The UFC returns to the airwaves with UFC on Fuel 2 from the Ericsson Globe Arena in Stockholm, Sweden, and in addition to Alexander Gustafsson’s marquee meeting with Thiago Silva, four new fighters will represent Sweden on the Facebook portion of an action-packed UFC event.
Joining “The Mauler” in representing Sweden this Saturday, fighters such as Papy Abedi, Magnus Cedenblad, Besam Yousef, and Reza “Mad Dog” Madadi will be in action in from of the multitudes in Stockholm for a show that will answer quite a few questions moving forward into the future of MMA in Sweden.
One major question that will be addressed is the future of the Swedish market in MMA and whether or not the sport of MMA will be able to break into the market, and while MMA may not be immediately accepted by many countries, those who have seen Magnus, Yousef and Madadi in action will have a good time seeing what many around the world will only see on Facebook. Lest one of the fights either ends with a slick finish or starts off wildly. Many would beg to differ with those expecting a great card on Fuel TV, as some cannot see the multitudes embracing the UFC brand of MMA in the same way many other countries have in the past.
Count me in with the company that thinks that this one will help develop something special in the Swedish market, if you will, and understand why I empathize greatly with some of the optimists. Of course we are talking about a new market, and one that the UFC may not be able to break into with ease, but do they not always find a way to leave fans demanding more action in their hometown?
To say they always find a way to break through and eventually secure certain markets would be a gigantic understatement.
They’ve had consistently well-received shows in the UK, their first trek into Germany for UFC 99 was seen as enough of a hit to where the UFC came back to Germany for UFC 122, and their three trips to Australia have also provided the type of cards that fans love to see.
In addition, their return to Japan for UFC 144 was arguably their best fight card of 2012, and both of their recent events in Rio de Janeiro were two of the organization’s most exciting cards to watch. On the basis of UFC 142 and the upcoming UFC 147 fight card alone, fans will likely consider 2012 as strong a year for MMA as they considered 2011—provided UFC 147 sees similar success to what UFCs 134 and 142 experienced.
The bottom line here is that UFC cards have very, very rarely failed to underwhelm in their first go-round because the cards themselves, though sometimes tweaked in accordance with the constant injuries that have happened, still manage to provide a little bit of something for everyone. that’s how they have broken into these markets in order to not only do more events in certain countries, but also to land TV deals (and now, even seasons of The Ultimate Fighter) in certain countries, which in turn helps their global expansion greatly as it helps to put many new fans on to the UFC brand of Mixed Martial Arts.
Now, does a successful first card necessarily mean that we can expect a “TUF: Sweden” this summer? Absolutely not, but a first event always gives off a particular outlook on what the future may hold for that sport or that brand thereof in a country. And although we are still looking at UFC on Fuel TV 2 on paper, there’s no real reason to think that the card will not deliver in living color.
As far as how big it can become for the UFC is concerned, it’s not inconceivable to see the Swedish market prosper as a result of this event.
The world knows what they are getting when it gets the UFC product on their home soil, but the UFC brass is not a foolish bunch. They know that there are only five Swedes on this card, they know one of those five is headlining and they know that this card will aim to give the Swedish crowd championship-caliber action from the opening bell of the first Facebook prelim until the official decision for the main event. If they didn’t know either of those things, why would they let Stockholm get this card?
Clearly, the UFC brass has enough confidence in what the fighters featured on this showcase can do when it comes time to put up or shut up, and if they should have their thoughts proven correctly on this card, could it be that the Swedish market will grow and flourish for the UFC?
Absolutely, it is possible.
The Swedish market may not ever be the same as the Brazilian market or the Canadian market, but it will flourish in some mirroring fashion nonetheless.
Whether or not anyone sees it coming is a whole different story, but none of us should be surprised if it does happen, even if only in the long-term instead of the short-term because it is the UFC that we are talking about. After all, and the last time anyone checked, the UFC made big things happen in some of the last places that one would’ve expected those big things to happen.
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