With UFC London rapidly approaching, British mixed martial arts fans were crying out for a worthy main event after ticket buyers blindly bidded, not knowing what the finale would be on the March 18. It has now been confirmed that home fighter Jimi Manuwa will headline against Corey Anderson, much to the dissatisfaction of many fans.

After the colossal success of UFC Fight Night Silva vs. Bisping which saw current middleweight champion Michael Bisping pit his wits against MMA legend Anderson Silva, expectations were high for the repeat card in 2017. “The Count,” who would have been a great choice to headline the event again, this time against Yoel Romero, was ruled out through injury.

Controversy aside, the card has shaped up to be of a very good standard. Fights such as Timothy Johnson vs. Daniel Omielanczuk, Leon Edwards vs. Vicente Luque, Arnold Allen vs. Makwan Amirkhani and Brad Pickett’s swansong against Henry Briones were particularly eye-catching announcements. Other British talent on display include lightweight starlet Marc Diakiese, welterweight prospect Tom Breese and light-heavyweight newcomer Darren Stewart.

Manuwa will be the UFC London star

The first star name to be announced was “Poster Boy” Manuwa in a ranked contest against light heavyweight contender Anderson. The Londoner believes a clash with the American could set up a title shot with light-heavyweight king Daniel Cormier, who next faces Anthony Johnson at UFC 210.

Despite the showcase of young talent and the stand-out name of Manuwa, the majority of fans feel let down with the card and it is clear to see why. Upon the fight being announced, Manuwa was not billed as the headline act and “Poster Boy” himself even denied that he was the main event. Many rumours circulated about who the headline event would be, with Anthony “Showtime” Pettis being the first name to circulate social media. Then a substantial rumour leaked with hundreds of twitter users expressing their delight of the idea of a clash between strawweight champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk and Michelle “The Karate Hottie” Waterson.

The headline event still wasn’t announced by the time people had paid for their tickets in anticipation of a huge night of fighting. Expecting Pettis or Jedrzejczyk to be closing the show, alas this was not the case. Despite it being an excellent card, many feel it is missing a star name, perhaps even a title eliminator or defence. With how the UFC set the card up, insisting the main event was to be announced, fans all over Britain were expecting something special, especially given that Manuwa seemed a benchmark for the standard of fights at UFC London.

“Poster Boy” vs “Overtime” is certainly a reasonable main event for a Fight Night event with a top-five contender against a top-ten contender and Manuwa believing it may lead to a title shot. Not only this, but the London fighter is the best available British fighter with Bisping out injured, making it a sensible choice for the headline event of the night.

Safety or lack of ambition?

The question is, has the UFC London card selection been a safe choice from the UFC or has it been an excellent idea to showcase the best of Britain? Whilst there are mixed opinions, there is no argument against the amount of local fighters included on the card. Perhaps, if the fighters are to perform and impress, the UK may receive more recognition in the MMA world and have the pulling power for the big names to fight here in future. Not only is this card showcasing British talent, new and old, there are also some real 50/50 clashes at the O2 Arena which includes an all-British clash between Bradley Scott and Scott Askham.

The option to stack the card with British fighters could also be described as an act of cowardice. With MMA growing every day in Britain, the demands become higher and higher. The British public wants to see the best fights possible, especially given the interest and huge fanbase that UK holds when it comes to the sport. 

There is money to be made in the UK

One theory for the lack of star power that UFC London attracts is profit. The UFC make most of their money in the US, undoubtedly the home of MMA and the dominant nation in the sport in terms of titles and contenders. Since records began, no event in the UK has reached the heights of being in the top 10 UFC gates. Bisping vs. Silva is the highest grossing event the UK has ever seen, with a gate of $2,000,000. With seven of the top ten highest being events held in the United States it is clear to see where the money is being made and why the USA get the extraordinary events they do in comparison to the rest of the world.

Despite this, UK events rarely fail to sell out. UFC Fight Night 84 sold out in just 27 minutes with people across the nation desperate for tickets to see their home fighter against one of the greatest ever to grace the Octagon. It is also expected that UFC Fight Night 107 is going to sell out as the famous promotion returns to Britain. With a strong fan base, the potential for mega fights to be held in the UK is evident. With MMA in the UK constantly growing, it may not be long before we see more pay-per-view events. UFC 204 in Manchester was a pay-per-view event headlined by Bisping rematch with Dan Henderson 2. This reached similar heights to Silva vs Bisping, with a gate of $1,960,000.

Time and time again we see the big UFC events stacked with three or four fights all worthy of being headliners themselves. The last stacked card we saw was that of UFC 207 headlined by Ronda Rousey vs. Amanda Nunes, but also featuring Dominick Cruz vs. Cody Garbrandt and TJ Dillashaw vs. John Lineker. All of the aforementioned would undoubtedly suffice as a main event for the upcoming UFC event in London. Even the prelim header of Johny Hendricks vs. Neil Magny would be good enough to be a co-main event on the card as it stands.

There is no doubting the talent on display, nor the effort to showcase home talent at UFC London. What there is doubt of is the adequacy of finding star names to compete outside of America, particularly in the UK. It’d be preposterous to label the card as a poor standard as it is anything but that. However, it is abundantly clear that the card is missing that one huge fight for the British public to get excited about.