KANSAS CITY, MO — Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) fans are not pleased with the new UFC 288 pay-per-view (PPV) main card.
During the UFC Kansas City broadcast last night (Sat., April 15, 2023), UFC announced the new, re-arranged UFC 288 main card, which had to be adjusted after Charles Oliveria vs. Beneil Dariush was pulled from the card because of a “Do Bronx” injury.
It is safe to say that UFC’s fanbase isn’t too pleased with the PPV. Check out some immediate reactions from social media:
THREE WEEKS AWAY FROM NEWARK #UFC288 pic.twitter.com/j0auLGaD8R
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) April 16, 2023
We really have an extremely weak main card with an Aljamain sterling main event.
— Jahsehbinks (@JahsehBiinks) April 16, 2023
Outside of Aljo / Steamrolla this is horrifying
— Charlie Quinn (@CharlieQuinnMMA) April 16, 2023
With the price of tickets to a ppv this is ridiculous lmao
— Tyler (@RuthDawg17) April 16, 2023
i want my 400 dollars back
— John Bongiorno (@johnbongiorno92) April 16, 2023
Should be free on Espn plus
— Matt (@ME313X) April 16, 2023
JOKE OF A PPV LMAOOOOOOOOOOOOOO pic.twitter.com/7caxAa3gHN
— Zoofuh (@Zoofuh) April 16, 2023
i can count how many PPVs this sells with my hands
— lorian (@yodalorian9) April 16, 2023
— Rat Faced Witch (@AdnanJarrah) April 16, 2023
This card was trash to begin with and now with the co main event cancelled this should be a free fight.
— tim underwood (@timu0419) April 16, 2023
My ticket shouldn’t still be 635$
— Joseph Lento (@CagedSports) April 16, 2023
While you can see that most of the fanbase is not happy with the card, a few unicorns out there are okay with it as-is:
Rate #UFC288 1-10 pic.twitter.com/ngtGdPxjhY
— MMA Mania (@mmamania) April 16, 2023
It’s solid, I’d give it a 6 probably
— m a d r o (@madroachin) April 16, 2023
The loss of Oliveira vs. Dariush hurts…but that main event is amazing!
— InsideFighting (@InsideFighting_) April 16, 2023
Good recovery after Charles and Pearce pulled out. Solid 7.
— Michael Chandler’s AirPod (@ChandlersAirPod) April 16, 2023
Are the people complaining about this card going to boycott 289?
— MS (@UFC_Obsessed) April 16, 2023
Looks good but one fight is missing
— Bryan Schecter (@BryanSo63005140) April 16, 2023
The good news (maybe)?
UFC President, Dana White, addressed this issue at UFC Kansas City’s post-fight press conference (watch it here). He is clearly aware of situation — and collective frustration — and let everyone know that UFC 288 will probably get some help.
A new #UFC288 co main pic.twitter.com/w0gl5EsQDD
— Spinnin Backfist (@SpinninBackfist) April 16, 2023
“We’re actually working on it tonight,” White said. “I just told Sean [Shelby] we’ll get together on Monday and button this up — we’ll get it done.
“[Gilbert Burns] has been blowing me up all day,” White said. “So, probably.”
UFC 288 takes place at Prudential Center in Newark, N.J., on May 6, 2023. That would give Burns — fresh off a decision win over Jorge Masvidal in Miami, Fla., earlier this month — about a three-week turnaround.
The question now: Who would Burns fight?
UFC 288 PPV Main Card On ESPN+ (10 p.m. ET):
135 lbs.: UFC Bantamweight Champion Aljamain Sterling vs. Henry Cejudo
115 lbs.: Jessica Andrade vs. Xiaonan Yan
155 lbs.: Drew Dober vs. Matt Frevola
145 lbs.: Bryce Mitchell vs. Movsar Evloev
145 lbs.: Kron Gracie vs. Charles Jourdain
UFC 288 Prelims Card On ESPN/ESPN+ (8 p.m. ET):
135 lbs.: Johnny Munoz vs. Daniel Santos
115 lbs.: Virna Jandiroba vs. Marina Rodriguez
185 lbs.: Armen Petrosyan vs. TBA
205 lbs.: Devin Clark vs. Kennedy Nzechukwu
UFC 288 Early Prelims Card On ESPN+ (6 p.m. ET):
125 lbs.: Rafael Estevam vs. Zhalgas Zhumagulov
170 lbs.: Rolando Bedoya vs. Khaos Williams
185 lbs.: Joseph Holmes vs. Claudio Ribeiro
185 lbs.: Ikram Aliskerov vs. Phil Hawes
For more UFC 288 fight card news and coverage click here.