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UFC Canada 2012: By the Numbers

Canada and Canadian fighters have had another prominent year in the UFC with overall fighter success, big star power and strong fan support for the number one fighting promotion in the world. The feeling is positive north of the border heading in to 2013, but how can you really measure impact and success in any given year without breaking down the various numbers of the game.

Here is a 2012 breakdown, by the numbers, of the impact that Canada has had on the UFC.

Three out of 31 total events were held in Canada
Three of the top six gate attendance shows were held in Canada
24 Canadians fought in the UFC
Canadian fighters were on 17 of 31 fight cards
Canadians were involved in 38 fights out of over 300, for approximately 10 percent
Win-loss record of 22-15 with one No Contest ruled in Clements vs Riddle for a 58% winning percentage
Eight finishes in 38 fights for a 21% finish percentage
Three Fight of The Night bonuses—Mark Hominick, Sam Stout, Georges St-Pierre
The most fights by a Canadian in 2012 is three by Sam Stout and Antonio Carvalho
One title fight in 2012—Georges St-Pierre vs Carlos Condit

UFC 154 from Montreal generated 700,000 pay-per-view buys to make it the second most highly watched pay-per-view event held this year along with UFC 145: Jones vs Evans and behind UFC 148: Silva vs Sonnen, which pulled in 1,000,000 buys.

It was also the third most highly watched pay-per-view held in Canada behind UFC 124 Montreal and UFC 129, which each had 800,000 buys.

These numbers should only go up in 2013 as there are already plans for four events to be held in Canada next year, with many up-and-coming fighters waiting in the wings to join the ranks and land a UFC fight.

Dwight Wakabayashi is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report UFC and regular contributor to Sportsnet.ca’s UFC section. Follow him on Twitter @wakafightermma.

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Canadian Middleweight Patrick Cote Dropping to 170 Pounds at UFC 158

It has been a crazy week of events for Canadian UFC middleweight Patrick Cote. He had a rematch with Alessio Sakara booked and canceled within the last few days of each other, and now, according to MMAJunkie.com, he has announced that he will drop…

He started the week booked in a rematch with Sakara at UFC 158 in March back in his home town of Montreal. The two middleweight journeyman just battled in November at UFC 154 in a very controversial fight that saw Cote win by disqualification. The rematch was set to settle the score but was then quickly canceled on Monday as Sakara had to pull out for health reasons.

Cote’s move down to welterweight seemingly puts an end to any rematch with the Italian, and it seems now the UFC will have to find him an opponent at 170 pounds.

Cote returned to the UFC this past July, after being released from the promotion in 2010. He lost a unanimous decision to Cung Le at UFC 148.

Cote had a runner-up finish at middleweight on Season 4 of “The Ultimate Fighter.” But after that loss to Travis Lutter, he rattled off five straight wins—four in the UFC—to get a middleweight title shot against Anderson Silva at UFC 190.

Cote blew his knee out in the third round, giving him a TKO loss. He returned 18 months later and lost to Alan Belcher in Montreal at UFC 113. A loss to Tom Lawlor at UFC 121 sent him back outside the organization.

Four wins in a year’s time got him back, but the loss to Le gave him another four-fight skid in the promotion. The DQ win over Sakara likely saved his job in the octagon—though he also does work for the UFC on its French-language broadcasts and was doing so even while fighting outside the organization.

The UFC is expected to announce Cote’s new opponent soon, and he is expected to remain on the card at UFC 158. There are some intriguing possibilities out there such as Paulo Thiago, Thiago Alves or even Dan Hardy.

The card takes place March 16 at Montreal’s Bell Centre and is headlined by welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre’s title defense against former Strikeforce champ Nick Diaz.

It is turning out to be a real welterweight showcase as it also features welterweight bouts between Johny Hendricks and Jake Ellenberger and a rematch between Rory MacDonald and Carlos Condit.

Dwight Wakabayashi is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report UFC and regular contributor to Sportsnet.ca’s UFC section. Follow him on Twitter @wakafightermma.

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Benson Henderson vs. Gilbert Melendez: Head-to-Toe Breakdown

On the heels of lightweight champion Benson Henderson’s destruction of Nate Diaz, the mixed martial arts world is abuzz with the thought of who the next challenger could be for the 155-pound crown.Will the UFC do what many fans and media are calling fo…

On the heels of lightweight champion Benson Henderson’s destruction of Nate Diaz, the mixed martial arts world is abuzz with the thought of who the next challenger could be for the 155-pound crown.

Will the UFC do what many fans and media are calling for and parachute Strikeforce champion Gilbert Melendez in for an immediate shot?

Melendez has long been considered one of the best, if not the best lightweight in the world for the last three years now, and here is a head-to-toe breakdown of how he measures up against the current UFC champ.

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UFC Title Shots: Is It About What the Fans Want?

There seems to be no set method to the madness in making UFC title shots, and the powers that be must ask themselves the following question: Is it about what the fans want when setting up fights for the coveted gold?I don’t care what anyone says, …

I don’t care what anyone says, the UFC needs to conduct itself more as a pure sport and not sports entertainment. It has battled too long and hard for sport credibility to now veer down the WWE path. A UFC title shot is something special and sacred, a mountain top not easily reached and should be dictated by the fighters’ rankings and decided by knowledgeable top management.

The only way to keep the pure integrity, history and relevance of the UFC title is to have it protected and controlled by the top brass of the UFC and not subject to the whim, fantasy or flavor of the month of the self-serving masses. This is not the WWE folks, where wrestlers are successful based on the pop they get, the house they draw and then by their in-ring skill. The men in the UFC are serious athletes, who sacrifice everything to be at the elite level of fighting and earn that one big shot at UFC gold.

There must be a formula or official ranking in place that matchmakers, fighters and fans can look to to track and have an idea of who is the No. 1 contender to the title at any given moment. A close look at the title shots on the horizon show all kinds of different ways to land that big shot.

At heavyweight the formula is right as we have a pretty clear-cut No. 1 contender in Cain Velasquez. He is right in line, the UFC wants it and the fans want it, and I would say that it is the perfect scenario for a legitimate title shot. The fans had very little to do with this one.

At light heavyweight you have the absolute opposite and the greatest case for why title shots should not be dictated by what the fans or masses want. Chael Sonnen is 2-2 in his last four fights, is coming off a loss and has not fought in the UFC light heavyweight division in six years. He is a career 1-2 in the division. Giving him a shot at Jon Jones sends a terrible message to educated, loyal fans and hard working and loyal fighters that it’s not always about hard work and earning your shot. It sends the message that the title can be won by doing great interviews and spouting off at the mouth. Dan Henderson is the real No. 1 contender to Jon Jones’ title.

UFC detractors have always said it is just like the WWE. Fixed and fake fights designed to entertain the masses and create stars. I have always fought that notion and stressed how very real combat sports are: real punches, real kicks, real submission locks and real fighters earning their way to the title with blood sweat and tears.

The landscape must be cleared up and a straight line must be drawn to the title. The shot should always go to the man who earned it through fighting and sacrifice, not showmanship and making the first phone call to Dana White. I am all about giving the fans the fights that they want to see, but when it comes to the title, the in-cage pecking order must trump all other factors.

If you want to maintain the prestige and integrity of the UFC title, it just can’t be about what the fans want.

Dwight Wakabayashi is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report UFC and regular contributor to Sportsnet.ca’s UFC section. Follow him on Twitter @wakafightermma.

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BJ Penn Will Prove He’s Still Elite by Beating Rory MacDonald at UFC on Fox 5

BJ Penn will prove he is still elite by beating Rory MacDonald this weekend, and the reason why is very clear: motivation.The odds are completely against him and he is being counted out. He has also been disrespected by a less accomplished, rising…

BJ Penn will prove he is still elite by beating Rory MacDonald this weekend, and the reason why is very clear: motivation.

The odds are completely against him and he is being counted out. He has also been disrespected by a less accomplished, rising fighter and he is mad as hell.

When BJ Penn is counted out and faces a seemingly unbeatable foe, he is always motivated to shock the world and prove the doubters wrong. Battling the big man against all odds has always been Penn’s greatest motivation, and it has always been said that a motivated Penn is a dangerous one. The stars are all aligned in his universe for him to shine.

Along with the fact that Penn takes immense pleasure from beating a bigger foe, MacDonald has fuelled his fire by completely disrespecting the accomplished legend. It has been a while since we have seen Penn this aggravated and motivated, and it is when he is at his best.

To many of the “old school” fighters in the UFC, this is still a fight and not a sport, and they need to hate their opponent to really be at their best when they step in the Octagon. It’s not about the sport and competition or making a living to fighters like Nick Diaz, Nate Diaz, Frank Mir or BJ Penn. It’s about beating a guy up, and Penn is more motivated than ever to do that to MacDonald.

If you take a quick look at the struggles of his last five fights, Penn wasn’t really motivated for any of them. He wasn’t really amped to defend his title against the smaller, classy Edgar (he still won the first fight in my books). Edgar never said a bad word about Penn leading up to either of their fights. Penn clearly looked less motivated in the rematch that followed.

He was then slightly motivated by a return to welterweight, and he knew he could defeat a declining Hughes easily. No one wants the type of fight that Jon Fitch brings and Penn didn’t train properly and simply got through it. Penn and Nick Diaz had a mutual respect and admiration for each other and Nick was better at putting that aside to do what was needed in that fight.

The point is that Penn was not really motivated in any of those fights like he is to smash MacDonald. His buttons weren’t pushed and he was never written off. The real fire of BJ Penn was nowhere to be found.

MacDonald lit that fuse, created the perfect motivational storm and now he is going to pay for it, in what will be Penn’s fiery last stand in the UFC.

Dwight Wakabayashi is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report UFC and regular contributor to Sportsnet.ca’s UFC section. Follow him on Twitter @wakafightermma.

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Rory MacDonald: Why the Fight with BJ Penn Is the Most Important of His Career

Rising welterweight Rory MacDonald is getting ready to take a step up this Saturday night when he faces fighting legend B.J. Penn in a contender fight and the most important fight of his career.Immediately following his destruction of Che Mills, many w…

Rising welterweight Rory MacDonald is getting ready to take a step up this Saturday night when he faces fighting legend B.J. Penn in a contender fight and the most important fight of his career.

Immediately following his destruction of Che Mills, many were calling for MacDonald to get a tougher opponent in his next fight, and although Penn is on the downside of his career, he is that step up for the Canadian.

MacDonald has garnered a lot of hype due to his young age, elite game, prominent camp and training partners. The hype is somewhat warranted, but he has only faced one of the elite in the UFC, and that was Carlos Condit, who handed him the only loss of his career.

MacDonald is currently 4-1 in the UFC with dominant wins over Mike Guyman, Nate Diaz, Mike Pyle and Che Mills.

Do wins over these names warrant the boasting that has come from MacDonald leading into this fight?

This fight was supposed to happen in September in Toronto until a bad cut kept MacDonald out. Both men are chomping at the bit to get at each other. We have seen a different, more assertive MacDonald in the lead-up, making bold statements and disrespecting the Hawaiian legend.

MacDonald has bordered on cocky and overconfident in his statements (courtesy Sportsnet.ca), and now the spotlight and pressure have been amped up. MacDonald will not be given any sympathy if he somehow loses to Penn; he will be seen as the cocky kid who spoke too soon and didn’t back it up in the cage.

MacDonald knows that and, quite frankly, doesn’t care what anybody thinks. He is fighting for himself, to get to the very top of the division.

He has already stated, as have many, that he is a future champion in the UFC, and we have seen what bold predictions can lead to in the past—right, Brandon Vera?

No matter what happens on Saturday night, MacDonald is a marked man in the welterweight division.

If MacDonald can use his immense size advantage to dominate and finish Penn, he will have proven himself to many in the sport and will sky-rocket into title contention with the likes of Nick Diaz, Johny Hendricks and the man he wants more than anyone, Carlos Condit.

Many feel it is where he belongs already in his career, and a win on Saturday would prove it while backing up all his pre-fight bravado.

If he loses, MacDonald will have to eat up one of the biggest pieces of humble pie in the history of the UFC. He will look like a chump. It will also set him back a year in his career, as he will then need to spend most of 2013 climbing back to his place in the division.

It is, without a doubt, the most important fight of his career.

Dwight Wakabayashi is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report MMA and guest blogger for Sportsnet.ca UFC.

Catch him on Facebook and Twitter @wakafightermma.

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