UFC Editorial: 2022 Off to Strong Start, Despite Constant Complaints

Every week, the action has delivered inside the Octagon, setting the stage for big fights, engaging stories to watch

Look, I don’t know how to start this other than to just say what has been going through my head for the last 20 hours or so that I’ve been trying to figure out what to write in this space today, desperate to avoid doing what I’m about to do, but here goes:

Some of you folks that call yourself fights fans are just miserable souls that look to be miserable at all costs.

It genuinely seems like every week, you’re looking for reasons to be disappointed with the UFC product, pissed off with the promotion for what is being offered, and generally underwhelmed by whatever transpires inside the Octagon, even when each week has provided a collection of impressive performances, fighters to track going forward, and stories to watch as they develop.

You’re just dissatisfied with it all and I do not understand it.

Now, I will be the first person to stand up for your right to be miserable about the product, to criticize the UFC for whichever actions or inactions you want to criticize, and to constantly bemoan the quality of the events being rolled out on a weekly basis — you’re entitled to your opinions and the opportunity to voice them, so have at it.

That said, I think you’re bat-crap crazy and trying real hard to find ways to be aggrieved because the first seven events of the 2022 UFC schedule have produced an assortment of quality moments, entertaining fights and finishes, and instances that should make fans excited about what it on the horizon, rather than displeased with what’s on tap.

Starting with the first event of the year and running through UFC 272 last weekend, here are 35 fighters or fights that have already caught my attention this year:

Viachaslav Borshchev
Calvin Kattar
Vanessa Demopoulos
Jack Della Maddalena
Victor Henry
Michael Morales
Said Nurmagomedov
Francis Ngannou (and his grappling)
Chidi Njokuani
Julian Erosa vs. Steven Peterson
Shavkat Rakhmonov
Douglas Silva vs. Sergey Morozov
Ronnie Lawrence vs. Mana Martinez
Kyler Phillips
Casey O’Neill
Bobby Green (two times)
Renato Moicano (two times)
Jared Cannonier
Tai Tuivasa
Israel Adesanya vs. Robert Whittaker
Stephanie Egger
David Onama (sequel on the way)
Jim Fucking Miller
Jamahal Hill
Terrance McKinney (encore upcoming)
Ignacio Bahamondes
Arman Tsarukyan
Wellington Turman’s Hail Mary
Islam Makhachev
Umar Nurmagomedov
Maryna Moroz
Jalin Turner
Sergey Spivak
Kevin Holland
Bryce Mitchell

That’s 35 fighters or moments in seven events not including the standard “this person looked good” type of efforts or close, competitive scraps like the bout between Marina Rodriguez and Yan Xiaonan last weekend.

That’s five “somethings of note” every event to start the year, on average, which seems like a pretty reasonable rate of return from fight cards that average 12 bouts per weekend, and it’s not like the remaining seven bouts never produce anything interesting either.

Maybe I need to broaden my Twitter follows and turn off more re-tweets from folks that seem to inject negativity in my timeline, but it seems like every week, folks are either lamenting the slate headed to the Octagon or opining about how next week’s show is better, only to arrive at next week and do it all again.

Sure, there have been some cards this year that have been submarined by injuries and cancellations and the like, and I’m not trying to sit here advocating for Misha Cirkunov and Wellington Turman actually being a quality co-main event, however, those changes and alterations doesn’t mean there won’t be quality performances that still take place on those cards or efforts that should be talked about, celebrated, and stored away for the next time those competitors step into the Octagon.

But that doesn’t seem to be what is happening. The cycle I’m seeing each week goes like this:

This card sucks / could be better / needs more names
(as the fights are happening)
I’m enjoying myself / That was a great performance / This has been surprisingly good
(once the fights are done)
That was better than I anticipated / These people looked good
(Monday arrives)
This card sucks / could be better / needs more names

It’s like Saturdays happen in a vacuum and no matter how pleasantly surprised people are week-over-week, the start of a new Fight Week brings the same old complaints, even though the action, on the whole, has been pretty goddamn good so far this year.

Now, I know I’m probably not the best person to judge or interpret this stuff because I’m a bundle of positive energy ahead of each event because I want to watch every fight, take notes on every performance, and find 10 Things I Like about every fight card, no matter how many cancellations or unknowns are competing that particular weekend, so when things swing in the opposite direction, it feels like the divide between what I’m seeing and enjoying and what others are watching and unhappy with is even greater, but still — you can’t tell me that the consensus opinion through the first seven UFC events this year has been above “it’s been fine, I guess.”

And that feels like an unfavourable grade for what has been a pretty enjoyable start to the year.

My working theory is that folks are understandably anti-UFC for various reasons and that frustration / anger / hatred of the promotion taints opinions and views on what happens inside the Octagon, penalizing the athletes for the general dissatisfaction so many feel about the company as a whole.

But there is no carryover or transference of care and attention for the causes that cause so many people grief from week-to-week. Here’s an example from last week:

Scores of people were still pissed that Greg Hardy was an active UFC heavyweight and that he and Spivak opened the pay-per-view main card. They voiced their frustrations about Hardy and his fight being on the main card, stumping for Marina Rodriguez and Yan Xiaonan to get the spot instead, and then revelled in him getting mauled by “The Polar Bear” on Saturday evening.

How many of those folks that were pushing for Rodriguez and Yan to be on the main card are going to be actively supportive of the Brazilian challenging for championship gold in the main event of a pay-per-view later this year? How many have noticed that Spivak is continuing to improve fight-after-fight and will be keen on seeing him compete next time out?

Folks are in for the airing of grievances, but out on almost everything else, looking only for reasons to be upset and ignoring all the reasons to be excited with the level of skill, competition, and entertainment on display inside the Octagon every week.

Through seven events, the overall finishing rate in the UFC is at 45% (21 T/KO, 17 Subs, 84 fights), with five divisions checking in at 50% or higher to start the year.

We’ve already had a handful of entrants in each of the “Year-End Awards” races, with several new arrivals making quality impressions right out of the gate, and the tentative schedule (*card subject to change) for the coming months is quite impressive.

It’s been a strong start, despite the constant stream of complaints, and this weekend’s fight card is excellent, especially if you’re willing to dig just a little deeper in order to know more about a couple of people or pairings.

But like I said off the top: if you’re unhappy with everything that has transpired thus far and is on tap for the next several months, speak on it… I just don’t see where all this unhappiness is coming from.