Opinion: Melbourne and the UFC 37 Delusion

Editor’s note: The views and opinions expressed below are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Sherdog.com, its affiliates and sponsors or its parent company, Evolve Media.* * * I have found a few things in life, such as flea markets and grocery stores in Chinatown, where the quality of the product seems inversely proportional to its trappings. I found a two-foot tall vintage California Raisin statue a few months ago in an antique store where it seemed more likely I would contract leprosy. I continue to find bizarre sodas and snacks in small markets that haven’t cleaned their floors in 28 years. These sneaky locales are reminders that while usually it’s a life philosophy, you can’t always just a book by its cover.You know what’s not like a dusty pawn shop or shady-looking bodega that surprises and charms you? Mixed martial arts in 2016. And that brings me to the UFC 37 delusion. The UFC Fight Night card scheduled for this Saturday in Melbourne — or, once again, Sunday morning and afternoon if you’re unfortunately there live in Australia — is not good. While there are the usual gripes to be made — and frankly, more than usual — about the oversaturation and dilution of the UFC product, especially as it concerns international cards, it’s not entirely Zuffa’s fault here. After all, we were supposed to get a Luke Rockhold-“Jacare” Ronaldo Souza rematch in the main event before the umpteenth injury of Rockhold’s career, a knee this time, nixed the contest. Nonetheless, while it’s a fantastic and highly relevant middleweight contest, Derek Brunson-Robert Whittaker is not a UFC main event. I mean, I know it is now due to circumstance, but still, it’s not. Worse, the rest of the card is moribund. The reason I’m bringing all this up is that I’ve been shocked to read and hear people, including callers to my Sherdog Radio Network show, praising this forthcoming card or expressing excitement about it as a direct function of the card’s ostensibly low-quality and anonymous roster. Nevermind how asinine it seems to get excited over a lame UFC card a week after getting smashed with two UFC cards (and a Bellator card) in the same damn day, every time we get one of these UFC cards that has been progressively more and more watered down, people cry out “These are always the cards that end up being the best!” No, actually, they don’t. You know what cards end up being the best? Major cards that deliver. If you think that the UFC’s return to Melbourne is going to hold to a candle to UFC 205, you’re a blathering dimwit. So, where does this well-established MMA maxim come from? While naturally there were fight cards that defied low expectations on paper before May 2002, the whole “lame cards are actually the best” idea was crystallized with UFC 37 in Bossier City, La. Coming off an outstanding and still-revered UFC 36 card two months prior, MMA fans were roundly disappointed by UFC 37, mostly due to a plethora of injuries. Chuck Liddell …

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