If the coaches of Farid Basharat were better demonstrators, they would remove his nickname “wild” and make him “Third from the bottom”. As in, that’s literally where Basharat appears on the UFC card. On the right, about a third from the bottom, high among the reeds of the old prelims.
In fact, of Basharati’s seven fights in the UFC, he appeared in exactly one main event, which came against Jean Matsumoto at Meta Apex in February. In that one, which he won by a split decision, he was fifth from the top. That was the closest they ever got to Mount Fightnight. Fifth from the top on the paper headlined by Mario Bautista and Vinicius Oliveira.
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I bring all this up because the UFC did not opt to sign Basharat, despite being 7-0 in the promotion and 16-0 overall. Those numbers are much more fun to consider in the actual battle of Basharat. If you’re asked for your favorite Basharat moments, you’ll excuse yourself to refill your drink. The one thing I remember about his fight with Taylor Stone was Michael Bisping who called her “Slapstone”, which Paul Felder laughed at.
In other words, while the tea room is playing at noon, Dana White wants to give the broker moments of “holy s***” in himself, just to achieve the objective of winning. For this reason, with the slightest outcry in the fights of the fans, he served the cards very effectively with his walks this week. What is it that matters most? Conciliation or entertainment? Because Basharat, as he plays, did nothing in one sentence. The winner is proven.
Another victory, and who knows – maybe he was ready to become Mr. Third from the Top?
Basharat to be led, right? Here’s the thing…
Farid Basharat has gone 7-0 in the UFC and has not yet accepted a re-sign offer.
(Jeff Bottari via Getty Images)
From a UFC perspective, he was a dudsman. The needle does not jump when the name Basharat is called. In the ongoing “game vs. entertainment” debate that Demetrious Johnson has achieved in light of the recent UFC release of Michael Page, the results seem secondary. We’ve seen winners from the UFC cut before, but it feels like in the Paramount+ era there’s a more noticeable shift in emphasis. Win on the scorecards at your own risk.
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Or lose spectacularly eight times in a row, like the perfect Tai Tuivasa, and stay forever.
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Perhaps, with a sense of sliding doors, Basharat fought his opponent at UFC 329, Ethyn Ewing, everything was different. Exuberantly, as a young gun at bantamweight who has the hallmarks of a dark horse competitor, he was the A-side in the matchup. Ewing’s name “squeal” in the industry, perhaps Basharat overturning the evil wagon of the man achieved in a larger way. Maybe that moment would have been a signature look.
Surely he would part ways with him with less prerogatives and more accusations if he won such a fight.
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But we’ll never know, because Ewing retired with an injury and was replaced by UFC debutant John Garza. Basharat Garza designed it, and suddenly Farid and hate were in Las Vegas. Basharat is not extended. The door was shown. On his way out, fellow bantamweight Payton Talbott took a moment to throw some shade, revisiting Basharat’s post from two weeks ago, criticizing Talbott for fighting washed-up boxers.
“6 decisions bro,” Talbott fired back, using a desperate sad emoji.
“I have not had the luxury of forty-three years,” Basharat returned, and was still troubled by Talbot’s conquests over Henry Cejudo and Deiveson Figueiredo.
“Yeah sorry man that’s a bummer, sure he wanted to beat them on the scorecards too!” Talbot wrote.
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And so on, until Talbot landed the finisher in the exchange, saying, “I honestly just didn’t know you were a fighter until today.”
That was the result in a nutshell. A steady dial tone can overwhelm even the smartest of storytellers…but should it? Basharat never really stole the headlines (and not so much as a good ending to the night). Every time he raised his hand, but at the end of the night the fight was just what happened. In France, Basharat submitted Kleydson Rodrigues, his only finish in the UFC, but here’s a guess that the Mona Lisa won’t be smiling afterwards.
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The truth is, though the UFC doesn’t quite admit it, the worst thing you can do is be a nondescript winner. A potential kill is to kick one calf at a time. Conversations can be muted before they can ever be had. By sending people into 15-minute daydreams about bills that need to be paid, chores that need to be done before the weekend goes off, members responded that they needed it. When a highly skilled daydream artist like Basharat comes around, UFC champions find themselves up against the odds.
The best place for that type is third from the bottom.
It took Movsar Evloev 10 to shoot the title. Belal Muhammad? Finally, barely caved, since he cannot ignore his cause. Magomed Ankalaev? If the UFC was in the business of selling potatoes, maybe it would have been ideal. As it was, the UFC had a chance to give him the title because he couldn’t be denied. All those fighters handled their baits until they were unavoidable.
The UFC simply didn’t want to give Basharat a chance to make himself inevitable, so when the time came, they gave up on his will.