One former welterweight prospect and a slew of other UFC fighters have been cut from the world’s leading MMA promotion. Brandon Thatch, who just a few years ago was a highly touted prospect, is among the ten fighters who were given their walking papers this week, according to UFC Fighters Info. Nate Diaz’s friend and
One former welterweight prospect and a slew of other UFC fighters have been cut from the world’s leading MMA promotion.
Brandon Thatch, who just a few years ago was a highly touted prospect, is among the ten fighters who were given their walking papers this week, according to UFC Fighters Info.
Nate Diaz’s friend and training partner Chris Avila is also one of the names dashed from the UFC’s roster, after having lost his Octagon debut against Artem Lobov at UFC 202.
The remaining fighters who were cut this week are:
Li Jingliang
Yusuke Kayusa
Felipe Olivieri
Jason Novelli
J.C. Cottrell
Nicholas Dalby
Eric Montano
Dong-yi Yang
Thatch had entered the UFC with a 9-1 record back in 2013 before picking up two quick victories in th Octagon. The Coloradan fell in his last four fights, losing to Benson Henderson, Gunner Nelson, Siyar Bahadurzara, and most recently Niko Price at UFC 207.
Jingliang remains a top prospect out of China, and had picked up a respectable 4-2 record inside the Octagon before having his name removed from the UFC’s online roster.
However, Jingliang is coming off of a second round knockout victory over Bobby Nash in January, meaning his contract could have been up and he just hasn’t signed a new one with the UFC yet.
With the UFC trimming it’s roster in recent months, this appears to be the latest purge of fighters who will now have to work their way back into the UFC.
Fans didn’t think it could get worse than UFC 169. Then they watched UFC Fight Night 36—a night of fights so horrid even the technical artistry in the main event bout between Lyoto Machida and Gegard Mousasi couldn’t save it.
The negativity ran deeper than the amount of decisions on the card—which was the most common criticism. A decision doesn’t necessarily equate to a bad fight. But a decision that lacks action and is fought between C and D level fighters who aren’t even known by everyone at their respective gyms, let alone the fans, does equate to a bad fight.
1. Fighters that are so evenly matched they negate one another.
2. Fighters have become risk-averse—fearful that one loss will send their contract to the paper shredder. Removing submission and knockout of the night bonuses probably didn’t help spur such fighters on to accomplish great in-cage feats.
3. The baseline quality of the average UFC fighter is far lower than it used to be. The days of elite athletes fighting in the “Super Bowl of MMA” are long gone. Welcome to the age of lowered standards; The UFC needs warm bodies to fill out a Fight Pass card in Djibouti. The term “UFC caliber” means nothing.
For the time being, the UFC seems content to ignore these problems to focus on “World Fucking Domination.” They don’t realize marketing what amounts to UFC-branded regional shows in other countries is losing them their fans in the United States. Just look at TUF’s most recent ratings. Fans simply don’t care about the UFC like they did in the halcyon days days of SpikeTV, Brock Lesnar, and PPVs that didn’t hearken to boxing’s age-old strategy of a good main event preceded by an army of no-names. Fans don’t care because what’s there to care about? The product is, to put it simply, lacking. The few remaining big names are islands in a sea of wiki-less, generic UFC fighters™.
This is the situation Bellator finds the MMA landscape in as the Viacom-0wned promotion starts its 10th season…
Fans didn’t think it could get worse than UFC 169. Then they watched UFC Fight Night 36—a night of fights so horrid even the technical artistry in the main event bout between Lyoto Machida and Gegard Mousasi couldn’t save it.
The negativity ran deeper than the amount of decisions on the card—which was the most common criticism. A decision doesn’t necessarily equate to a bad fight. But a decision that lacks action and is fought between C and D level fighters who aren’t even known by everyone at their respective gyms, let alone the fans, does equate to a bad fight.
1. Fighters that are so evenly matched they negate one another.
2. Fighters have become risk-averse—fearful that one loss will send their contract to the paper shredder. Removing submission and knockout of the night bonuses probably didn’t help spur such fighters on to accomplish great in-cage feats.
3. The baseline quality of the average UFC fighter is far lower than it used to be. The days of elite athletes fighting in the “Super Bowl of MMA” are long gone. Welcome to the age of lowered standards; The UFC needs warm bodies to fill out a Fight Pass card in Djibouti. The term “UFC caliber” means nothing.
For the time being, the UFC seems content to ignore these problems to focus on “World Fucking Domination.” They don’t realize marketing what amounts to UFC-branded regional shows in other countries is losing them their fans in the United States. Just look at TUF’s most recent ratings. Fans simply don’t care about the UFC like they did in the halcyon days days of SpikeTV, Brock Lesnar, and PPVs that didn’t hearken to boxing’s age-old strategy of a good main event preceded by an army of no-names. Fans don’t care because what’s there to care about? The product is, to put it simply, lacking. The few remaining big names are islands in a sea of wiki-less, generic UFC fighters™.
This is the situation Bellator finds the MMA landscape in as the Viacom-0wned promotion starts its 10th season—which features some pretty intriguing tournaments. In fact, I’m looking forward to these tournaments playing out more than I’m looking forward to the slew of upcoming UFC Fight Night cards. True, many of the Fight Night cards have more talent in their main events, but their undercards and prelims are lacking. I have more interest in watching Bellator hopefuls like Goiti Yamauchi, Marcin Held, Liam McGeary and Bubba Jenkins than I do in watching many nameless fighters hired only to fill air time on prelims and on televised portions of UFC cards.
“But Bellator has a bunch of no-names too,” you say? Fair enough. Bellator’s shows and UFC Fight Night cards are, at the worst of times, both regional events with more pomp; the quality of fighter is, to make a tired reference, virtually identical. But I can watch Bellator’s prelims for free. They aren’t forcing me to buy a half-finished, poorly put together, potentially dangerous digital network to watch fights that belong in a strip club parking lot in Raleigh-Durham. And, at the risk of dozens of CagePotato commenters calling me “Mat Sackofshit,” I think that free Bellator cards are in some ways more interesting to watch than free UFC cards. Sure, as I mentioned, the UFC’s free cards almost always have better main events than Bellator’s, but the undercard on Bellator’s free events are tournament bouts—and unlike many undercard matches on Fight Night cards, they actually have implications.
This isn’t to say that Bellator doesn’t have problems. They have loads. They can’t sell tickets. Their reality show was a bust. Their PPV last year became one of MMA’s most cringeworthy failures, as was their acquisition of Tito Ortiz (signing Rampage Jackson was frowned upon too but at least he made it into the cage). It’s unlikely that any future Bellator PPV will reach any notable or even average heights. Their matchmaking doesn’t correspond with the supposedly sacrosanct tournament system, and they’ve pulled some pretty shady stuff in the past.
Still, Bellator isn’t out of the fight. They’re closer to the UFC’s level than they’ve ever been—and not necessarily because they upped their game, but because the UFC diluted and lowered theirs to the point where a Friday night SpikeTV Bellator card matched (and in some cases exceeded) the entertainment value of a UFC Fight Night card on Fox Sports 1 (or Fox Sports 2, or UFC Fight Pass).
To say the UFC had an off night with UFC 169 would be an understatement. True, the card was record-breaking, but in the worst way possible. It featured more fights ending in a decision than any other fight card in UFC history. So many fights going to the judges isn’t a result of just bad luck. There are a few factors at play when a fight goes to a decision.
First, the fighters could be so evenly matched they either complement or negate one another. The former can result in a match like Dan Henderson vs. Shogun Rua or, to delve further into MMA’s past, Tyson Griffin vs. Clay Guida. The latter kind a fight—one between negating styles of equally matched fighters—results in any dime-a-dozen decision that features long bouts of stalling against the cage or ineffective, listless striking. The kind of fights the UFC presented to us in spades last night, and have been peddling on prelims (and even main cards) for a while now.
To say the UFC had an off night with UFC 169 would be an understatement. True, the card was record-breaking, but in the worst way possible. It featured more fights ending in a decision than any other fight card in UFC history. So many fights going to the judges isn’t a result of just bad luck. There are a few factors at play when a fight goes to a decision.
First, the fighters could be so evenly matched they either complement or negate one another. The former can result in a match like Dan Henderson vs. Shogun Rua or, to delve further into MMA’s past, Tyson Griffin vs. Clay Guida. The latter kind a fight—one between negating styles of equally matched fighters—results in any dime-a-dozen decision that features long bouts of stalling against the cage or ineffective, listless striking. The kind of fights the UFC presented to us in spades last night, and have been peddling on prelims (and even main cards) for a while now.
An aside: Some might say an evenly matched fight is the pinnacle of booking and Joe Silva should be commended every time we get a decision. In title fights and other circumstances, that’s fair enough. Prelims are a different matter. Putting two, equally mediocre guys together—who were both ripped from the regional teat too early in order to fill an ever-expanding schedule—resulting in a piss-poor decision does nothing in terms of booking. Fans won’t remember the fighter who won a 15-minute sparring match or clinch-fest, and if they do, they probably won’t want to see them fight again.
Second, the fighters could be risk-averse. Dana White admitted the UFC roster is bloated. Along with the ballooning roster came surprising cuts like Jon Fitch and Yushin Okami. Top ten fighters get canned like the lowliest of one-and-done jobbers. Under such circumstances, it’s no surprise that the UFC’s athletes would rather fight the safe fight and take as few risks as possible, which usually means a forgetful decision win that doesn’t please the fans.
Third, and this might be controversial to the meat-headed “WHY DON’T YOU STEP INTO THE CAGE, BRO” fans, the fighters might not be very good. They might be C-level fighters that were called up to the big leagues way to soon—fighters that are too green and put on performances that belong at a local show, not the “Super Bowl of MMA.” These fighters go into the Octagon and put on graceless performances akin to awkward middle school photos.
Decisions aren’t inherently inferior though. We shouldn’t malign a fight for going to the judges. Some of the greatest fights in MMA history were decisions. Jon Jones vs. Alexander Gustafsson went to a decision, as did Dan Henderson vs. Shogun Rua, Gilbert Melendez vs. Diego Sanchez, and “the fight that saved the UFC,” Forrest Griffin vs. Stephan Bonnar I, as well as many others.
Instead, we should malign the booking, or the fighting style(s), or the UFC’s insistence on polluting their cards with sub-UFC level fighters.
(This is one of approximately 4 photos that exist of the most talented fighter in all of Singapore. According to the UFC, at least. Via Yahoo.)
Who is Royston Wee, you ask? Oh, he’s just the first Singaporean fighter to EVER sign a deal with the UFC is all. No big whoop. He’s also undefeated, and has picked up every single one of his victories by way of first round submission.
The problem is, Royston holds just two professional fights to his credit, and they both took place back in 2011. Yet somehow, he, along with the slightly-more experienced Filipino Dave Galera (5-0) and One FC veteran (and therefore, most experienced) Leandro Issa (11-3)*, recently secured a multi-fight deal with the UFC. In fact, Royston already has his first fight lined up — against Galera at Fight Night 34:Ellenberger vs. Saffiedine, which goes down in, you guessed it, Singapore, on January 4th.
Is Royston some Brock Lesnar-level star over in “The Lion City,” you ask? Not exactly. He’s just a 27 year-old bantamweight who was competing for a spot on TUF Chinaduring the July tryouts like everyone else. The difference between Royston and his fellow potential castmates, however, is that Royston was able to convince whomever he was auditioning for — in a few short hours, no less — that he was not only of TUF-caliber, but that he was of UFC-caliber.
Is Royston simply that good? Here’s the only video of him in action that we could find. We think it’s from his last fight against Syed Shahir, who was making his pro debut at the time and has not fought since. Royston seems like a competent enough grappler, sure, but the caliber of his opponent speaks volumes more than that of his performance.
I keep using that word: caliber. It might be because that, for a time, there was a dubious distinction that came with having the letters UFC placed before it. It meant that you were proven. It meant that you were exceptional. It meant that you were one of the best in the world at what you did. But lo, it appears that the age when “UFC-caliber” actually meant something has passed us by.
(This is one of approximately 4 photos that exist of the most talented fighter in all of Singapore. According to the UFC, at least. Via Yahoo.)
Who is Royston Wee, you ask? Oh, he’s just the first Singaporean fighter to EVER sign a deal with the UFC is all. No big whoop. He’s also undefeated, and has picked up every single one of his victories by way of first round submission.
The problem is, Royston holds just two professional fights to his credit, and they both took place back in 2011. Yet somehow, he, along with the slightly-more experienced Filipino Dave Galera (5-0) and One FC veteran (and therefore, most experienced) Leandro Issa (11-3)*, recently secured a multi-fight deal with the UFC. In fact, Royston already has his first fight lined up — against Galera at Fight Night 34:Ellenberger vs. Saffiedine, which goes down in, you guessed it, Singapore, on January 4th.
Is Royston some Brock Lesnar-level star over in “The Lion City,” you ask? Not exactly. He’s just a 27 year-old bantamweight who was competing for a spot on TUF Chinaduring the July tryouts like everyone else. The difference between Royston and his fellow potential castmates, however, is that Royston was able to convince whomever he was auditioning for — in a few short hours, no less — that he was not only of TUF-caliber, but that he was of UFC-caliber.
Is Royston simply that good? Here’s the only video of him in action that we could find. We think it’s from his last fight against Syed Shahir, who was making his pro debut at the time and has not fought since. Royston seems like a competent enough grappler, sure, but the caliber of his opponent speaks volumes more than that of his performance.
I keep using that word: caliber. It might be because that, for a time, there was a dubious distinction that came with having the letters UFC placed before it. It meant that you were proven. It meant that you were exceptional. It meant that you were one of the best in the world at what you did. But lo, it appears that the age when “UFC-caliber” actually meant something has passed us by.
It’s rather obvious why the UFC chose to sign Royston, I guess. He’s got that local pull, and placing him on the card will (hopefully) ensure that a few more fans purchase tickets to the Singapore event. Strikeforce adopted this business strategy in the past — often to their own detriment – and Bellator continues to fill in their preliminary slots with regional fighters. But his local pull aside, Royston Wee is the last kind of person you’d ever expect the UFC to sign. He’s fought twice. Against guys who have 3 fights and 0 victories combined. He’s never been tested. Hell, he’s never even been remotely tested, but because he happens to hail from a region that the UFC plans to hold an event in, he’s suddenly been deemed UFC-caliber. This is the standard to which the highest promotion in the sport is now operating, and it’s fucking terrifying.
Ask yourself this: Is the twenty or so extra tickets a guy like Wee will pull in worth the risk of throwing him to the wolves so early in his career? The man even said that he wanted to compete in TUF and *eventually* the UFC, so why not at least run him through the minors before baptizing him in fire? Imagine if Amir Sadollah was given a shot in the UFC before TUF for a moment. You’d think it was presumptuous, dangerous, and borderline insane, would you not?
Of course, the important thing here is that Wee’s signing represents a tremendous step forward for the Singaporean MMA scene, right? That surely what one of Evolve MMA fighter, Benedict Ang, will tell you:
Singapore having its very own first UFC fighter is a huge accomplishment for the nation, as well as the MMA scene in Singapore. It proves we have the capability to compete at the highest level in the world.
As I much as I want that to be true, Ang (and I really, truly do), I must disagree with you. Because it isn’t.
No, Wee’s signing is unfortunately yet another sign that the UFC might be expanding at a rate that is consistently undermining the quality of its overall product. While a certain UFC exec/media starlet would likely counter this argument with something along the lines of “If you don’t like it, don’t watch it!”, well, we’ve already covered that. Ad nauseam.
Talent is not the reason Wee was signed, although we’ll soon find out exactly how much of it he has. Wee was signed because he’s from Singapore, and the UFC is holding an event in Singapore. It’s as transparent as that. The UFC has, somewhat ironically, begun taking pages out of Bellator’s book (flooding undercards with local fighters) in the hope of packing as many international stadiums as possible — we’ve seen this theory put into practice over the past several Brazil-based “Fight Night” cards. Unfortunately, the stadiums aren’t being filled. And the ratings these events are pulling in are even worse. It’s what you’d call “penny smart, dollar stupid.”
“We are looking at expanding our Fight Night product,” said Lorenzo Fertitta when discussing the increase in cards:
We have the bottom tier, we have the Ultimate Fighter which we’re taking around the world now. We have obviously the series on FOX Sports 1. We just got done filming The Ultimate Fighter: China which will air in January in China. We’ve got The Ultimate Fighter: Canada and Australia in production right now. We’re in pre-production for series in other various countries around the world. That’s our base.
In the middle of the pyramid we have our UFC Fight Night brand. We’re gonna take that Fight Night product and expand it into Europe and into Asia next year…
While the UFC is certainly expanding its product, it is becoming increasingly harder to sell the idea that it is improving its product. Sure, the promotion has secured broadcasting deals in over 140 countries and in 28 languages, and sure, The Ultimate Fighter is seemingly being filmed in more countries than Survivor nowadays, but has any of this expansion led to better numbers amongst casual fans, aka the people the UFC are trying to draw in? Short answer: Fuck. No.
It’s not just that Fox Sports 1 is available in less homes than Spike. It’s not. It’s that the UFC is watering down its product in an attempt to gain more fans. It’s that hardcore followers of the sport, let alone casual fans, are struggling to keep up with the number of unrecognizable names and garbage-ass cards being thrown at us, and both the UFC’s and FS1′s ratings are suffering as a result.
When even big-name, American draws like Jon Jones are seeing their PPV numbers slip lower than ever before, it’s safe to assume that oversaturation is at least partially to blame. Surely UFC 166 and Fight Night 31 would have seen better numbers had they not transpired a week apart from one another, would they not? The average UFC card is being given no breathing room, no time to be promoted or individualized from the cards before/after it, and it seems that this issue will only become more apparent in the coming years.
I’m not trying to be Mr. Doom and Gloom here, and I’m certainly not saying that the signing of one potentially subpar fighter is some irreversible travesty. But I am saying that adopting the Philadelphia Eagles circa 1976 strategy of acquiring new talent is a dangerous move for the UFC, and one that will surely result in more substandard and underwatched fight cards moving forward. Despite the tremendous amount of talent in the UFC’s roster, truly “stacked” cards — you know, the ones actually worth paying $50 for — are getting harder and harder to come by these days, and despite DW’s complaints that said roster is “too full,” the UFC seems to be taking a quantity-over-quality approach in regards to their fighters with acquisitions like Wee.
But who knows? Maybe Wee is a God damned killer. Maybe Dana White & Co. are thinking 40, 50 years down the road and I am the short-sighted one. Maybe they think that by establishing their brand in countries where the sport is severely underdeveloped in terms of talent, they can in turn monopolize said talent once (if) the sport catches on. But then why the emphasis on securing local, almost completely untested fighters already? Has Super Fight League not shown us that this might be a bad business strategy?
We wish Royston all the best in his UFC debut, and hopefully, he can invalidate these 1,600+ words I have spent on him come January 4th. But at the same time, we can’t help but think that maybe the pride of the Singaporean nation would be better placed on the shoulders of a guy who has truly proven himself to be an *elite* member of his division. Because after twenty years spent dragging MMA out of the dark ages, that’s what the UFC is supposed to be about: Showcasing the *elite* members of the sport in action. We have Bellator and RFA and countless other lower-level promotions to watch raw talent be molded into something more. What is supposed to separate the UFC from those promotions, especially among casual fans, is the *quality* of fights on the average card. By signing guys who have yet to pick up a credible victory (and based seemingly on their countries of origin), the UFC is failing to achieve this distinction.
*Oh yeah, the UFC also made offers to Shinya Aoki and Eddie Ng, but both turned them down for One FC’s “more favorable economics.” Just allow that to sink in for a moment.
