Issue 036

April 2008

By Ryan Kelly

The past few months have provided some interesting backdrops for mixed martial arts (MMA). Fights have taken place in their traditional settings of casinos and arenas, but there have also been bouts on the shores of Costa Rica, a US Naval base and even the Playboy Mansion. 

Meanwhile, the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s (UFC) quest to make the sport mainstream, and further entrench themselves as the premiere brand, has taken them out of their traditional homes (all UFC events in 2006 were held in Nevada and California) and Ultimate Fighting Championship’s (UFC) them plant their flag in several new locations. Last year the organisation promoted fights in London, Manchester, Belfast, Ohio, Texas and New Jersey. 

In order to properly market the events, the UFC strategically booked local fighters and, whether intentional or not, created somewhat of a ‘home cage’ advantage. With even more global exposure planned for 2008, the trend may become more prominent throughout the year.

But while the chance to fight in front of a home crowd is just another day at the office for some, for others, like Georges ‘Rush’ St. Pierre (who will battle Matt ‘The Terror’ Serra for the welterweight crown in his hometown of Montreal on April 19, at UFC 83) it’s the opportunity of a lifetime. “For me, being in Montreal, in my hometown, and fighting for the world title, it’s a dream come true,” he says. “I can’t be more happy than I am right now.”

Unlike most though, St. Pierre has fought in his hometown before, in the Canadian based TKO Championship Fighting. None of those fights were on the same level as the UFC coming to town for the first time though and while it could be argued that trying to sell a card in his hometown might add some extra pressure, it doesn’t bother St. Pierre. “Actually, I’m at my best when I’m fighting under pressure,” he says.

The event, which could feature as many as eight Canadians on the card, sold over 13,000 tickets on their first day of sales and is on pace shatter the organisation’s attendance record set at UFC 77 in Columbus, Ohio. So while the strategy may be effective as far as the business side goes, does it give one fighter an advantage.

In the case of Serra, who likened himself to Rocky after upsetting St. Pierre in their first fight last year, he doesn’t mind going on the road for his title defence. In fact, he enjoys being the underdog. “This is his backyard, but backyard, front yard, in his living room, it’s the same cage,” he says. “I’m excited to be here. I’m the dog and that’s the way I like it.”

But this trend isn’t just limited to championship or main event fights that primarily sell the event. “It (the experience) was great,” says Frankie ‘The Answer’ Edgar, who defeated Spencer Fisher in his native New Jersey at UFC 78 in the night’s first televised bout. “I don’t know how many opportunities like that I’m going to get. Family and friends were there and the whole place was rockin’.”

Edgar says his preparation for the fight remained the same, but because there was no travel involved, he had a little more time to train and felt more comfortable on fight night. “The only thing that was different was just being home, I didn’t have to travel for it,” he says. “I had a couple extra days at home, it was nice. Plus I just felt in my environment.”

And while Edgar admits that he felt a little bit more pressure to perform in front of his family, friends and hometown fans, it all disappeared as soon as he entered the cage. “To me, it was just a fight,” he says. “Maybe on the outside (it added pressure) but as soon as you get in there you don’t think about that, you just think about the task at hand and that’s winning the fight.”

Others have felt the pressure a little differently though. Prior to his re-match with middleweight champion Anderson ‘The Spider’ Silva in his hometown of Cincinnati, Rich ‘Ace’ Franklin went into seclusion. Though he was soundly beaten for the second time, Franklin’s loss can be attributed to a bad match-up and not extra pressure from fighting at home.

But even considering all of this, in the past year, fighters that had bouts on the main card in or near their hometown were a combined 4-4 and, along with Franklin’s loss, 0-1 in championship fights. So while it may seem to be an advantage on the surface, the results have shown that even being the hometown favourite, doesn’t make you immune to a punch in the face.