What’s to become of the BMF title after the general disappointment with Charles Oliveira’s win over Max Holloway? How did we end up with Philipe Lins as the opponent for Francis Ngannou on Netflix, and who should it have been instead? Also, Reinier de Ridder really thinks he’d be better off in the UFC light heavyweight division? Really??
All that and more in this week’s mailbag. To ask a question of your own, hit up @BenFowlkesMMA on X or @Ben_Fowlkes on Threads.
@702_dylan: A lot of people seem upset with Charles’ (dominant) grappling of Max instead of trying to just stand and box. What are your thoughts?
I think it’s a conundrum that’s baked into the concept of the BMF title. We’ve conceived of it as a belt that is only available to certain type of fighter. But does that mean it also must be contested in a certain style? Are we saying that you can only be a BMF by standing there and winging haymakers? If so, did we really just create a de facto UFC kickboxing title for people who don’t bother with too much defense?
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The thing about the way Charles Oliveira approached that fight is it’s not like he wasn’t trying to finish it. He didn’t just take Max Holloway down and hold him there. He was beating him up with elbows and trying hard for the choke. Against a lot of other opponents, he would have gotten that tap, too.
But I also get why people were disappointed. The BMF title, at least in our heads, comes with certain expectations. Those expectations were not really met in the moment. The question for me is, what incentives and obligations did Oliveira have there? If he gets more money to win, then he’d be smart to fight in the way that produces the best chance of winning. If he’s going to earn more money as BMF champ, but only if he wins in a fashion we deem sufficiently BMF-ish, that should probably be communicated to him (and us) in advance.
Personally, I think the BMF title should have always been a thing you could only win with a finish. Going to the judges should automatically vacate the title. Neither guy gets it. We wipe the slate clean and it’s up for grabs between two brand new fighters next time. You don’t need to bother telling me I’m right about this because I know I am.
@shadore66: Did you know who Philipe Lins was before yesterday? I did not
Yes, but he was never on my radar as a potential opponent for Francis Ngannou. Tell you the truth, I didn’t even remember (if I ever knew it at all) that he was no longer in the UFC. A glance at the record tells me he exited on a four-fight winning streak, though at light heavyweight. So yeah, a bit of a strange choice. But it’s not like there are a ton of relevant heavyweights out there right now. If there were, the UFC would have more of them.
@JedKMeshew: Why isn’t Francis fighting Gable?
OK yeah, that’s the one. That’s the one heavyweight free agent who would have made this into something that felt big. I could also see if Gable Steveson’s handlers felt like getting knocked into the land of wind and ghosts on Netflix might hurt this Goldberg-esque appeal he’s been building for himself. But I can’t say I wouldn’t love to see how that matchup would play out.
@KneebarNewsMMA: The White House card has gone from a promised nine title fights to two. Another grift. Is anybody asked Dana to explain the oval office’s misdirection?
It was never going to be nine title fights. I think we all knew that. That many title fights is a logistical nightmare for any broadcaster trying to figure out how much air time they need to block off, since you could be looking at anywhere between six hours of fight time to less than 10 total minutes.
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I think the fact that this is a much slimmer fight card than every other UFC event — just six total fights, which is basically half the fights on normal UFC events — tells you that the UFC and Paramount are hoping for a more streamlined broadcast that gets us in and out in a reasonable time frame. It’s also possible that someone pointed out how the security risks go way up if the President of the United States and most of his cabinet are all sitting on the White House lawn for six or seven hours (and at a time when we might still be at war), which is about how long most UFC events last.
@CourtsideCorey: I got a question… is it Pet’s Mart? Or is Pet Smart? Are you saying that pets are smart? Or are you saying that you’re a mart for pets? I need answers.
It’s Pets’ Mart. The mart for pets. The fact that it also sounds in your head like Pet Smart — as in, it would be smart to shop for your pet there — is what makes it good marketing. But linguistically? It’s got to be Pets’ Mart. It just has to be. Right … ?
@DonaldKress64: Serious question, and if I’m wrong so be it.
Am I the only UFC fan that remembers Justin Gaethje being promised a title fight, when he agreed to fight Fiziev (on short notice) in the UFC 313 co-main event?
The “jumping the line” accusation by some seems rather misguided.
Those promises mean nothing. We were also promised that the winner of Arman Tsarukyan and Dan Hooker would be the No. 1 contender. I think we all have to regard that as just more words to hype the fights and give them some semblance of meaning.
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But really, I don’t have any problem with Justin Gaethje getting this fight. He won the interim lightweight title and it’s silly to even create that belt if the winner isn’t going to get the first available crack at the real champ. Plus, it’ll be a fun stylistic matchup (albeit one that heavily favors Ilia Topuria) that will make for the kind of fight that appeals to an audience beyond hardcore fight fans.
@thegiddyhorse: After what seems like three or four lackluster events, Dana came out and acted like the king had arrived, in the form of Zuffa boxing. Even going so far as to say he felt like he was “punching babies” when competing against the cadre of boxing promoters. Normally I’d dismiss this as Dana being Dana, but… the whining from the boxing sphere about Dana and his comments are extra right now. AND everyone from Eddie Hearn to De La Hoya seem to be managers now too. Combine that with the disappearance of the Ortiz v Ennis bout, and lawsuits incoming over Opetia being stripped. Not the best signs for Boxing.
– Is Zuffa the actual future of boxing?
Right now I’m inclined to agree with Eddie Hearn’s assessment: “[Dana White is] sitting there and spinning a narrative like he’s created these unbelievable blockbuster shows in stadiums. He ain’t out the garage yet. Literally four shows in and absolute bang-average content.”
I have to say he’s right. Zuffa Boxing has put on four events, all of them in front of small crowds at the Apex, featuring only a few combined fights featuring anyone noteworthy. Nothing amazing has happened there yet. It’s essentially what “Friday Night Fights” was on ESPN, and even that comparison is a little generous.
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That could definitely change as time goes by. We’re still just a few months into this thing. But it is weird to be talking like you’ve already conquered the game when you have yet to fill an arena or even leave your own corporate campus.
@supermanlyguywithfeelings: What actually would happen if a fighter like Jon Jones just ignored their UFC contract and fought for MVP without the UFCs permission? Would they pay a fine or would the UFC be able to take their entire purse?
They’d probably be hit with an injunction that would stop them well before they made it to the cage. We’ve seen it before in boxing and MMA. I remember when “Rampage” Jackson was slated to fight at UFC 186, only for Bellator to get a court injunction stopping him. Then, a few days before the event, the injunction was lifted and he did end up fighting. The whole thing was a mess, and all to produce an entirely forgettable decision win for Jackson over Fabio Maldonado.
A thornier question would be, what happens if Jones gets a boxing license and wants to compete as a boxer under the MVP banner? With the current Ali Act still in place, there’s a legitimate question about whether UFC contracts would run afoul of federal law if they tried to prevent him from making a living as a boxer. Even then, you’re looking at lengthy and expensive court battles to sort it out. The UFC has relied on that as a deterrent — and an effective one so far.
@SLefkaditis: RDR moved to LHW.
An actual contender or just a decent top 10 gatekeeper?
I think that’s a bad move for him. One of the best things he had going for him at middleweight was size. Now he goes from being a big, lanky 185-pounder to being a skinny 205-pounder of average height and reach.
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We’re talking about a 20-pound jump in weight, too. It’s risky enough when fighters move up by 10-pound increments. It’s also not like he’ll have a huge speed advantage over the bigger guys, since that’s never really been his thing. I understand why Reinier de Ridder might feel like he needs a clean slate. But for his style, I think it’s a very bad idea.
