I thought it was a joke. I get a message from Matt and he says they’ve booked Tate vs Nunes at UFC 200. I’m not fucking kidding. Is the UFC stupid? I mean it: are the people running this company functionally fucking retarded? Tate wins one of the most amazing fights in women’s history, over the woman who just pulled off the biggest upset in MMA history, and AMANDA FUCKING NUNES GETS THE TITLE SHOT?!?!
I don’t give a fuck what the reasoning is, this is the stupidest fight ever.
Amanda Nunes is a very good fighter, sure. She’s also known to exactly 4 people: her mom, dad, head coach, and apparently Dana White.
Look, it’s not my company. In a very roundabout way, I have a financial interest in the fights the UFC produces because bigger fights mean bigger traffic for the site, yada yada. But, fuck that, this isn’t my full time job. Instead, I get to just rant and say that the UFC is setting fire to money. LOTS of money. Tate has two very, verrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrry, viable and wealthy fights: a rematch with Holm or a rematch with Rousey. The later could headline the UFC’s debut in New York and make everyone stupid amounts of money.
Holm isn’t as big of a fight but it would still be big because the first fight was so great and people would care. Plus: HOLM WANTS IT. Not only that, but everyone knows that the money is in Rousey. Fair or not, whatever, she’s the biggest star in the game who isn’t from Ireland. And she was dominant like no one else, so she rightfully deserves a rematch. And I’m guessing she wants one.
Rousey vs Holm would be huge; Rousey vs Tate would be huge. Both could be well north of a million buys on PPV. Maybe 1.5. So, to maximize that, you either wait until Ronda comes back or do Tate vs Holm 2. With the latter, you know you still have a mega huge fight with Ronda no matter what. And, fuck it, even if Ronda has secretly retired or some shit, that’s STILL the biggest possible fight in the women’s division.
This is beating a dead horse but: NO ONE KNOWS OR CARES ABOUT AMANDA NUNES.
I fucking guarantee that you, person reading this, cannot recall her last win. You might have a vague idea that the chick was blonde, if that. If you put Nunes in a police lineup there’s a less than zero chance you could pick her out of the lineup. But somehow she gets a title shot? What in the sweet fuckity fuck is that all about? If Tate wins, who cares? If Nunes wins, congrats, now Ronda faces who when she returns? The chick who beat her? The chick who beat the chick who beat her? Or the chick who beat the chick who beat the chick who beat her?
And don’t give me the, “She’s earned it” crap. If that’s the case, then Frankie Edgar would be fighting McGregor at UFC 200 and not Jose Aldo. There has to be something else going on, otherwise the UFC has lost it. And when I say lost it, I mean this is a sign of a company and management that is so completely cut off from the real world that they might as well not exist.
Stupidest fucking match making I’ve seen in forever. Congrats, UFC, the biggest event in company history could be the beginning of a BIG slide down, because Conor is going to have a fucking hell of a time with Nate Diaz and now they may kill off a mega fight for Rousey.
Someone get me a fiddle.
Um… who exactly should get a title shot in the division if not Amanda?
Ronda ISN’T FIGHTING ANYTIME SOON….. do you advocate no fights for a year or more until she gets off her bully ass and decides to face the music?
As for Holm.. I get a rematch is in order. I suspect Dana is pissed she pushed for the Tate fight in the first place and blowing money up for not waiting for Ronda.. maybe this is punishment.. who knows.
HOWEVER, based on how the BW division has gone the last year, other than Holly, Amanda Nunes is next in line. That is the way it is.
You can not give Cat a title shot when she decided to vanish for 18 months and not take any fights. She has to earn it by winning another fight.
We can’t start denying people title shots because they are not draws. If UFC does that regularly (McGregor and FW is an exception so don’t go to hard on that one), then they might as well dump the belts and just make whatever fight they feel like.
Also, big fights create stars. You think if Amanda Nunes does well (and loses), that the millions watching UFC 200 will still not know who she is? She could make a lot of fans that day.
If you are a mark for Ronda; that is fine. But she isn’t in any rush to fight. There is no way you can put Meisha, Holly, and the belt on ice for another year (or two… don’t kid yourself at how long Ronda may kick this can down the road).
So, let me ask you.. you have two choices here if you do not want Amanda Nunes…
1 – nothing until Ronda decides to fight again; and that could be months or a year or more….
2 – Holly Holm….. I would have done that, however, it’s clear UFC is not happy with her at the moment.
what do you pick?
Holm. Even if they’re mad at her oh well – make more money off your anger.
Or just wait a bit. They should know if Ronda is back by Nov soon or not. If she is, that’s not really a huge layoff. If she isn’t, then you go to Holm.
I don’t see any upside for this. I don’t think it makes UFC 200 any bigger and can only risk a TON of money with a Tate loss.
Normally I tend to be “well, a champ has to win at the end of the day” but this time there is just SUCH a clear path to making a bunch of money.