5 bizarre decisions made at UFC 200
It was a monumental task for UFC 200 to live up to the lofty expectations set forth by both fans and the promotion. Predictably, it did not.
Here are five weird UFC decisions that didn't help things:
The Yellow Mat
Let's get this out of the way up front.
The mat looked stupid. There's no other way to say it. It looked gaudy and cheesy and gimmicky, something the UFC has supposedly worked hard to get away from.
It's one of those ideas that sounds good the first time you say it out loud, but becomes less impressive as you consider the proximity of your color choice to urine.
Dana White: We should have a gold mat.
Underling: Okay Dana.
Dana White: Have we considered perching a golden eagle on Bruce Buffer's shoulder?
Underling: Uh.
Dana White: And the fighters could be painted gold too...
Underling: That's a yes on the mat.
Lack of a big announcement
No GSP? No Rousey? No Dan Severn comeback?
The lack of a big announcement is understandable due to the circumstantial minutiae that could prevent such a thing from happening, but to weirdly announce the Michael Bisping-Dan Henderson rematch on a FOX post-game show is truly head-scratching.
Everyone expected something, and instead we were left with very little to look forward to...aside from the next two pay-per-views.
Throwing Jon Jones under the bus
This seemed unnecessary, even if Jon Jones is now essentially dead to the UFC.
The Cormier-Silva pre-fight promo was cut in such a way that would make a political-attack-ad editor blush. We get it, Jon Jones ruined everything by testing positive for a banned substance, but did you have to kill his gubernatorial ambitions in the process?
For shame!
Reordering the card
Many fans (casual ones especially) tuned out before the main event of the biggest card in UFC history.
After Brock Lesnar finished dry humping Mark Hunt, Amanda Nunes shocked Miesha Tate to take the women's bantamweight title. Yes, it was a far better fight, but it lacked the firepower of almost every other bout on the card.
The decision becomes even more absurd when you consider the wall-to-wall insanity of the rest of the event. To make a conservative main-event choice, particularly on this card, seems misguided.
Didn't P.T. Barnum once say: "The main event of every fight should feature at least one overweight Samoan"?
Bringing in Silva on two days' notice
Another decision that looks good on paper, until you see a doughy Anderson Silva try and stay on his feet against a lunging Daniel Cormier.
The decision is defensible from a business standpoint, but when you're trying to promote a competitive product, trotting out a fighter from the legends division on two days' notice for your most historic card is troubling.
Best-case scenario, Silva head kicks Cormier for a stunning victory. Worst-case scenario, Cormier grinds out a win, fans boo, and DC cries.
Funny is it?
Well I'll tell you something that's not so funny: right now, Daniel Cormier is at home crying like a little girl! I guess it is a little funny.