UFC 309 is…
COOKED!!!
It’s extremely dissapeointng how mediocre this card is. I vividly remember UFC 295, the last time they were in the MSG and watching that card with friends was a highlight of my year. Every fight was a Knockout…I’ve never seen a card where every fight ends in a finish…and there’s nothing saying that this one won’t, but the matchups are not exciting. Maybe I’m being hater…but am I wrong for not leaping out of my seat ready to give uncle Dana my money for Jon Jones fighting a 41 year old man coming off a 3 year layoff, and a co-main of Olivera, (who is coming off a loss) verse Michael Chandler coming off a 2 year lay off?…
Bo Nickel v. Paul Craig is an intriguing fight but as the featured bout? I’m just failing to see the excitement of this card…and it’s not as if there’s a shortage of competitors…I find it insane that fighters who aren’t champions are getting away with fighting only once or twice a year. Where are all the ranked fighters…where’s Pimblett, Leon, Usman, Shavkat, Ian Garry, Colby Covington, Josh Emmett, Fiziev…Why isn’t Aspinall fighting?…Oh, I know. *Jon Jones quacks.
The matchmaking as of late has been subpar to say the least and there’s been a shortage of exciting ranked matchups. This card has only 3 legitimate ranked matches. That’s unacceptable if you're gonna charge $80 for a fight. UFC either needs to lower PPV prices or create better matchups. And none of this is due to lack of materials…it’s all there.
My 309 Card
Main Event: It should be Heavyweight Champion Jon Jones versus Tom Aspinall, his mandatory as he holds the interim belt. But Jon Jones will not, nor ever will fight Tom Aspinall. Because of that, I understand there’s no way of changing this main event.
Co-main: Charles Olivera is a fun fighter to watch, but a rematch verse Michael Chandler is not interesting. Instead I’d like to see him verse someone new to the top of the division…Dan Hooker.
Michael Chandler has given up on holding out for a fight with cooked out alcoholic, which is smart. He wants to fight and fight soon…so I thing think the featured bout should be Michael Chandler versus Rafael Fiziev…a fun striking matchup between two guys who haven't fought in the division yet and are both coming off long layoffs for different reasons.
Next I think we have a bantamweight matchup that’s been discussed all year. Figueiredo versus Petr Yan, a fun exciting clash of two elite former champions who are cable of wresting and elite on the feet. This is a great fight to decide who’s next for the title after Umar Nurmagomedov.
The Opening of the card should be Bo Nickel verse Paul Craig. I would then add the remaining fights that have been removed from the main card to the prelims.
Jon Jones V. Stipe Miocic (for the heavyweight title)
Chalres Olivera V. Dan Hooker (Five Round Number one contenders bout)
Michael Chandler V. Rafael Fiziev (Ranked fight)
Deivison Figueiredo V. Petr Yan (number one contenders fight)
Bo Nickel V. Paul Craig (Opening Bout)
