Are We Being Ripped Off? - UFC 127

http://mmatoronto.ca/news/are-we-being-ripped-off/

Written by Mike McPhee

UFC 127 is this Saturday night & honestly I really hadn’t thought much about the card. When I realized it was coming up soon I took a closer look at the match ups and only one question came to mind. Why is UFC 127 a pay-pew-view card?

In some UFC events that were held overseas the card was free on SPIKE TV. UFC 127 is being held in Sydney, Australia. Being an overseas card doesn’t mean it has to be free but this one qualifies as one that should have been. There is no title fight on this card. Other than the main event of Jon Fitch & BJ Penn there aren’t any superstars on the card either. Sorry British fans, Michael Bisping is not a superstar outside of the U.K. yet.

To me this all lines up to be a perfect UFC Fight Night card, not a pay-per-view event. Many people order every UFC pay-per-view and no matter what the card is and this trend will continue. I am one of these people. People come over to the Man Cave and we watch a night of fights, play some Poker and enjoy some drinks. But how is this card worth the $59.99 for the high definition feed?


* Jon Fitch vs. B.J. Penn
* Michael Bisping vs. Jorge Rivera
* Dennis Siver vs. George Sotiropoulos
* Chris Lytle vs. Brian Ebersole
* Chris Camozzi vs. Kyle Noke
* Spencer Fisher vs. Ross Pearson
* Alexander Gustafsson vs. James Te Huna
* Riki Fukuda vs. Nick Ring
* Mark Hunt vs. Chris Tuchscherer
* Maciej Jewtuszko vs. Curt Warburton
* Tom Blackledge vs. Anthony Perosh
* Jason Reinhardt vs. Tiequan Zhang

I can say poor looking cards in the past have delivered a fantastic night of fights. But to justify the public dropping $59.99 for an event the UFC has to make a much better effort putting big names on each & every pay-per-view event.

It appears the UFC knows there is a very large contingent of fans out there who order each show and no matter who is on the card they will make their money. Not only is this a slap in the face to the buying public but it leaves a very bad taste in my mouth. I have been a fan for a very long time and order every event I am able to. But this card does not interest me very much and the lack of top stars is surprising. I don’t like paying for this one.

Please do not misunderstand me. I am a fan of some fighters on this card and do look forward to some of the fights. I hope guys like Chris Lytle or Dennis Siver can make this an exciting night. But you have to look at this objectively and stack it up against other events. In the previous UFC event (UFC 126) we have a middleweight title fight and other known names like Miguel Torres, Forrest Griffin, Rich Franklin, Jon Jones & Ryan Bader. Fighters like Kid Yamamoto and Omigawa brought the Japanese MMA audience in as well.

UFC 125 had a lightweight title fight & names such as Gomi, Guida, Diaz & Leben. Not necessarily superstars but known names many casual fans know from previous events or the Ultimate Fighter TV show. The UFC 128 & 129 cards both have title fights & superstars lined up too. Shogun vs. Jon Jones, GSP vs. Jake Shields, Randy Couture vs. Lyoto Machida & other big names like Urijah Faber, Cro Cop & Jose Aldo will be fighting.

I know every card can not have a title fight or be loaded with superstars, but when you compare UFC 127 to Fight Night cards there are more similarities than pay-per-view events. The upcoming Fight Night 24 will have known fighters like Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, Phil Davis & former middleweight title contender Dan Hardy. Like UFC 127 you have some lesser known names and up & coming fighters.

Even the UFC 127 main event is lacking something. Jon Fitch is a proven winner but he is far from the most exciting fighter on the roster. Can BJ Penn bring out a war with Fitch? Depends on which BJ Penn shows up. No doubt Fitch can win this fight but as the main event of a lackluster pay-per-view card this may not be the best way to end the evening if it becomes three rounds of lay & pray.

Full credit to Jorge Rivera for trying to make this a must see card. His two YouTube videos making fun of Michael Bisping are entertaining & make me want to see this fight.

Jorge Rivera vs. Michael Bisping UFC 127 Interview Leaked!!!

Jorge Rivera versus Michael Bisping at UFC 127: The Tale of Count Bisping

With the massive time difference between North American and Australia it will be very easy to learn the results of this event before it airs at the usual 10pm EST time slot fans are used to. With this issue & the lack of star fighters I feel the UFC is ripping us off. It should be a free event.

What will happen? Nothing. Lots of people will order the event, have UFC parties or go out to the local bar like every other month. That is the what I don’t like. Currently there is no way to stop the UFC from doing this again. I truly hope the card is exciting and new stars are born. If not, that will be $59.99 I will regret spending.