It’s UFC 247 fight week, which means we’ve got some actual title fights to discuss in this week’s MMA Mailbag.
Plus, you know, other stuff. Let’s get to it.
Bones first run cleaned out an older generation. His second run paired him against his peers. Reyes is his first challenge from a next gen up-and-comer. Is Reyes a 2.0 lightheavyweight here to expose Bones as an outdated fighter? Seems impossible just typing that but there’s a real sense of an upset in the air for this one. Thanks, Ben! — Joe N.
Just for the record, Dominick Reyes is 30. And Jon Jones? He’s a grizzled old man of 32. So while I get your point and don’t totally disagree that this is Jones moving on to dominate the next generation of 205-pounders (Anthony Smith is 31, by the way), I would be remiss if I didn’t point out that Jones is a prodigy who essentially belongs to no generation or style beyond that which he created for himself.
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As for the possibility of Reyes being a brand new breed fit to end the Jones reign, I’m sitting here right now trying very hard to talk myself into it, and I just can’t get there. I think Reyes is very good. I think he’s dangerous, under the right circ*mstances. I also think there’s probably no way he beats Jones unless Jones helps him a little, which is not outside the realm of possibility.
The two fights Jones has come the closest to losing (not counting the toe incident against Chael Sonnen or the DQ against Matt Hamill), are his first bout with Alexander Gustafsson and his most recent fight with Thiago Santos. In the former Jones didn’t take his training or his preparation seriously. In the latter he took his foot off the gas and was too content to coast to the finish, assuming he had a huge lead.
If Jones shows up ready and focused and fully motivated, I think he runs through Reyes. If he tries to play it overly safe, I think he merely wins a one-sided and lackluster decision. Only if he truly screws up do I think Reyes beats him. But if there’s one thing we know Jones can do, it’s mess around and get himself into totally unnecessary trouble.
I asked this a little while ago, and you gave a great answer, so I’ll ask it again. I’m relatively new to UFC and don’t know much about the undercard. What fights should I be excited about? Thanks 🙂 — Javid H.
At UFC 247 we have the benefit of two title fights, so that’s nice, even if it feels like challenger Katlyn Chookagian is going strolling directly into an avalanche here against women’s flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko.
Beyond that, Juan Adams vs. Justin Tafa offers the promise of a sloppy heavyweight slobber-knocker while Derrick Lewis will quite likely do something terrible to Ilir Latifi, who’s moving up a division purely out of a lack of better ideas, it seems.
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Dan Ige and Mirsad Bektic at 145 pounds will probably give us one of the most technically sound and legitimately competitive fights of the main card. Lauren Murphy and Andrea Lee also have a good chance of stealing the show on the ESPN prelims. Other than that, well, let’s just say there will be plenty of opportunities to get up and fix yourself a snack.
Do you like this new normal of UFC PPVs where there is a boxing-like model with a huge fight at the top of the card but an underwhelming undercard or do you prefer a deeper fight card with a less exciting fight at the top of the bill? — Billy N.
If you want 65 of my American dollars, I think you’ve got to give me more than just one fight that I can probably find in part or in total on Twitter Moments after it ends.
Why is mma the only sport where it seems the media does most of the job of the promoter? Like if we don’t follow the journalists we would hardly know there’s a big fight coming up — Andre B.
In fairness, MMA is also one of the only sports that has to make a new sales pitch each time. The NFL doesn’t have to tell you when there are games on. Fans of the sport know the schedule and the season and show up or don’t accordingly. Same with baseball and hockey and basketball and soccer. Combat sports, on the other hand, are a roving carnival traveling from town to town, setting up the tent and barking out for customers before tearing it down and moving on.
UFC President Dana White once said that most of the job of the promoter is just getting the word out that there’s a fight on Saturday. He’s not wrong. But these days it feels like the UFC has gotten a little complacent about attracting new viewers.
Maybe it’s that the financial guarantees through ESPN make that less of a priority. Maybe it’s that the company brass has seen greater rewards from focusing its energy instead on coming up with new ways to maximize profitability rather than audience size. I don’t know. But it does seem to be the world we’re living in for now.
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Would the UFC benefit from putting PPV level fights on big ESPN every once in a while? Like Kamaru Usman vs Jorge Masvidal for the title on ESPN will probably do phenomenal ratings and other than paying for a cable package, you don’t actually have to pay for an ESPN+ subscription or a PPV to watch a very interesting fight. — Michael J.
You may remember when the UFC signed that deal with Fox and then celebrated by putting a heavyweight title fight on free network TV. That felt like a major shift. It felt like a throwback to the old days of boxing, back when my grandfather became a fan from watching title fights on free TV in between ads for cigarettes and shaving cream.
Ratings for that 2011 fight between Junior Dos Santos and Cain Velasquez peaked at nearly 9 million viewers and probably would have crested at 10 million if the fight hadn’t ended in 64 seconds. Big success, right? And then the UFC never put any fight that big or important on Fox ever again. Ratings, similarly, were never again anywhere near that good, with the numbers in steady decline all the way to the end.
Again, it goes back to the question of goals. Do you want to attract more fans to the sport, even if it means foregoing some money in the short-term for the sake of long-term growth? Or do you just care about getting paid right now? Over the past few years, the UFC’s strategy has shifted decidedly in one direction.
Any update on Sterling? Feel like he’s getting passed up in the bantam weight title picture. — Bran K.
Are there any 40+ fighters in the Toby Keith division who you actually want to see fight each other ? Hendo Vs Ortiz maybe? — Laura O.
First of all, thank you for that. Second, I don’t think that’s how we should measure matchups among those who are no longer as good as they once were, but are still as good once as they ever were. No one needs these fights, except maybe the people cashing the checks. The best we can hope for is to do no (significant) harm while keeping things marginally competitive.
Would I watch Tito Ortiz vs. Dan Henderson? Crap, I guess I would. Do I need that in my life? Not at all.
Ben, besides maybe the Monkey God’s “I only lost cause I knocked myself out” have you ever seen someone absolutely shred the goodwill of the fans in the way Maycee Barber has? — Jackson E.
I feel like MMA has no shortage of fighters who had fan support only until fans got to know them better. But in Maycee Barber’s case, eh, she’s young. She’s bound to make some missteps on a stage this big. She can recover. The question is if she’ll learn anything from it.
Fowlkes, you aren’t appreciated enough. You rule. 13 quick Qs:
ESPN – will MMA analysts ever work directly for them, instead of via the UFC?
Rad idea or bad idea, moving up to HW to try breaking a losing skid (Ilir Latifi)?
Newcomers kicking off the prelims – excitingly fresh, or skippably irrelevant?
Adams – best hair on the card?
Newson – is it cool or uncool to name your kid after a band?
Derrick Lewis – do you want to hear his post-fight interview, or are you over it?
Are you interested in seeing TUF return?
Personal favorite MMA film (Non-documentary)?
Rankings – a pointless mess, or something that can’t be ignored?
Alex Morono – should I not cringe at “The Great White” fighting a black man in the South?
Think we’ll hear a “USA” chant against newcomer Zalal, USA-born but fighting a Texan?
Ewell fought 7 times in ’17 (5 in ’18). With that hunger, is he gonna be the next Cerrone?
Shevchenko’s throne: Long may she reign, but will her name get as big as Rousey’s? — Johnny J.
My goodness, 13?!? I should have known what was coming when you started this question off by getting on my good side. But since I love and crave praise, I guess I’ll play along:
- No.
- Bad idea, but I don’t know if I have a better one to offer him.
- If the UFC put some known names down there, we’d call it a demotion.
- You know Lauren Murphy’s on this card, right?
- Depends on the band. Just ask my daughter, Third Eye Blind Fowlkes.
- How else am I supposed to know if his balls is hot?
- NO!!!
- “Warrior.”
- Rankings have a function, but the UFC sure ignores them a lot.
- Well when you put it like that …
- I don’t know where on the card that one’s slated for, but maybe the crowd won’t be there yet.
- If you’re going to be “Mr. Highlight,” you probably need to finish someone in the UFC.
- She’ll never be anywhere near as famous, but she has a good chance to stay champ for longer.
What upcoming card do you think will affect the divisions the most? Preferably looking for multiple fights on the same night, but if not, I’ll allow just a main/co-main event. — Andrew S.
UFC 248 currently has a middleweight title fight as the main event plus a whole bunch of middleweight fights on the undercard, including Jared Cannonier vs. the dreaded TBD. If that all holds together (and if we find Cannonier a dance partner), it has the potential to be a big night at 185 pounds.
What would have to happen to lead to Dana giving the green light for a 165lb division?
Also what would you name it? — Mike B.
History tells us that the will of White can be broken by two things: incessant fan annoyance, and an appeal to pure profits. The first is easy enough to pull off. Just don’t let this man make a single appearance without forcing him to answer questions about a 165-pound class. Maybe also remind him how much the UFC loves putting title belts on pay-per-view posters as a nod to the second consideration.
As for a name, I say we wait and see who wins the first version of it. A Diazweight title might end up being just about perfect.
(Top photo of Jon Jones: Josh Hedges / Zuffa)
