The UFC is in dire need of marquee fights. They’ve stooped to the level of putting champions from different weight classes in fights, which can lead to a fighter carrying two different titles at the same time. This reduces the amount of title fights they can put together to headline shows. The whole deal is counter-productive in the long-term.
This all started when Conor McGregor faced Jose Aldo on UFC 194 in late-2015. McGregor won that fight and held both the Featherweight and Lightweight titles at the same time. Conor held onto both of those titles for some time, which muddied up both divisions for over a year. UFC President (and current matchmaker) Dana White had to make fights for interim titles at those weights.
The featherweight and lightweight divisions both took a hit as there wasn’t a linear champion, which hurt the credibility of the both weight classes.
Since Conor won the two belts, there have been more champion vs champion fights. Daniel Cormier defeated Stipe Miocic in 2018 to be the Light Heavyweight and Heavyweight double champion and Amanda Nunes knocked out Cyborg to end 2018, and she now holds the Bantamweight and Featherweight titles. Cormier had to drop the Light Heavyweight title before the Jon Jones/Alexander Gustassson fight last weekend. Nunes may have ended the entire female Featherweight division, as it was made for Cyborg. There aren’t many talented female fighters at that weight, so in essence, Nunes may have ended a headache for the UFC.
The double champion list could increase in January as Henry Cejudo (current Flyweight champion) faces T.J. Dillashaw (current Bantamweight champion) for the Flyweight championship. If Dillashaw wins, he would become another double champion. This would most likely either officially end the Flyweight division since Mighty Mouse is now fighting at One Championship.
When you have one guy (or girl) carry two belts, you’re going to get half as many title fights out of those two weight classes. The champion won’t bounce between weight classes and fight twice as much. Dana White will need to introduce more interim titles and cheapen the actual title further.
The big issue is that the UFC needs a full-time matchmaker who has enough respect to be independent from Dana White (the promoter). It’s unorthodox for a promoter to make fights. This is why we are getting champion vs champion fights, because White is just looking for a cheap pay-per-view pop. There are ‘boring’ fighters who have earned title fights, but since they aren’t PPV draws, the fighters are being leap-frogged. Fighters like Brian Ortega and Tony Ferguson are great fighters, but White will put Conor or Jose Aldo in title fights over them.
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About the Author…
Bobby Roberts (otherwise known as Sweetbob) is the creator of ‘America’s White Boy’ and contributor at Project Shanks. His writing has been featured on ESPN’s ‘SportsNation’, Sports Illustrated’s Hot Clicks, Guyspeed, and various other sites. You can follow him on Twitter at @Sweetbob