With tickets to UFC London going on general sale this morning, The Sprawl debates whether the event is worth the asking price or if it’s best you save those pennies. Thomas Young and John King give their opinions on whether they’ll be attending UFC Fight Night 107.
Thomas Young – To See
“Worst UK card ever”. Cast your mind back to this time last year and people were saying the exact same thing about the previous London card which you know, is fair enough. However, Bisping vs. Silva was announced and the world went crazy, rightfully so. The event itself was very mediocre but the main event was worth every single penny. Fast forward to the present tense and we have another UFC London card in March.
The UFC London card is by no means the strongest card the UK have seen in the past few years. There are pointless fights and then there are a few tasty fights. For me, Arnold Allen vs. Makwan Amirkhani has all the makings to be a phenomenal fight. Easily the best fight on the card as it stands. I’m also a big fan of Marc Diakiese vs. Teemu Packalèn, Leon Edwards vs. Vicente Luque, Tom Breese vs. Oluwale Bamgbose, Joe Duffy vs. Reza Madadi and Bradley Scott vs. Scott Askham. For me, that justifies the price I paid for. Also worth noting, a main event has not been finalized yet and Brad Pickett has his “last dance” in the Octagon.
I know now not to expect the caliber of fights we see on PPV events for a Fight Night card, if I wanted to go and see title fights, I’d save and go to Vegas (which is near impossible being a student). But I get it. The people who want title fights aren’t going to get title fights and because I’m expecting something not on the level of UFC 205 means I’ll always be pleasantly surprised. I must stress though, there is no right or wrong answer here. Maybe we should expect more high-caliber fight cards in the UK or maybe as we see the UFC expanding worldwide, we should expect watered down fight cards as we draw in fans who pay for the UFC brand. It’s all well saying “If you don’t like the card, don’t go” and instantly you think that’s going to make a change, however there will always be another fan willing to take your place.
John King – Not To See
I always try not to be the guy that criticizes cards before I’ve watched them. With some of the past UFC London cards, this has been tough, but not with this one. I’m a huge fan of regional MMA and on this card we see some serious killers who have come from the UK regional scene; Diakiese, Askham, Pickett etc. On the subject of Pickett, we get to see him one last time, which I look forward to. There is always pluses, but for now, let’s concentrate on the negatives.
Firstly, the UFC had not even announced a main event when tickets went on sale. Maybe something went wrong and fell through last minute, but as a fan, I’d probably never buy a ticket to a card without a main event. There is also not many names that stick out on this card. The UK guys I mentioned do, but other than that, there’s not much. I understand that in England there isn’t a market like the US, and they’re not going to give us a massive card, but do we deserve more? I believe so. If the sport is to continue growing, we need excellent cards in countries other than the US and Brazil. As I said, I hate criticizing cards before I’ve watched them, but no, I won’t be buying a ticket. I will be watching at home however, because it’s not dreadful, it’s just not great.
