By Hunter Homistek

The UFC spoils us, friends.

This is great, because MMA harbors the bizarre like no other sport. We have late-replacement opponents aplenty, drug-test failures, intense trash talking, etc.—and that’s before the action commences inside the cage.

So when consistency strikes, we need to take pause and appreciate it. Right now is the perfect time to do that.

The UFC kicked off 2016 with an absolute banger of an event, UFC 195: Lawler vs. Condit. Then came the nonsense.

UFC 196 was demoted to a UFC Fight Night card after injuries disintegrated the offering. More injuries followed, and plagued Fight Night cards between UFC 195 and the eventual UFC 196, which took place March 5. UFC Fight Night 83, taking place in Pittsburgh, lost its main event, Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone vs. Tim Means, at the 11th hour after Means was flagged for a potential USADA violation. While Means has since proven a tainted supplement caused his removal, the card remains forever dented.

Chaos reigned, as it so often does. But things took a turn with UFC 197. Even though the main event of Jon Jones vs. Daniel Cormier II was replaced by a less-appealing matchup between Jones and Ovince St-Preux, “Bones” was back, baby, and that’s all fans needed. The greatest light heavyweight of all time making his return to the cage after losing his belt—but never actually losing a fight—is all we needed to feel the buzz.

That electricity was contagious. The cards that followed only got better. UFC 198—deemed the Brazilian UFC 200 by some—hosted legends such as Fabricio Werdum, Vitor Belfort, Mauricio “Shogun” Rua, and the UFC debut of Cristiane “Cyborg” Justino.



The event lost a bout between Anderson Silva and Uriah Hall at the last minute when Silva pulled out needing gall bladder surgery, but the card remained absolutely loaded top to bottom.

Stop and digest that one. Arguably the greatest fighter of all time was forced off a card, and we still had a loaded offering. Losing Silva is the type of disaster that, in the past, could ruin an entire event. Now, he’s gone, but the wheels keep spinning smoothly.

The depth of talent the UFC amassed over the years cannot be overstated. The credit goes fully to this commitment to bringing in the best fighters in the world and keeping them there. It’s the only way recovery from incidents like Silva’s UFC 198 removal is possible.

From there, we had UFC 199, where Michael Bisping pulled off what is likely the upset of the year, defeating middleweight champ Luke Rockhold via first-round knockout. Dominick Cruz defended his bantamweight strap on the same card. Remember when two title fights on a card was a mind-blowing, drop-everything occasion? Yeah, not anymore. It’s routine.

UFC 200 is even nastier, featuring three title fights and nine current or former UFC champions. It’s the greatest fight card of all time. Jim Miller vs. Takanori Gomi opens the event on UFC Fight Pass. That’s the kind of fight that could have headlined a Fight Night card just a few years ago.

Then, we have UFC 201. Again, two title fights—one at welterweight between Robbie Lawler and Tyron Woodley and one at flyweight between Demetrious Johnson and Wilson Reis. It’s one of the most consistently exciting fighters (Lawler) and the most dominant active champion (Johnson) on the same card. Routine.

UFC 202 features a rematch between Conor McGregor and Nate Diaz, a chance for the Irish fighter to exact some revenge (or to tap out again). Either way, you’re watching. Anthony “Rumble” Johnson faces Glover Teixeira and Demian Maia squares off with Carlos Condit at the same event. Rising bantamweight knockout specialist Cody Garbrandt is expected to face Takeya Mizugaki at the event, too. That card isn’t filled out yet, and it’s already worth your money.



A heavyweight title fight then headlines September’s UFC 203, the first UFC event to be held in Cleveland. Stipe Miocic, the hometown favorite who broke Cleveland’s championship curse at UFC 198 by knocking out Werdum, will face Alistair Overeem there.

CM Punk also makes his long, long anticipated debut against Mickey Gall in the Land. Again, the card isn’t even close to filled yet, and you’re already reaching for your wallet. I can hear the brush of hand on fabric.

UFC 204 is to be decided, but rumblings of a Bisping vs. Dan Henderson rematch for the title in London currently permeate the MMA space. You’d buy that.

The next PPV, UFC 205, is the UFC’s inaugural New York show, taking place at Madison Square Garden in November. That one might end up bigger than UFC 200. It’s a card the UFC has wanted for over a decade, and now they have it. They’re going big—guaranteed.

We get all that in roughly eight months. That’s consistency. At no point in time can we go through consecutive pay-per- views like this and point out so many incredible matchups. As it stands, those cards boast 10 combined title fights (with a little sprinkle of McGregor Madness, too). The number will only inflate as the cards later in the year continue to take shape.

In a sport where nonsense is the norm, consistency deserves praise.