The UFC and FOX have improved their combined product since the debacle that was the UFC on FOX 1. Not that it wasn’t an historic night for the sport and Junior dos Santos, but spectators unfamiliar with MMA were only treated to a couple minutes of action. Not to mention, FOX didn’t even televise the possible fight of the year between Clay Guida and Ben Henderson.
MMA fans know that isn’t what a night of UFC fights is all about.
MMA has separated itself from boxing in that a night of fights truly is that. A night of the plural word fights. Part of what makes a UFC night so exciting is predicting which fighters will receive awards for Fight of the Night, Submission of the Night and KO of the Night.
UFC on FOX 3 more closely resembled what traditional MMA fans are used to. We had some impressive TKO victories by Lavar Johnson and Alan Belcher, a competitive fight that went the distance between Josh Koscheck and Johny Hendricks and saw Nate Diaz establish himself as probably the No. 1 contender in the UFC Lightweight division.
Despite all that, television ratings were down for UFC on FOX 3. Several factors could have contributed to that. One reason could be that it was going up against Mayweather vs. Cotto. Another could be that it was Cinco de Mayo and the younger UFC fans were out partying.
Either way, UFC on FOX 4 has some intriguing matchups and it is never too early to make some predictions.