It’s easy to be a know-it-all when you’re a pert, but when you’re an ex-pert you tend to know better. UFC 332 didn’t look like a dud of the imagination by any stretch, it just looked like a card with imposter syndrome at the top. Wang Cong and Natalia Silva didn’t fit the bill as natural headliners for a numbered event, which became difficult for former perts to see past the duct tape.
This sentiment was expressed in many ways in the lead-up to this weekend’s fight card in Salt Lake City, with half a million caveats that there were the bulk-rate contenders to be found just beneath.
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In fact, those names rolled out like a red carpet to the New Era.
Payton Talbott. Roberto Soldic. Ateba Gautier. Damian Pinas. Anthony Wint. Jacobe Smith.
Boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, and boom!
Four of them had first-round finishes (Talbott, Pinas, Wint and Smith all delivered). One of them, to borrow a term from Nate Diaz, got got in the first round (keep your chin up, young Gautier!). The other one, a crossover from ONE Championship, needed 15 minutes to do the job, but he looked super impressive in getting it done against a man called Khaos (welcome to the UFC, Roberto!).
The fireworks were so impressive that after the fights, which in a game of hype isn’t where cards are traditionally judged, Dana White broke into his bag of proverbs to condemn the naysayers.
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“If you really had to dig deep and scrutinize our cards, there’s probably been four or five in 25 years that you go, ‘that sucked!'” White said at UFC 332’s post-fight press conference. “The only one that really stands off all the time, off the top of my head, was UFC 33, which almost bankrupted the business. That one’s a big one for me, I’ll never forget that as long as I live.”
Payton Talbott shined in his UFC 332 showcase against Deiveson Figueiredo.
(Alex Goodlett via Getty Images)
Before anyone could shout “UFC 149” or “UFC 177” or “UFC Fight Night: Ladd vs Dumont,” Dana got down to brass tacks.
“One of the bigger problems is, and we face this going into certain cards, the so-called experts in the sport don’t know anything about fighting.
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“We do like 44 cards a year, right? Forty-four fights a year, then we have Contender Series and all the other things that we do. So, not every card is going to be for you. Not every card is going to go, ‘Oh wow, this is the one, I have to see it.’ Who gives a s***. There’ll be 43 more that you might feel that way, or 42, or 40. We are the best at what we do. There’s no denying it. It is what it is.”
Then came the stony-eyed finisher.
“We’re the best at what we do,” Dana said. “And all the so-called experts have no f***ing clue about the fight business.”
Both things, of course, can be true. UFC 332 was a fun card that over-delivered, and with 11 knockouts there were plenty of the “holy s***” moments that Dana likes to sell, yet it was also a little lacking in getting the blood pumping going in. Wang was coming off a nondescript victory over Tracy Cortez on the prelims of UFC 329, and Silva beat Rose Nama-JUNE-iss without a ton of hubbub back in January, to kick off the Paramount+ era.
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Throwing them into a main event for a numbered card (which we still associate to pay-per-view cards in quality) felt a little left field, especially with the women’s flyweight queen Valentina Shevchenko nowhere to be found in Utah. If anyone had cheered the scabbish vacant title fight when it was announced, they’d be called something far worse than a “so-called” anything. They’d be called shills.
Anyway, if the UFC had promoted the prospects as the main reason to tune in for UFC 332, perhaps there wouldn’t have been as loud a chorus from those erstwhile perts, especially as we’re in a transitional period in how we look at events in the post-pay-per-view era. A little marketing innovation might’ve gone a long way, but as John Kavanagh likes to say, “win or learn.”
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The truth is that UFC 332 stood out in contrast to the cooled expectations. I saw a few people who stood by their original critiques, saying that what was conspicuously absent from UFC 332 were the stakes. You can understand that complaint, given that we don’t know what was gained by Roberto Soldic or Jacobe Smith, other than they showcased well in a showcase moment.
Others pointed to the high knockout rate as a detriment, comparing it to regional MMA (where mismatches are plenty) and to Contender Series (where mismatches are converted into fun little serendipities). That is valid, too, if you’re a Negative Nancy who hates a bit of fun.
As an optimist, I see UFC 332 as admission to tomorrow’s parties. If people weren’t clamoring to see Talbott fight Sean O’Malley, they are now. Talbott stole the show in Salt Lake, downing former champion Deiveson Figueiredo in the co-main event, before calling out Andrew Garfi- … sorry … “Suga” Sean O’Malley. Talbott has star qualities, which is a fine trait to have. He doesn’t need to be punished for being an opening act for Silva-Wang.
As for the main event? Let’s just say that Shevchenko was missed. Silva outpointed Wang, and half the arena was empty before the scorecards came back. That fight played out pretty much just as most thought it might, and yet there was no pressing need to fixate. That’s because the rest of the card delivered in a big way, which was also somewhat predictable.
Most thought it could go just like that.
Even for people who are made to wear quotes, like the “so-called experts.”
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: Sports.yahoo.com
