UFC gaining notorious reputation
Money-over-merit matchmaking infuriating the likes of Jose Aldo, who has asked for a release
While this week’s announcement that Conor McGregor will challenge Eddie Alvarez for the lightweight title in the main event of UFC 205 at Madison Square Garden has sent waves of excitement rushing over the majority of the MMA audience, there have been a number of fighters who have stepped forward and voiced their frustrations with the news — and that’s the side I’m far more interested in discussing.
As much as McGregor-Alvarez will be a great fight and the buildup to the UFC’s Nov. 12 debut in New York will be electric, it’s the ripple effect of how this news impacts several other established contenders and the way UFC ultimately addresses their concerns that stands as the bigger issue.
The leader of the aggrieved masses is Jose Aldo, who up until last December had been the only man to hold the UFC featherweight title. He was the target McGregor locked in on early and spent 2015 chasing down, knowing that being the man to knock off the tenured titleholder would cement his standing as one of the sport’s elite.
Aldo was the gold standard in the featherweight division for nearly a decade, but less than a year after losing his title to McGregor at UFC 194, the Brazilian superstar has asked to be released from his UFC contract, stating he wants to retire from the sport and pursue other interests. It’s because McGregor is fighting Alvarez while still not being forced to relinquish the featherweight title.
Earlier this year, while the Irishman was chasing down a rematch with Nathan Diaz, the UFC opted to create an interim featherweight title, which Aldo won at UFC 200 against Frankie Edgar.
The victory proved the Brazilian was still at the top of his game and he was told that one way or another his next bout would be for the undisputed featherweight crown. Either he’d get his rematch with McGregor or “The Notorious” one would be stripped of the title, making Aldo the de facto ruler of the division once again.
Neither has happened and now the 30-year-old wants to walk.
Booking McGregor against Alvarez makes perfect sense for the UFC, but this is the fallout from the “money over merit” approach to matchmaking the organization has been employing over the last year couple of years and those who feel misled and slighted are beginning to make their frustrations known.
A big part of the problem is the UFC (re: Dana White) has a bad habit of making and then breaking promises. And while fighters should know that is the case, the organization can’t continually set an expectation for these athletes, then fail to meet them without dealing with backlash. It’s not just Aldo, either. Khabib Nurmagomedov said he felt like he got “used” to help make the McGregor-Alvarez fight come together after White publicly declared it would be the undefeated Dagestani fighting Alvarez for the lightweight title at UFC 205. Featherweight standout Max Holloway, who has won nine straight fights since losing to McGregor in August 2013, is tired of turning back every challenge the organization puts in front of him and still not getting a title shot.
Both have valid gripes and the more things continue to follow this current trend, the more fighters there will be standing in opposition to the approach the UFC is taking when it comes to booking the biggest names on the roster.
At some point, the UFC has to start making good on its promises and thinking about more than just the bottom line when it comes to booking fights or else more fighters are going to follow Aldo’s lead of asking for a release.
More than how the preamble to UFC 205 and how the event plays out, it’s how the UFC addresses this important issue that has my attention.