Remember when the mad scientist Dr. Frankenstein combed the human scrap heaps of society, selecting pieces of the dead and dying to create his own singular (and singularly powerful) version of life?
So take the opposite of that and you have UFC Fight Nights 55 and 56. The big names, the compelling matchups, the interesting prospects, the title implications—they’re all there. But what we have is one powerful cable TV card rent asunder and distributed piecemeal to quell the squeals of globalization and media diversification.
This weekend could have been awesome, bro, is what I’m saying. And it will still have awesome moments. We’ll just have to seek out and consume those moments in the same piecemeal fashion in which they are being presented.
Hopefully, this guide to both cards will help you get that done.
On Friday evening America time, UFC Fight Night 55 kicks off from Sydney, Australia—or as I like to call it, The Land Down Under. That card unfolds entirely on UFC Fight Pass, the company’s subscription streaming service.
Twenty-four hours later and 8,500 miles away, UFC Fight Night 56 gets rolling in Uberlandia, Brazil. The first contest airs on Fight Pass, but then the action moves to cable partners Fox Sports 2 and Fox Sports 1.
Lots of stuff to take in; 22 helpings of MMA action spread over two days, to be precise. The most visible bouts are probably the Fight Night 55 main event between faux-rivals Michael Bisping and Luke Rockhold (and really, bless their hearts for trying) and the Fight Night 56 co-main between Ian McCall and John Lineker, which could determine the next title challenger at flyweight.
Here are quick summaries on all the preliminary fights, alongside our usual information capsules, predictions and viewing coordinates for every main-card match. Gaze upon the wonder we hath wrought.