The UFC has a problem.
Canada, one of the organization’s premier markets, does not seem to be able to catch a break. This week, UFC 186 lost it’s main event as the bantamweight title rematch between TJ Dillashaw and Renan Barao collapsed when the champion picked up a rib injury. The co-main event, a flyweight title fight between Demetrious Johnson and Kyoji Horiguchi, has taken top billing.
Now, the flyweight division does need promoting, Johnson for all his ability, simply has not crossed over with the PPV paying public. That is not helped by the lack of contenders that he has had to endure over the last year. Horiguchi, a talented prospect, has been pushed in to the limelight a lot earlier than the promotion had probably planned but beggars can’t be choosers when their champion is running through the division like Hulkamania ran through my household in the early 90s.
It may have not been as bad had Canada’s top fighter, Rory Macdonald remained on the card. A failed PED test for Hector Lombard put the skids on a spot on this card and Macdonald now finds himself fighting for the title at UFC 189. So what has been left with two big fights gone? Well, we have the return of Rampage Jackson. Or do we? The former UFC light heavyweight champion finds himself embroiled in a potential lawsuit with his former employers, Bellator MMA. Who knows if that fight goes ahead. We also have Michael Bisping, on the downside of his career, taking on CB Dolloway who lasted all of 62 seconds against Lyoto Machida in his last fight. Exciting right?
That is not a knock on the fighters who are on the card, far from it. It is a knock on the UFC and their inability to market all PPVs and champions better than they do. In a week where UFC 189 has been marketed so heavily, UFC 186 is stuttering along towards being a PPV that could be among the lowest in the promotion’s post-TUF one era. It is not new for Canadian fans to feel like they are being short-changed, especially as it seems the UFC has taken a step-back in the region since the retirement of George St-Pierre.
The UFC hosted a solitary Canadian PPV in 2014, when UFC 174 visited Vancouver in what was a stinker of a card. It was another shot in the arm for the Canadian fans. It seems like there is an idea that for Canadian fans, they need to see a top Canadian athlete on main eventing the card. I would argue it is the opposite, they want to see the stars on their cards. The same problem they have had in the UK could happen in Canada, where the fans just start to feel the UFC are using them as a second rate market.
It isn’t that UFC 186 has terrible fights on, in fact the recent addition of Randa Markos vs Ais Daly is a great fight and there is also an intriguing bantamweight clash between Alexis Davis and Sarah Kaufman. However, in a week where the UFC has gone full throttle in promotion UFC 189, it is hard not to feel like UFC 186 has become the stepchild of the UFC’s PPV calendar so far. UFC 187 looks fantastic, UFC 188 looks good with a heavyweight unification bout too. Hell, some of the free cards coming up (UFC on FOX 15) look fantastic. Maybe this UFC 186 card does turn out to be fantastic, with barnburning scraps. However, like most of the Canadian fans attending, I won’t hold my breath.
