Three Changes That Desperately Need To Happen To The UFC In 2016

The UFC has some serious issues that need seeing to. Let’s hope these glaring problems are addressed in 2016…

The UFC ios without doubt the biggest and most powerful MMA promotion on the planet, and as such they pretty much do whatever they want. Of course lining the pockets of the Zuffa brass scores high on the agenda for the UFC, but 2015 has seen a peak in the organization’s allegedly monopolizing ways, with a number of high profile lawsuits and bungled debacles along the way.

Of these numerous red herrings the UFC has within their ranks right now, there are three glaring issues that need to be addressed in 2016. It’s hard to deny that many fans have grown weary of the UFC’s latest style of business tactics/fighter treatment/over hype/under hype bullsh*t, and something needs to give.

Without further ado, three changes that need to happen for the UFC in 2016:

Judging and scoring

The above image is the official scorecard from the lightweight battle between Ross Pearson and Diego Sanchez, widely considered one of the greatest MMA robberies of all time. It happened in mid-2014 at the UFC Fight Night Albuquerque card, and caused a massive stir at the time. Pearson dominated Sanchez throughout the fight, and was handed a split decision loss by the judges.

This isn’t the only judging foul, or the biggest, but it’s a prime example of why the UFC, as the world’s leading promotion, needs to get their sh*t together. ROAD FC recently changed to the ‘unlimited points’ system, but we are yet to see how it works out. The UFC did reveal judges would be placed in sound proof booths as part of a new scheme to tighten up the scoring of fights, but still the flawed base remains in place.

Skip to page 2 for the rest of the article...

Death to the UFC-Reebok deal

We’ve seen some real scumbag moves from MMA promoters in the past, but perhaps the shadiest of them all was the ‘landmark’ deal between the UFC and sports giant brand Reebok. A brief glance at the number of fighters revealing huge sponsorship losses due to the stringent fight week policy of the Reebok deal will tell you all you need to know, but there’s so much more.

The ‘big reveal’ of the partnership was like a weird LSD-fuelled trip in to the mind of a third grader. Spelling mistakes, corny uniforms and an overall feel of low IQ based design was just the start of things. The stream of spelling errors and just down right offensive and stupid tee shirts and jerseys that Reebok then produced continue to outrage and confuse pretty much everyone involved. Apart from Dana White of course, who said the deal was a ‘home run.”

Swing batabatabata….

Skip to page 3 for the final part of the article and perhaps the biggest change needed…

Someone else needs to decide title shots

Frankie Edgar is a prime example of why this massive change needs to be implemented. ‘The Anser’ is on a five fight win streak at 145 pounds, but has repeatedly had the door slammed firmly in his face when asking for a title fight, and it isn’t like he doesn’t deserve one. Until Chad Mendes part 2 and Conor McGregor after him, Edgar undoubtedly gave the champ of the time Jose Aldo his toughest fight during his featherweight debut. Many argued that Edgar deserved an immediate rematch, but the fact he needed to fight again and against Charles Oliveira wasn’t too hard to accept.

After defeating Oliveira in a hard fought decision at UFC 162, Edgar was once again left out in the cold, although he did commit a season of TUF before slapping the crap out of BJ Penn for the third time. With another win, this time over a legend, at featherweight, the time was right for Edgar’s second 145-pound title shot. You can see where we’re going with this. Wins over Urijah Faber and Cub Swanson saw Edgar again overlooked three times in the space of a year, as Chad Mendes got the call against Conor McGregor at UFC 189, but surely a win over his next opponent would get Frankie the shot?

Nope, after knocking out Chad Mendes earlier this month, ‘The Answer’ was again left empty handed when it was announced McGregor would move up in weight after knocking out Jose Aldo and capturing the belt, rather than fighting the number one contender for the last year, Frankie Edgar.

Whether it’s the introduction of a fighter’s union, or some other empowered body, someone needs to take the power of decision away from the UFC. As long as their monetary investments and interests come before legitimate contenders and logical decision making we are going to see a continuation of this kind of injustice.

This may sound biased, but consider the fact the UFC is trying to ‘legitimize MMA as a sport,’ and then time-and-time again appearing to contradict themselves and hinder the progress of mixed martial arts all at once.

Let’s hope at least one of these three changes comes to be.