How the UFC Could Lose Me as a Fan

I’ve been passionate about mixed martial arts since I discovered the sport in 2006. I have been a huge consumer of mixed martial arts content, whether offered by the UFC, Strikeforce, Bellator, or organizations of the past like PRIDE. I’m not somebody who would lose interest in the sport very easily.

But if I was to lose interest in the sport, it would likely be because of the UFC doing things like kicking Johny Hendricks to the curb to have Georges St-Pierre fight Nick Diaz.

It’s no secret that I’m a big fan of Hendricks. But honestly, Hendricks and Diaz could switch roles and I would still be irritated about it. I like the idea that if a fighter is being given the opportunity to fight for the championship, that fighter should have earned it. There is no argument to be made that Nick Diaz has earned a title shot. He lost his last fight against Carlos Condit. Before that, he beat B.J. Penn, and prior to that, he had a long winning streak against fighters like Paul Daley and Evangelista Santos. If a fighter gets a title shot, he should have a top-level recent win, and he should be on a winning streak. Diaz has neither.

Supposedly St-Pierre specifically asked for this fight. I’m sure Bill Belichick would have loved to pick and choose who the Patriots would play in the last Super Bowl too.

If the UFC wants to lose me as a fan, they should keep sending me the message that winning fights matters less than talking trash and having a “score to settle.” And I get it… the UFC cares about me being a fan about as much as they care about running an event at the North Pole. But I don’t think I’m the only one who feels this way, and I think fights like this only serve to damage the UFC in the long run.