Back in 2012, UFC president Dana White stepped up to the microphone after UFC 149, the company’s first event in Calgary, and issued a rare admission.
“Shame on you,” White told media members. “… We can count on one hand how many [UFC] He shows that he has also sucked, and tonight he has more fingers in his hand.”
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This is after the event is over, of course. Before the event, White had all the promises of his usual fireworks, even though his fight card had been hit hard by injuries and late withdrawals. Everyone from Jose Aldo to Jon Jones to Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira to Michael Bisping has been involved in various events.
In the end, none of those fighters showed up in the Calgary cage. And the guys who fought in their place? They produced absolutely nothing classic.
“I said, ‘I’ll take it easy, the paper will be great,'” White said years later, reflecting on that first trip to Calgary. “You sucked on the paper.”
Natalia Silva is in the main event of UFC 332 in Lake City.
(Ed Mulholland via Getty Images)
You can probably guess why I’m bringing this up now. For many years, UFC 149 was an event long time fans would point to as the low-water mark of the premier MMA organization. Even now, when fans on Reddit or X start talking about the worst UFC fights of all time, it’s confirmed to be brought up. But that conversation has recently had a resurgence, as fans prepare for a not exactly star-studded UFC 332 fight card.
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There are two kinds of bad things in the UFC: The kind that looks good on paper but doesn’t deliver in the cage, and the kind that looks bad in theory and is also bad in practice.
That is quite rare. These days, the UFC roster is so loaded with talent that any collection of terms across high-stakes quarters is bound to produce at least a few good or memorable performances. Debates still happen, but typically not all in one night. Even when it goes down like this, well what do you do? It’s a fighting game, baby.
But UFC 332 shaped up to be a disappointment of a different color. Until a few weeks ago, the event was billed on the UFC website as “TBD vs. TBD.” Those who had already bought tickets to Saturday night’s party in Salt Lake City were hoping for a bang from the big names in the headliner. But Natalia Silva and Wang Cong fighting for the recently vacated title – they had a main event that no one really asked for.
Saturn’s supporting cast provides some help, but not a ton. There are no number of fighters outside of the main and co-main event, although the undercard includes some interesting names. The green king is always fun. Roberto Soldi is finally here to show what he can add to the UFC roster. Then there’s a collection of “Oh Yeah, Remember That Guy?” fights for the premises, including Rafael dos Anjos, Johnny Walker, Marvin Vettori and Court McGee, among others.
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What is missing is a sure spark. For you know that you have what you have got sure fight to see? It doesn’t matter here what the meaning is. But the feeling is more like: Yeah sure, I guess I could watch those fights if they’re left and I’m not busy.
That’s not to say there isn’t a place for someone in the current UFC ecosystem. Remember, we are no longer asked to pay a premium price for these cash events. Fans paid somewhere in the neighborhood of $50 for UFC 149 only to have the UFC president later admit it. All streaming events are now included with the price of a monthly Paramount+ subscription.
But this is also on CBS, so not even a relatively small salary should block anyone’s way. It costs us nothing but time to sit and watch.
This is the most obvious part of the UFC sales pitch here. For the upfront part, count on White or other UFC talking heads to make the same old claim that you can’t judge fights before they happen. (Unless, of course, you’re saying they’re amazing and historic and all respect — all claims that the UFC regularly makes).
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But if fans are still disappointed by the low wattage of this battery card, maybe it’s because we’re still used to the old way of thinking about these things. We’ve come to think of things as the top of the content pyramid. We are told, both expressly and by universal language, what value. But it doesn’t work that way anymore. Now there’s one price for everyone, all the time, which means the lines between different lines of programming are blurring – and maybe even disappearing.
The new thing about this model still has something in common with the old one, however, is that we never know for sure what we’re going to get until the punches start flying. This is one of those games where even the big names hit the jackpot while the relative nothings can sometimes pick up the trophy together.
Remember those admissions of embarrassing letdowns and promises to do better next time? I only came to them after the business was driven and the money was paid. As much as UFC 149 might have “sucked” in the UFC boss’s own words, it was still a sellout night.