ARE WE BEING
RIPPED OFF? | MMAToronto
Written by Mike McPhee
UFC 127 is this Saturday night & honestly I really hadn’t
thought much about the card. When I realized it was coming up soon
I took a closer look at the match ups and only one question came to
mind. Why is UFC 127 a pay-pew-view card?
In some UFC events that were held overseas the card was free on
SPIKE TV. UFC 127 is being held in Sydney, Australia. Being an
overseas card doesn’t mean it has to be free but this one qualifies
as one that should have been. There is no title fight on this card.
Other than the main event of Jon Fitch & BJ Penn there aren’t
any superstars on the card either. Sorry British fans, Michael
Bisping is not a superstar outside of the U.K. yet.
To me this all lines up to be a perfect UFC Fight Night card, not a
pay-per-view event. Many people order every UFC pay-per-view and no
matter what the card is and this trend will continue. I am one of
these people. People come over to the Man Cave and we watch a night
of fights, play some Poker and enjoy some drinks. But how is this
card worth the $59.99 for the high definition feed?
* Jon Fitch vs. B.J. Penn
* Michael Bisping vs. Jorge Rivera
* Dennis Siver vs. George Sotiropoulos
* Chris Lytle vs. Brian Ebersole
* Chris Camozzi vs. Kyle Noke
* Spencer Fisher vs. Ross Pearson
* Alexander Gustafsson vs. James Te Huna
* Riki Fukuda vs. Nick Ring
* Mark Hunt vs. Chris Tuchscherer
* Maciej Jewtuszko vs. Curt Warburton
* Tom Blackledge vs. Anthony Perosh
* Jason Reinhardt vs. Tiequan Zhang
I can say poor looking cards in the past have delivered a fantastic
night of fights. But to justify the public dropping $59.99 for an
event the UFC has to make a much better effort putting big names on
each & every pay-per-view event.
It appears the UFC knows there is a very large contingent of fans
out there who order each show and no matter who is on the card they
will make their money. Not only is this a slap in the face to the
buying public but it leaves a very bad taste in my mouth. I have
been a fan for a very long time and order every event I am able to.
But this card does not interest me very much and the lack of top
stars is surprising. I don’t like paying for this one.
Please do not misunderstand me. I am a fan of some fighters on this
card and do look forward to some of the fights. I hope guys like
Chris Lytle or Dennis Siver can make this an exciting night. But
you have to look at this objectively and stack it up against other
events. In the previous UFC event (UFC 126) we have a middleweight
title fight and other known names like Miguel Torres, Forrest
Griffin, Rich Franklin, Jon Jones & Ryan Bader. Fighters like
Kid Yamamoto and Omigawa brought the Japanese MMA audience in as
well.
UFC 125 had a lightweight title fight & names such as Gomi,
Guida, Diaz & Leben. Not necessarily superstars but known names
many casual fans know from previous events or the Ultimate Fighter
TV show. The UFC 128 & 129 cards both have title fights &
superstars lined up too. Shogun vs. Jon Jones, GSP vs. Jake
Shields, Randy Couture vs. Lyoto Machida & other big names like
Urijah Faber, Cro Cop & Jose Aldo will be fighting.
I know every card can not have a title fight or be loaded with
superstars, but when you compare UFC 127 to Fight Night cards there
are more similarities than pay-per-view events. The upcoming Fight
Night 24 will have known fighters like Antonio Rogerio Nogueira,
Phil Davis & former middleweight title contender Dan Hardy.
Like UFC 127 you have some lesser known names and up & coming
fighters.
Even the UFC 127 main event is lacking something. Jon Fitch is a
proven winner but he is far from the most exciting fighter on the
roster. Can BJ Penn bring out a war with Fitch? Depends on which BJ
Penn shows up. No doubt Fitch can win this fight but as the main
event of a lackluster pay-per-view card this may not be the best
way to end the evening if it becomes three rounds of lay &
pray.
Full credit to Jorge Rivera for trying to make this a must see
card. His two YouTube videos making fun of Michael Bisping are
entertaining & make me want to see this fight.
Jorge Rivera vs. Michael Bisping UFC 127 Interview Leaked!!!
Jorge Rivera versus Michael Bisping at UFC 127: The Tale of Count
Bisping
With the massive time difference between North American and
Australia it will be very easy to learn the results of this event
before it airs at the usual 10pm EST time slot fans are used to.
With this issue & the lack of star fighters I feel the UFC is
ripping us off. It should be a free event.
What will happen? Nothing. Lots of people will order the event,
have UFC parties or go out to the local bar like every other month.
That is the what I don’t like. Currently there is no way to stop
the UFC from doing this again. I truly hope the card is exciting
and new stars are born. If not, that will be $59.99 I will regret
spending.