When you consider the horrible reviews that the latest Manny Pacquiao fight is receiving due to its predictability and boredom, you’d think the UFC would be having a good week. Though they surely are happy to see their rival of violence continue to see its sport go down the toilet, the UFC was forced to cancel yet another main event just weeks before the fight was to take place.
Lightweight champion Frankie Edgar and Gary Maynard took part in a thrilling title fight on New Year’s Day that ended in a draw. Obviously, UFC’s Dana White had to schedule a rematch, which was slated for UFC 130 on May 28. However, not one, but both fighters sustained injuries in recent weeks that have forced the postponement of this fight until the summer, possibly as late as September.
It was just the latest case of a big UFC fight being postponed due to injuries incurred during a training camp. The notion of athletes getting injured during training is nothing new. Every year in the NFL, we see several big stars sustain season ending injuries before they ever take the field.
But the rate of UFC fighters dropping out due to injury and constantly forcing the organization to alter their pay-per-views is a growing issue that is angering fans and could cause the great wave of momentum the UFC has created over the past six years to come crashing down if they’re not careful.
It would be one thing if the Edgar/Maynard postponement were something new. But it’s just another example of a growing trend of big pay-per-view fights being put off due to injuries. It would be one thing if it were affecting bouts that didn’t have title implications, but these are occurring most noticeably to those fighting for a title, or for a chance to be the number one contender.
Just look at the crazy road former champion Rashad Evans has had to lead since he beat Rampage Jackson nearly one year ago at UFC 114.
With that win, Evans was slated to take on the then-champion, Shogun Rua. Due to a shoulder injury though, the fight was put off until UFC 128 in March. However, several weeks prior to the fight Evans sustained a knee injury while training, forcing the UFC to put camp teammate Jon Jones into a title fight many feel he had not yet truly earned.
However, Jones systematically destroyed Rua en route to a third-round TKO. Immediately following the fight, it was announced the two one time friends would fight, and was later announced that they’d go at it in August at UFC 133.
But now it was diagnosed that Jon Jones was injured (in fairness this was during his fight), forcing Evans to now take on Phil Davis in a number one contender fight. What does this all mean for Evans? He won a title shot just about one year ago, has not yet fought for a title, and will now have to “defend” his number one contender spot nearly 17 months from when he last fought.
The case of Evans may be the worst we’ve seen in the UFC, but it’s far from the only one. A rematch between BJ Penn and Jon Fitch was scrapped when both fighters got hurt training. Chris Leben famously replaced Wanderlei Silva to take on Yoshioro Akiyama due to the Axe Murderer’s numerous camp injuries. Leben did this despite fighting just one month prior.
UFC 126 was another shining example. Anderson Silva finally fought Vitor Belfort in a title fight that was originally supposed to take place at UFC 108 but both fights sustained, guess what, injuries prior to the fight. Kenny Florian also stepped out due to injury in a fight against Evan Dunham.
At the upcoming UFC 130, three additional fights to the postponed Edgar/Maynard fight have been altered due to training camp injuries. If you glance at Wikipedia, you’ll see this occurs almost every pay-per-view.
This situation, which is growing worse by the month is something that must be addressed. Altering three to four fights ever pay-per-view is not good business. Dana White, who has overseen the rapid rise of the UFC, should realize this.
As bad as the sport of boxing is right now, you don’t see fighters routinely go down to injuries in training camps. In a business where the top stars make up to $10 million or in Pacquiao’s case, $20 million per fight, you train but you also stay healthy.
The question is what to do? Dana White needs to speak with fighters and trainers and work together to come to one of two conclusions. The first is more logical: lighten up the load at these camps. Don’t have as much hands on sparring that leads to injuries.
The other option is put these guys in the octagon more than three or four times a year. If these fighters are so eager to go at it to the point of injuring themselves in a camp, then let them do it in the bright lights of a pay-per-view or Spike TV show.
Whether they lighten the load in camp, or fight more, something has to give here. There are only so many times you can advertise a product and not deliver to those shelling out $50 at home or spending money at the local sports bar. As it stands, the UFC is going to have to showcase one of the weaker pay-per-views in recent memory in a few weeks due to this growing issue.
As a fan of the UFC, I hope this issue gets fixed. It’s grown increasingly frustrating to see big fighters go at it once a year due to his personal injuries, or that of his opponent. One can hope this situation gets resolved before it is too late.
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