mendes (which was arguably a very scary matchup for him at that time), and Conor just accepted it no question asked.

Fuck Ortega. Stephens isn't even scary at all compared to Holloway.
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disagree.
Stephens is always a threat. He has heavy hands and can Ko anyone and the guy is tougher than shoe leather
 
Because Kelvin wants compensation for being on standby for last minute replacement duty.
 
Floofyboy said:
Remember when Aldo got injured, they offered Mcgregor Mendes (which was arguably a very scary matchup for him at that time), and Conor just accepted it no question asked.

Fuck Ortega. Stephens isn't even scary at all compared to Holloway.
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conor deserves more respect for taking all these last minute fights, win or lose, he gives no fooks.
 
TheRassler said:
conor deserves more respect for taking all these last minute fights, win or lose, he gives no fooks.
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Exactly. And when he lost to Nate, he made no excuses, actually understood what he did wrong, worked on himself, and avenged his loss. Nobody is thinking "omg Conor lost 1 fight, he sucks". People are inspired by him. People aren't inspired by scared pussies who dodge any risky fights. Who here is an huge woodley fan?
 
DC4MVP said:
You don't even have to do that....

You schedule the backup fighter (someone who is believable to be in the main/co-main and/or title shot) to have an actual fight lower in the card (the 10pm fight). It's a 100% legit fight with win/loss ramifications but not a main or co-main that could derail and entire card if the guy is pulled to fight in the main/co-main.

That way you're not wasting the guy and having him sit around and IF he is called on, he just went through a full camp. It's easier to cancel the 10pm fight than it is a main/co-main which usually are the ones that sell the card.

If the backup fighter needs to be pulled to go to the main event, you pay his opponent his full show/half his win money for being a good sport which could be a hell of a lot cheaper than the amount of PPV buys you may lose.
Click to expand...

That’s what I said?
 
filthynumber1 said:
disagree.
Stephens is always a threat. He has heavy hands and can Ko anyone and the guy is tougher than shoe leather
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Make sure you pay attention to the part where i said "compared to Holloway". Of course a fight against Stephens isn't risk free. he's a tough mother fucker with heavy hands. But i think Holloway is a much harder fight.
 
Übermacht said:
Who would be willing to go through a grueling weight cut if you're probably not even going to fight?
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I'd imagine that fighter would get show money or some sort of compensation for being "on reserve"
 
RockyLockridge said:
I'd imagine that fighter would get show money or some sort of compensation for being "on reserve"
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Maybe a better idea is to have guys on the card who can be a replacement. For example, it feels like if Cormier was injured, maybe we would have a Nganou/Miocic rematch. Imo, ufc fucked up not having a solid 145 fight on the card to replace a potential injury.
 
Bend NvR Break said:
They tried to make Stephens vs Oretega. Oretega turned it down. He said he'd only accept a fight if the FW title was on the line. Without a title on the line he'd sit back and wait for Max.

I don't see why they didn't make an interim title for Oretega vs Holloway. That seems to be the go to idea to fix issues nowadays.
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IMO, I don't see Max defending before December, and as such, the interim holder would be made the champion, so it would seem smart for T-City to take the interim. Not only does he have to contend with the weight issue, but he also has all this CTE stuff, which can take the longest to heal (and often never does). He could just be too large for the class now and has been pulled from TWO weight cuts back to back and at different weight classes. He clearly did something to his body & brain that is not good.
 
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ImNotSurpisedDonks! said:
IMO, I don't see Max defending before December, and as such, the interim holder would be made the champion, so it would seem smart for T-City to take the interi,. Not only does he have to contend with the weight issue, but he also has all this CTE stuff, which can take the longest to heal (and often never does). He could just be too large for the class now and has been pulled from TWO weight cuts back to back and at different weight classes. He clearly did something to his body & brain that is not good.
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This. And now Dana might be pissed at him, and might have lost some fans. Stephens could now easily leap frog him since he's so scared to fight stephens.
 
Floofyboy said:
This. And now Dana might be pissed at him, and might have lost some fans. Stephens could now easily leap frog him since he's so scared to fight stephens.
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If he turned down Stephens, he should leap frog him. He signed a contract to fight on the 7th for a title and he is not showing up tho healthy and supplied with an opponent and a belt on the line.

If I were him, I would take it, as that interim is likely going to change in to the real belt with Max likely gone for a while.
 
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