Is It Time For The UFC To Stop Shoving Cards Down Fans’ Throats?

Yesterday (May 31, 2014) MMA fans were “treated” to a day with two UFC cards, which on paper, may have sounded like a groundbreaking idea to the promotion.

However, with UFC Fight Night 41 and The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) Brazil 3 Finale lacking any real star power, the day was largely deemed an exhausting undertaking by many of the fans and media I’ve talked to since.

Two UFC cards in a day may one day work, but the UFC is going to have to do it right.

Part of the TUF Brazil 3 Finale’s floundering was due to a very untimely injury, as Stipe Miocic vs. Junior dos Santos would have been an exciting match-up of two of the best heavyweight boxers in the game. When Fabio Maldonado stepped up and got smashed in 35 seconds (watch the ‘highlights’ here) last night, the feeling that the UFC’s product had become seriously watered down began to sink in.

Some of that may be due to the success (or failure) of Fight Pass, the online digital subscription service where certain cards can only be viewed. When both events were aired only on Fight Pass in Canada, a dedicated hotbed of MMA fans may have missed out if they hadn’t signed up yet.

True, the hardcore fans will always sign up and follow the sport no matter what, but at what point do you stop insulting their intelligence by feeding them lackluster cards? That’s certainly not the best way to get more casual fans to begin following MMA more seriously, either.

Back to the cards, Gegard Mousasi submitted Mark Munoz (highlights here) in the main event of UFC Fight Night 41 from O2 World in Berlin, Germany, an impressive showing from “Dreamcatcher.”

But it wasn’t a legitimate main event bout, and it was tough for the UFC to promote it as such.

The same could be said for Miocic vs. Maldonado, the Brazilian boxer who was thought to have an unstoppable iron chin. That is, until he met up with a 240-pound wrecking machine in Miocic. It was a laughably mismatched bout that will do absolutely nothing for Miocic’ standing at heavyweight.

It was the best the UFC could do on short notice with their backs against the wall. Still, TUF Brazil 3 Finale could have benefitted from some more star power at the same time. Antonio Carlos Jr. vs. Vitor Miranda and Warlley Alves vs. Marcio Alexandre Jr. were two decent enough fights that featured two potentially promising young stars.

But TUF Brazil 3 was only aired on Fight Pass, meaning that a large percentage of the cable-viewing population had no real connection to these talented Brazilian fighters, especially in terms of a North American fanbase.

MMA may be the world’s fastest growing sport, but is it growing too big for its own shoes? Brutally long hours of events that people don’t seem too enthused about doesn’t seem like a path to future success for the UFC.

Yet we’ll see it again at the end of this month on June 28 when James Te Huna takes on Nate Marquardt in the main event of UFC Fight Night 43 from Australia, a battle of fighters who are 1-5 in their last six combined fights. That night, UFC Fight Night 44, featuring a featherweight main event between Cub Swanson and Jeremy Stephens, will air from the AT&T Center in San Antonio, Texas.

Again, those cards are a bit thin on talent, so there could be a decent amount a fan backlash if the market saturation falls flat again.

Part of the UFC’s booking of so many cards is because they have so many fighters on the roster now; that fact cannot be ignored. As the sport grows, obviously so does the number of athletes.

Young talent has to be given a chance to shine on a big stage, but yesterday’s events just seemed a bit forced to me. By themselves, UFC Fight Night 41 would have been a solid overall event thanks to some exciting prelims and the TUF Brazil Finale 3 wouldn’t have been that bad.

But to ask fans to occupy their whole day (the cards lasted around 11 hours together) is a bit much.

The debate over the UFC putting on too many events is not a new one, and their expansion does not seem to be stopping anytime soon. What were your thoughts on the jam-packed day? Do you like this strategy, or should they finally begin focusing on quality over quantity?

Photo: Jason Silva for USA TODAY Sports