UFC's Version of an All-Star Indy Show Is This Sunday
With the 'Heat and Shine' blog only recently moving to a daily format, several things are still being tinkered with. The plan, at least for now, is to have UFC be the focus of the blog on Fridays, with Monday through Thursday primarily dedicated to pro wrestling.
Feedback on the blog's format, schedule, content, layout and anything else you can think of is appreciated. You can email me, tweet at me or leave a comment below. Thank you.
UFC has a 'Fight Night' show (airing on Fox Sports 1 in the United States) on Sunday at 6 pm PDT/9 pm EDT, and this blog could scarcely be more excited.
Cody Garbrandt vs. Thomas Almeida is the main event. Both fighters are unbeaten, 24 year-old studs. Both fighters are expected to have long careers in the upper echelons of UFC's lighter weight classes (Sunday's fight is at 135 pounds), but only one will enter the Championship picture with a flawless record.
The undercard for 'Fight Night: Almeida vs. Garbrandt' is similarly compelling, at least in the eyes of this blog. Even fights between exciting fighters -- featuring a mix of veterans and prospects -- are present up and down the card.
Unfortunately, few others feel the same excitement for Sunday's show. ESPN's "MMA" page is filled with hypothetical nonsense, while talk about Sunday's main event has been limited to ninety seconds of video and a seven hundred word prediction piece. Fox Sports's online coverage of 'Fight Night' has been even more spare. (Actually, "spare" may be the wrong adjective. FoxSports.com has numerous puff pieces hyping various fighters on the card, but they've become buried beneath a rockslide of other puff pieces hyping various other fighters who may or may not someday fight on other cards.) Even UFC's top PR man's Twitter feed has had little mention of the show.
Sunday's 'UFC Fight Night' is filled with compelling fights, has no major stars and has only sold a few thousand tickets.
Where, oh where, have pro wrestling fans seen something like this before?
All-Star Indy shows, that's where!
The comparison may be imperfect, but the show has a lot of the same things that Indy wrestling offers. Almeida and Garbrandt are both prospects with big futures. Jeremy Stephens is a former prospect who might be finally putting it together. Renan Barao is a former champion who's hoping to rebuild. And seeing Aljamain Sterling in the second fight on the card may end up being one of those 'I was there' moments that Indy fans love if his career continues on his current trajectory.
For long time UFC fans, it is odd to see a Memorial Day weekend show compared with Indy pro wrestling. For years Memorial Day -- along with New Year's Eve, Independence Day and Super Bowl Weekend, -- was a Las Vegas holiday that was targeted for major fights. The culture treats this weekend differently than it used to, and UFC has adjusted accordingly. But that doesn't mean that the great fights are gone. It just means that only the real hardcore fans are getting excited about them.
Feedback on the blog's format, schedule, content, layout and anything else you can think of is appreciated. You can email me, tweet at me or leave a comment below. Thank you.
UFC has a 'Fight Night' show (airing on Fox Sports 1 in the United States) on Sunday at 6 pm PDT/9 pm EDT, and this blog could scarcely be more excited.
Cody Garbrandt vs. Thomas Almeida is the main event. Both fighters are unbeaten, 24 year-old studs. Both fighters are expected to have long careers in the upper echelons of UFC's lighter weight classes (Sunday's fight is at 135 pounds), but only one will enter the Championship picture with a flawless record.
The undercard for 'Fight Night: Almeida vs. Garbrandt' is similarly compelling, at least in the eyes of this blog. Even fights between exciting fighters -- featuring a mix of veterans and prospects -- are present up and down the card.
Unfortunately, few others feel the same excitement for Sunday's show. ESPN's "MMA" page is filled with hypothetical nonsense, while talk about Sunday's main event has been limited to ninety seconds of video and a seven hundred word prediction piece. Fox Sports's online coverage of 'Fight Night' has been even more spare. (Actually, "spare" may be the wrong adjective. FoxSports.com has numerous puff pieces hyping various fighters on the card, but they've become buried beneath a rockslide of other puff pieces hyping various other fighters who may or may not someday fight on other cards.) Even UFC's top PR man's Twitter feed has had little mention of the show.
Sunday's 'UFC Fight Night' is filled with compelling fights, has no major stars and has only sold a few thousand tickets.
Where, oh where, have pro wrestling fans seen something like this before?
All-Star Indy shows, that's where!
The comparison may be imperfect, but the show has a lot of the same things that Indy wrestling offers. Almeida and Garbrandt are both prospects with big futures. Jeremy Stephens is a former prospect who might be finally putting it together. Renan Barao is a former champion who's hoping to rebuild. And seeing Aljamain Sterling in the second fight on the card may end up being one of those 'I was there' moments that Indy fans love if his career continues on his current trajectory.
For long time UFC fans, it is odd to see a Memorial Day weekend show compared with Indy pro wrestling. For years Memorial Day -- along with New Year's Eve, Independence Day and Super Bowl Weekend, -- was a Las Vegas holiday that was targeted for major fights. The culture treats this weekend differently than it used to, and UFC has adjusted accordingly. But that doesn't mean that the great fights are gone. It just means that only the real hardcore fans are getting excited about them.
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