Pay-per-view events are the lifeblood of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Following a record-setting 2016 that featured five events topping 1m purchases, the mixed martial arts company heads into its first full year under a new ownership group as ambitious as its ever been.
Surpassing the financial success that prompted a multi-billion dollar sale may not come easy, however.
The UFC’s first pay offering of 2017 takes place this Saturday at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, and it appears to lack a punch that would draw in the general public. With so much of its revenue growth tied to the likes of Conor McGregor and Ronda Rousey the last two years – other than the highly anticipated UFC 200 card in Las Vegas there hasn’t been a million-buy pay-per-view that didn’t feature McGregor or Rousey since 2013 – the UFC could take a step back if its unable to rely on its two largest draws as it holds 13 pay-per-view events in the coming year.
Rousey sounds unlikely to compete again, according to UFC promoter Dana White. And McGregor is currently on leave as he awaits the birth of his first child in the spring and flirts with the notion of boxing Floyd Mayweather with or without the UFC getting a piece. So that leaves the must successful purveyor of caged combat in a bit of a rebuilding spot even as it seeks to ramp up its business to meet lofty revenue projections.
So far, the feature attraction of UFC 208, a first ever title fight for female fighters in the octagon at 145lbs, has not drummed up an immense amount of interest, in large part because the best woman at that weight won’t participate and the two that will aren’t even fixtures in the division. There’s nothing particularly off-putting about a fight between Holly Holm (10-2) and Germaine de Randamie (6-3) – except neither of them are named Cris ‘Cyborg’ Justino (17-1, 1 NC), the de facto queen of the featherweight division, and, with Rousey exposed, the unquestioned top female mixed martial artist in the game.
There is, of course, the prickly mess Cyborg finds herself in with the United States Anti-Doping Agency, which is contracted by the UFC to administer doping control standards and tests. The fact is that the UFC aimed to include Justino in this fight, but the Brazilian declined three matchups prior to failing an out-of-competition doping test. Cyborg and her handlers denied that the failed test, the second of her career, was linked to steroids or performance-enhancing drugs, saying instead it was related to a medically prescribed treatment to recover from the difficult weight cuts she attempted while flirting with the bantamweight division and a potential blockbuster fight with Rousey.
Cyborg said she could have fought in March but was on doctors orders not to compete before then, so the UFC pushed forward and booked a matchup between Holm and De Randamie. Once again the UFC has shown its commitment to female mixed martial artists with the introduction of a new weight class, though sans Justino it is a shell of what it could be. Quality featherweight women are scattered around various promotions, including Invicta FC, where Cyborg reigns, and Bellator MMA, which promotes its title fight next month when veterans Marloes Coenen (23-7) and Julia Budd (11-2) face off. This reality has prompted some to wonder if the UFC would have been better served to bridging the gap between the two weight classes it currently promotes – 115 and 135 – and include flyweight women at 125lbs. If Rousey is no longer in the picture and Cyborg can’t sort things out with Usada, UFC executives might view a long-term investment at 145 as less desirable.
Holm, however, believes that with UFC getting behind female featherweights the conditions will change drastically.
“We’re going to start to see a lot of 145ers come out,” Holm told the media this week. “We’re going to start to see a lot of them get better because they’re going to know it’s attainable, that they have this opportunity that they can grasp onto, so they’re even going to take it more and more seriously.”
A win for Holm would make her the first woman in the UFC to hold belts in more than one weight class. A loss would mean she had dropped three fights in a row after 10 straight wins to open her MMA career following an impressive stint as a boxer.
Obviously the stakes are high on both sides.
For De Randamie, a 32-year-old champion kickboxer from the Netherlands who transitioned to MMA in 2008, this is a chance to become known as the first Dutch UFC champion since Bas Rutten won the heavyweight belt in 1999.
“Maybe people said that I was dropping and I wasn’t good after Amanda Nunes beat me,” said De Randamie. “But here I am. I’m headlining a UFC event right now.”
The main event should be the beneficiary of a solid buildup on Saturday night.
Legendary middleweight Anderson Silva seeks to make the most of the tail end of his career as he steps in against Derek Brunson. After winning 16 straight contests inside the octagon, Silva hasn’t earned a victory since 2013 and the desire to see him fight is waning.
Middleweights Ronaldo ‘Jacare’ Souza and Tim Boestch make for an intriguing matchup. Souza’s athleticism and skill clashes well with Boetsch’s raw strength and determination.
Veteran light heavyweight contender Glover Teixeira takes on rising prospect Jared Cannonier. The pairing is odd but once you get past the idea that Cannonier shouldn’t be in this spot yet, the potential of his performance is more than enough to be intrigued.
Opening the pay-per-view portion of UFC 208, lightweights Dustin Poirier and Jim Miller bring a stylistic flair that should produce heated moments.
There are legitimate reasons to look beyond the first pay-per-view of 2017 towards UFC 209 in early March. A lack of vibrant star power. A weaker than hoped for title fight. Surely 208 won’t deliver the big kickoff the UFC would have liked as it marches forward. Then again, the buy rate wasn’t strong when Robbie Lawler and Carlos Condit gave everything they had to begin the 2016 campaign, and that turned out to be one of the most memorable fights of what turned out to be the richest year in the history of the UFC.
