UFC 316 is blessed relief from the constant grind of the Apex and lackluster Fight Nights that happen outside of it. If one thing has been driven home, it’s that UFC is going to give us slop and somehow, people still love it. This weekend doesn’t have a wealth of great fights, but it has two titles on the line and some solidly decent contests. 10 years …

UFC Vegas 107 is not giving what it needs to give, stat-wise. A whopping 12 fighters are coming off losses—on a card that only has 11 fights. Fourteen of the athletes hail from the Contender Series. Could it provide a bunch of action? Sure. Will it matter to the advancement and growth of the competitors outside the two ranked bouts? All movement here is…

UFC Vegas 106, much like last weekend’s UFC 315, looks okay on paper. It’s got a couple ranked fights—which is amazing for an Apex card—as well as fairly low stats for fighters coming off losses. There is a downside because a lot of the fighters with losses have some problematic losing streaks. Gilbert Burns is on a three-fight skid and he’s sitting at …

UFC 315 has great stats and two title fights, but the big PPV feel of it all is severely lacking. And if ticket sales are a true indicator, the Canadian fans aren’t feeling that big card vibe either. Or maybe they’re showing the UFC that they don’t appreciate the close affiliation with the Trump administration on the heels of POTUS trying to annex their…

UFC Des Moines is the ghost of Christmas past. They’ve gone and drafted Jeremy Stephens back into the comforting embrace of the octagon, fresh off his success at BKFC, but not very mindful of his MMA bouts outside the promotion where he went just 2-1 in the PFL. There are other picked-over, near-demise oldsters on the card, as well, but we’ll get to tho…

UFC Kansas City is what I like to call a good, old-fashioned mixed bag. It has a terrific main event and some fun matchups overall. So where’s the problem? That lies in the stats, and there’s one that’s really putting a wet blanket on the whole event: 15 fighters are coming off losses. If this were an Apex card, that would be an easier pill to swallow,…

UFC 314 is a terrific card, full stop. It’s got all the elements we hope for: ranked fights, plenty of ranked fighters, and we’re not overrun with fighters coming off losses or from the Contender Series. The bouts are matched well and are compelling, with plenty of room for advancement. The main card is quite top heavy, with a concentration of top tier …

UFC Vegas 105 happens to be another one of those cards that looks absolutely awful on paper, and while it may deliver some action, what sets it on a troubling path is the recycling of fighters coming off strings of losses. It’s one thing to have a dearth of ranked talent, but quite another to feature an athlete coming off four straight losses while faci…