Is the quality of UFC co-main event fights declining? Patrick Auger and Drake Riggs share their opinion on the matter before Andrei Arlovski vs. Tanner Boser features in the co-main event this weekend.
Drake Riggs begins by pointing out the “annoying” bout order choices by the UFC. In some cases, ranked fighters have been buried in the middle of a main card behind two unranked heavyweight fighters who get to shine in the co-main event.
Riggs points out Germaine De Randamie vs. Julianna Pena as one example. GDR vs. Pena was the third-last fight during a recent UFC Fight Night card that had Carlos Felipe vs. Yorgan de Castro booked as the co-main event. Riggs makes the argument that these ranked female bantamweight fighters deserve the attention that comes with a co-main event spot, especially if the UFC wants to create interest in contenders who go on to face Amanda Nunes.
Patrick Auger comes at the issue from the business-side and explains that the UFC merely books fights based on the data that is in front of them. It’s all analytics and for the most part, they’re looking at algorithms that decide the bout order.