Sports. Honestly. Since 2011

Demetrious Johnson and the Crowd That Wasn’t

Full disclosure: I didn’t watch UFC 191. Before you get the pitchforks, allow me to elucidate: I watched the main event and the four fights that ended in a finish.

I just couldn’t muster up the energy (or interest) for the rest.

That’s ok, though, because chances are you couldn’t either. In the very least, you definitely weren’t there live; only 10,000 people could be bothered to make it to the MGM last Saturday.

In fact, it was the weakest live gate for a Las Vegas based card since UFC 49, back when (believe it or not) Joe Riggs was the co-main event.

The question today is “why?” Hardcore fans should have been allured by the technical brilliance that is Demetrious Johnson, while casuals walking by could have been swayed into buying a ticket by the slugfest that was Lineker vs. Rivera.

Neither happened. And to be fair, I’m not sure we can really be that surprised. Of the eleven-fight card, less than 40% ended in official stoppages. While not the worst finish rate in UFC history, it’s pretty telling when the Fight of the Night barely lasts two minutes.

But we didn’t know that going in. You can only judge the quality of a card after the violence has run its course; it’s near impossible to predict what fights will be exciting and others less so. Few were expecting the squabble between Arlovski and Mir to make it past the opening frame and yet (thanks to the MMA gods) it made it the full fifteen minutes.

So why weren’t people interested in UFC 191? It could be, to a certain extent, a sort of placebo effect. Fans are inundated on a weekly basis leading up to any flyweight title affair that Demetrious Johnson doesn’t sell.

While true, it doesn’t really accomplish anything. Saying “Mighty Mouse” is a boring champion is complaining for complaining’s sake; it doesn’t get us anywhere we haven’t been before.

“If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it.”

The problem is that people do seem to believe it. Fans hearing that Demetrious Johnson is boring or doesn’t sell well on PPV seem to be more hesitant to break open the wallet. “If no one else is buying, why should I?” It’s odd to say the least, and more than a little unfair to DJ.

This card was full of promise too, what with the return of Anthony Johnson after his latest brush with misogyny, and another stop on the UFC’s aging heavyweight senior tour.

This is becoming oddly expected, as well. Any card featuring a flyweight title fight that’s not on free TV is doomed before it even reaches our living rooms.

Unfortunately this seems to be the case with Mighty Mouse. While he’s certainly not the most exciting fighter on the roster, the man can fight, and does so with ease against the best in the world. It’s just a shame no one is around to watch him work.

Zuffa and its figureheads must make a decision within the next year over the future of the flyweight division, and drastic steps may need to be taken in order to cast off the reputation that one of their best athletes is also one of the least entertaining.

 

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