Fighters Only

Issue 104

August 2013

UFC matchmaking involves a confounding array of algorithms, calculations and theories, right? Well, perhaps not. In fact, it may not be as difficult to comprehend as some fans think. FO ponders whether a class structure has been established inside the Octagon.

There was once a time when the Ultimate Fighting Championship appeared, like its fighters, full of raw energy and recklessness. A free spirit out to shock and impress in equal measure. Events were big, brash and in your face and the method by which fights were set up appeared simple and fan-friendly.

The modus operandi went something like this: the best fought the best, time and time again, on cards full to capacity of competitive dust-ups between evenly matched scrappers. This policy made for some memorable fight cards and, indeed, some epic encounters. It also helped the UFC gain its reputation as the premier fight organization on the planet.

Years have since passed, and over time this rawness has been ironed out, the rough edges smoothed. No longer just content to wow spectators with competitive fight after competitive fight, the UFC now operates on a far larger scale, caters for a greater amount of fighters and can also call more than one television platform ‘home.’ Responsibilities have found their way to the door of the once-delinquent child of the fight game and the UFC has acted accordingly. It’s all grown up.

It had to happen, too. At the start of 2013 the UFC had the unenviable task of filling fight calendars on four fronts. They had the tried and tested avenue of pay-per-view, which has served Zuffa so well for so long; the groundbreaking deal with Fox, which continues to expose the mainstream to the wonders of mixed martial arts; as well as supplementary programming on FX and Fuel TV.

In America alone this thing has grown to be big, far-reaching and, to a certain extent, quite complex. Gone are the days of bumper shows featuring what appeared to be every fighter on the UFC roster booked against one another, watched by scores of fans on pay-per-view. They appear to have been replaced by a more calculated and clinical approach to matchmaking.

For starters, let’s look at the idea of world rankings, which were officially introduced this year to the UFC and did the very thing the UFC always seemed to neglect: they helped organize the chaos. Fans now know exactly who is ranked closest to a title shot, at least on paper, and can work out for themselves what kind of matchups they can expect to see.

This has removed the surprise element, perhaps, but has added to the perception of the UFC smartening up and getting in line with its peers. Rankings have, after all, been commonplace in most other combat sports and are used to offer some kind of gauge or direction. Without them, a fight organization leaves itself open to criticism whenever a so-called mismatch occurs. The addition of rankings, therefore, rubs out this gray area and allows everybody to conform to the same system of organizing fights.

We also now have more UFC champions than ever: nine in all. And included in the pack are strikers, grapplers, wrestlers, big guys, little guys, even smaller guys and, shock, horror, a female. Just as with the rankings, the addition of a female division never before seemed possible. It was out of the question, at least according to UFC president Dana White.

But then things started to get ‘Rowdy’ and the landscape changed. In February, female phenom Ronda Rousey headlined a UFC pay-per-view card ahead of a light heavyweight battle between two established former MMA champions, Dan Henderson and Lyoto Machida. As belt holder and a genuine draw, the trailblazer deserved her reward.

The choice of Rousey and Liz Carmouche over Henderson vs. Machida opened a can of worms, though. It disrupted the equilibrium of some fight fans and begged the question; just who decides the order of fights? Not only that, why are some fighters deemed pay-per-view-worthy and others not? These were never issues tackled in the early years, as there were fewer fighters, fewer weight divisions and far less television channels to appease.

Nowadays, however, the UFC juggles an almighty talent pool and, for that reason alone, some kind of structure simply has to be in place in 2013.

The first tell-tale sign of conformation were the rankings. Then it became clear world championship fights were, in general, being saved for numbered UFC events, one of which was Rousey vs. Carmouche at UFC 157. Before that we had Aldo and Frankie Edgar headlining UFC 156, with Aldo’s featherweight title up for grabs. At UFC 158 we witnessed St Pierre successfully defend his welterweight crown against Nick Diaz and, more recently, at UFC 159, Jones made short work of Chael Sonnen in defense of his light heavyweight strap. So, already a pattern has started to emerge. We have yet to see a non-title fight headline a pay-per-view event in 2013. That, in itself, represents change.

Of course, there have been a few world title fights not showcased on pay-per-view this year. Demetrious Johnson’s flyweight title defense against John Dodson back in January found a home on Fox, Renan Barao’s interim bantamweight title fight with Michael McDonald was hosted by Fuel TV, and Benson Henderson’s victory over Gilbert Melendez was again televised by Fox.

Why? Well, the champions – Henderson, Johnson and Barao – are all exceptional fighters, but low-profile guys, overshadowed by the likes of ‘Bones,’ ‘The Spider’ or GSP, and so not yet deemed pay-per-view pulls. They also happen to compete in the lighter weight classes; fledgling divisions still jostling for position among the more established ones already within the UFC. These factors, it seems, are considered when the time comes to decide which champions compete on which platform.

In the case of Benson Henderson, he’s become something of a Fox calling card in recent times. In fact, three of his past five fights have taken place on the network, and his last two title defenses headlined. Along the way he has emerged as a key asset in that market area. He’s exciting and flamboyant, yet humble and well-behaved – the ideal poster boy to project to millions of potential newcomers to the sport. His multiple appearances on Fox are, therefore, no mere coincidence.

In terms of the title-less headliners, now commonly found on FX and Fuel, look no further than the big-earning contenders residing somewhere in the top 10. Michael Bisping and Vitor Belfort, well-known names and pricey ones at that, faced off in January on FX, and that was then followed by Fuel showing Wanderlei Silva vs. Brian Stann and the ill-fated Gegard Mousasi vs. Alexander Gustafsson bout, that later became Mousasi against stand-in Ilir Latifi.

More recently FX screened The Ultimate Fighter finale and the interesting featherweight bout between the ever-popular Urijah Faber and the reliable Scott Jorgensen.

FX then showcased Belfort once more, this time against Luke Rockhold, in another non-title affair between perennial contenders.

It would seem Belfort, like Henderson, has found his niche in the cozy sub-category of FX headliner. In time, we may even see him paired against one of the other recent FX and Fuel headliners; Wanderlei at middleweight or either Mousasi or Gustafsson at light heavyweight. Chances are, whoever it is, the fight will take place outside America. Because, according to the trends, that’s the way it’s looking in 2013.

The last three Fuel cards have taken place in England, Japan and Sweden, and have featured plenty in the way of regional talent. These are typically UFC first-timers eager for a break or well-known locals matched against each other or against some kind of outside threat, a foreigner. FX, on the other hand, tends to focus more on the Brazilian and Australian markets. Indeed, since the Fox deal commenced at the back end of 2011, FX have televised two shows from each nation, both featuring many of the same fighters.

Yet the perceived ‘big two’ – pay-per-view and Fox events – tend to be wholly American affairs. The first-ever UFC on Fox event occurred in November 2011 and featured heavyweights Junior Dos Santos and Cain Velasquez, and, since that night, there have been six others, all of which have taken place in the United States.

Pay-per-view events now follow a similar trend, too. Whereas before we’d see numbered events find their way to Europe and elsewhere, the introduction of the Fuel and FX platforms has allowed the UFC to keep pay-per-views relatively close to home. The majority take place in either the US or Canada and, post-Fox deal, only Brazil and Japan have wound up with a numbered event on their hands.

The formula makes sense, of course. By keeping the larger events within arm’s reach it allows the biggest names to fight where they’re most comfortable and it also makes promotion easier, offering favorable viewing times for the most lucrative North and South American markets.

Meanwhile, the FX and Fuel platforms have branched out and continued to spread the word in other territories, working with lesser shows and arguably lesser fighters, but offering a wide range of fighters coverage and opportunities they’d have been without not long ago.

The idea, then, is that these local stars essentially cut their teeth on the smaller events, showcased by Fuel and FX, before making their way up the food chain.

In many ways, the new Fox deal has helped construct a kind of class structure within the UFC. It began with the rankings and has now spread, inadvertently creating a number of minor leagues within the big league. Patterns in matchmaking are easy to detect and, not only that, they make sense.

You can now understand why so-and-so fights so-and-so in a certain location, on a certain television platform. If it ticks all the relevant boxes – ranking, nationality, salary, star appeal – the fight will get made.

But there is unquestionably a downside to this slick procedure. Spare a thought for the British fans who have for years followed Michael Bisping – watched him grow in the UFC, then headline events in London, Manchester and Birmingham – and now resign themselves to seeing him perform Stateside in the early hours of the morning, tucked away on a subscription channel.

He hasn’t fought live in the UK since defeating Yoshihiro Akiyama in October 2010, and the reason is simple: Bisping, one-time face of British MMA, is now based in California and is one the biggest earners in the UFC. Whilst not a belt-holder, he sits in the upper echelons of the promotion’s rich list and enjoys regular slots on pay-per-view cards. Alas, practicality and finances suggest future appearances in Britain will be few and far between.

One could argue he’s been replaced by Brad ‘One Punch’ Pickett as the darling of the British fight fraternity, as the leading bantamweight contender fits the bill in 2013. He’s good enough to win fights and stick around, he’s well-known enough to headline smaller shows, he’s competing in one of the lighter weight classes, and he’s affordable. Resulting in three of his last four fights being on Fuel, and why four of his last five have taken place in Europe.

Credit to him, he’s stepped into the void left by Bisping and made those medium-sized events his own, winning three ‘Fight of the Night’ bonuses and one ‘Knockout of the Night’ check since the Fox deal came into force. But he’s also discovered that to step up the class structure you’ve got to keep winning when opportunity knocks.

In December, Pickett got the call to fight at UFC 155, a big pay-per-view show in Las Vegas, only to end up fighting Eddie Wineland in the FX-televised portion of the preliminary bouts. Call it unfair, call it perspective, Pickett went from being a big name – a winning name, no less – on medium-sized main cards in Stockholm and Nottingham to being way down the register on a pay-per-view show. And, when he suffered a split-decision defeat, April’s Fuel TV main card predictably cushioned his fall.

In reality, the UFC has long been considered the major league in mixed martial arts. But, such is the extent of its growth, both in terms of talent pool and coverage, the major league now comprises several smaller leagues, each aligned to different territories or television channels.

These combine to create a pyramid structure, the very top of which plays host to the MMA glitterati – that handful of superstars with belts, big profiles and hefty invoices. They’re the ones responsible for growing the sport. The rest just have to keep trying to climb the internal food chain.