MailBag: Is UFC bad right now? Which champions can improve that?

Last Saturday, UFC Vegas 107 I got off. It was a completely unforgettable card until the main event collapsed just before the main event went for a walk. It’s the latest in 2025 and has been overwhelmed by world-leading promotions. Is it bad now? Let’s discuss it.

Is the UFC bad now?

Is UFC Vegas 107 really the worst card in recent memory, or are we too strict with events?

When I received this question, I thought I needed to dive deeper to understand it. But then I looked at it and realized no, this was easy. The UFC Vegas 107 isn’t even the worst card of the year, so it’s not the worst card in recent memory. In fact, it may not be in the top three.

The UFC Vegas 101 has fallen out of the year with the exact opposite of style. The card has 14 battles with only 3 ranked fighters. I would be impressed if you could tell me about one fight other than the main event (the main event was Mackenzie Dern vs Amandari Bus 2).

A month later, the UFC Vegas 102 lowered the bar even further, with only two ranked fighters competing. I’m sure I can’t even name the main event from above my head. However, this card had the decency to become at least 12 battles.

Next is UFC Vegas 103 (do you feel like you’re developing the theme?) in the battle of Manel Kape vs. Asu Almabayev. At least this time, the main event was supposed to be an incredible Kape vs Brandon Royval matchup, so maybe we can cut some UFC out there.

Then there’s the battle between UFC Vegas 104 and Marvin Bettori vs. Roman Doritze 2.

No, the worst card of the year, and perhaps the worst card for many years, happened a few weeks ago at UFC Vegas 105. Lerown Murphy vs. Josh Emmett was the classic Lerown Murphy battle. And the remaining cards had seven decisions in 11 battles. There is very little redemption or memorable about that card. This is undoubtedly better than the TomFoolery that took place last weekend.

This is all about saying that this happens when you don’t need to try it. Competition creates creativity and better products. Monopoly is terrible for consumers, and that’s what we have here. The dominant market share of the UFC means there’s no need to put in effort, and in reality, they don’t even pretend to be any more.

UFC 316 – Not great, Bob!

“Is Lipski-Da Silva vs. Cong the biggest banger in UFC 316?”

All this will continue until this weekend. I think most fans have come to grasp the idea that vertex cards will be bad, but the hope is that the UFC will try at least with regard to pay-per-views. Presents UFC 316 as a counter to that concept.

The main event is a simple rematch of rather boring events, with little reason to think something will happen differently. Certainly, Sean O’Malley Maybe Do better, you never know, but the more likely result is the carbon copy of the first fight that will be forgotten a few months ago.

This weekend’s co-main event is a very good and important battle, but it’s also hard to get excited about the current women’s bantamweight matchup. The division is on life support, but it’s hard to imagine Kayla Harrison holding it for too long, even if he gets better and wins the title.

And is that the rest of the card? I’m excited about the debut of Patchy Mix, which I think the UFC is desperately needed right now, but I don’t often wear a hat. Bruno Silva vs. Joshua Van is solid scrap, but that’s about it.

So, to answer your question, maybe. The Vicent Luque vs. Kevin Holland fight seems violent for so long, but given the overwhelming matchups and style preferences of many top fighters on the card, it’s very likely that Ariane Da Silva vs. Wang Cong is the most fun scrap of the night.

Prospectfully

Of the four co-main/main people, who will lose the least in UFC 316?

If you are trying to be positive about UFC 316, this is true. There’s actually a huge real crisis in the top two fight on Saturday. Merab vs. O’Malley 2 may be a matchmaking tragedy, but that makes a lot of sense.

If Merab loses, his burgeoning case as a bantamweight goat (outrageous at this point) should be especially serious, as the UFC isn’t running a trilogy anytime soon. If O’Malley confused Merab, the UFC would fill up the “machine” and probably book O’Malley in a rematch of Kris Moutinho.

Conversely, if O’Malley loses, shit. What will he do next? I think he could have tried to bump to 145, but I don’t love his chances. It’s not an ideal place at all.

In the co-main event, if Kayla Harrison loses, a super fight with Amanda Nunes falls for her, and more importantly, this is the second time she has killed the overall purpose of her career in the UFC. Kayla came to the UFC to win this title. If she loses to Pena, it could be the end of her career.

In contrast, Pena is a two-time champion (I can’t believe it’s true). This means that if she retires tomorrow, she is still in the Hall of Fame. That’s a considerable accomplishment given that she’s not yet sure of good things. And the women’s bantamweight is very thin, Pena can probably hang out and get another shot with the belt. So I think I’ll go with Giuliana Pena.

How do you fix UFC?

Fast forward to a year ago in a perfect world. Who is the 11 UFC champions?

Be as realistic or unreal as you do.

There are many issues facing the UFC right now, but the biggest problem from a fan’s perspective is the lack of stars. There aren’t many names that will help people stand up and pay attention. This doesn’t hurt the UFC’s final line (Yayy for monopoly!), but it really hurts the interest of casual fans. So the best way to fix it is to get a bunch of interesting title holders that you can probably break through. Here is my list:

Heavyweight: Tom Aspinall. In an ideal world, he will become John Jones and star with KO’s John Jones. John won’t fight him, so making him the worst man on the planet is his next best option.

205: Alex Pereira. If Alex can get his belt back, the super fight between him and Tom is huge. Also, Pereira vs DDP is quite ill.

185: Dricus du Plessis. I think DDP is closer to crossing as a star as he’s starting to beat big names. Defeating Chimeh should enhance him, and he has the general glorification and personality to resonate with his fanbase.

170: Islamic Makachev. Jack Della Madalena is uniquely bad at the microphone. He kills the division as that steward. Islam is the best fighter plane on the planet and has the legacy of Habib. Being a WW champion will take over him in a big way.

155: Ilia Topuria. clearly.

145: Jean Silva. He is my boy and he can get people to take care of him.

135: Jose Aldo. I don’t care that he retired. You said the perfect world, and this is perfect.

125: Brandon Moreno. Only two fighters have won three titles in the same category. Randy Couture did it at the heavyweight billion years ago, and John Jones did it at the light heavyweight. Except that one of John was the provisional belt he was later stripped away. So this is a new basis and is pretty cool.

W135: They should fold this division after Kayla vs. Amanda Nunez.

W125: Dakota Diccheva. She is alone.

115: Mackenzie Dern. It’s time for Dern Hive to get up.

Relaxed, Jordan Breen

Broken my heart and share the news with the world of MMA, where Jordan Breen died.

Jordan forgot more about MMA than most of us remember. He is one of the cleverest souls I have ever encountered. His passion was truly unique.

Today must have been his birthday. I miss your partner.

This is clearly not a question, but I wanted to say a few things as the news broke while I was writing this.

Many of you reading this may not know who Jordan Breen is. That’s a shame. Breen is one of the smartest people who have attended MMA and is the main reason I have done this. This man had a passion for a sport that rivaled the barely similar knowledge that he had taken over at will. He was on the forefront of MMA media back in the dark ages of sports and most importantly, he was a good guy. His death was a tragic loss, struck me more violently than I had expected. He will be overlooked.

Thank you for reading and thank you to everyone who sent me a tweet (xs?)! Are there any burning questions about at least some relevance to combat sports? Then you are lucky because you can send your tweets to me, @jedkmeshewand I answer all the good things! As long as they’re good it doesn’t matter whether they’re local or insane. Thank you once more, and take a look at y’all next week.