UFC Nashville Fight Night and BKFC
The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) remains the unquestioned King of MMA. The fighting league puts on cards in different cities on a regular basis, hitting all of the top cities like Las Vegas, Chicago, and more. It even has international events, especially with parent company TKO’s Saudi connections.
The most recent UFC event went down in Nashville, TN, and could not have been a bigger success. The event was absolutely packed, and the fans were treated to a show. Let’s go over the latest card and why Tennessee is more than deserving of hosting another UFC event in the future.
UFC Nashville
The main card was packed with action from beginning to end. English fighter Tuco Tokkos started the night off with a bit of an upset, submitting the favored Junior Tafa in the second round of their opening bout.
Heavy favorite Vetor Petrino won in the first round of his bout against Austen Lane, winning via rear naked choke to improve to 12-2-0 as a professional. Frenchman Morgan Charriere finished ate Landwehr in a promising featherweight bout, winning via TKO in the third and final round.
Without a doubt, however, the main event between heavyweights Derrick Lewis and Tallison Teixeira delivered on the hype. Though it lasted all of 0:35, Lewis – the sizable underdog – scored the stoppage and sent the crowd into a frenzy. It may be enough to get Lewis back into contention for a heavyweight title shot in the future.
Find more information on how to bet on sports events in Tennessee here: https://www.youbet.com/states/tennessee/
Why Tennessee Deserves Another UFC Card
If the success of the most recent Nashville UFC card weren’t enough to entice UFC promoters to come back to town, there are a few reasons worth considering.
Rabid Fan Base
This is far from the only event to be held in Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena. As a matter of fact, this recent card is the eighth held in the state of Tennessee. All but one have been held at the now-named Bridgestone Arena, with the lone exception being UFC 107: Penn vs. Sanchez in December 2009. That event was held at the FedExForum.
Though cards in 2012 and 2015 brought in about 7,000 fans each, the crowds have continued to grow. UFC Fight Night: Swanson vs. Lobov brought in more than 10,000 fans, while the last two events have each garnered attendance above 17,000 fans.
If anything, that shows that the market in Tennessee is growing. With a premier fight card, there is no telling what kind of turnout the UFC could garner in a return visit to Nashville.
A Great Sports Town
What doesn’t get talked about enough is what kind of sports town Nashville is. Tennessee, as a whole, is very passionate about its sports. We can see it especially in the college sports programs like the University of Tennessee, where the Volunteers are almost cult-like in popularity.
Nashville has teams across all sports and levels of competition. The Nashville Predators, Tennessee Titans, Memphis Grizzlies, a litany of minor league baseball teams, and several other clubs make their home in the state. It shows just how dedicated fans are that they can support so many teams.
Burgeoning Destination
Perhaps the most appealing factor for an organization like the UFC is the destination that Nashville has become. While it is certainly known for having a fantastic sports scene, more and more tourists are flocking to Nashville because of the accommodations it can offer.
Nashville has become known as a party city thanks to the night life it has to offer. In a landscape where major sporting events are being held in tourist destinations, it could be appealing to the UFC to bring a big card to a place like Nashville, where people from all over the world are in town for a visit.
UFC cards are their own attractions at this point, but in order to sell out a nearly-20,000-seat venue like Bridgestone Arena, it doesn’t hurt to have people flocking into town from all over the world with fun on their minds. UFC can provide the kind of experience that fully compliments the Nashville nightlife.
A Ravenous Fan Base Equates to Success for UFC
At the end of the day, the goal of the UFC whenever it goes into a town is to leave the fans excited. Selling out the event is obviously nice but knowing that there is a potentially ravenous fan base to come back to is something that the organization strives for.
Fans came out in force for the UFC Nashville event. The crowd was hot, the card turned out well, and it felt like a home run of a night for the organization. Tennessee is the kind of place that appreciates the UFC. Whether it is enough to draw another card – or a pay-per-view event – remains to be seen.
