By Peter Carroll 

UFC Hamburg was another prime example of how the world's flagship MMA promotion has invested heavily in the European market in 2016.

Two former heavyweight champions, Josh Barnett and Andrei Arlovski, didn't let the German crowd down in their main attraction. And Alexander Gustafsson making his first non-headline appearance in five fights further showcased the strength of the offering.

Last year, the best European promotion was arguably the Swede's January clash with Anthony 'Rumble' Johnson at the 30,000-seat Tele 2 Arena in Stockholm. Although Gustafsson's hometown was stunned into silence after the first-round knockout of their hero, the event delivered with legendary competitors Gegard Mousasi and Dan Henderson competing in the co-main event.

Other continental highlights included Joanna Jędrzejczyk's first title defense in her native Poland, where she battered Jessica Penne into oblivion, but the fans were up in arms about the standard of the UFC's last European show of the year in October.

After 2014's show in Dublin that saw Conor McGregor return from injury and dispose of Diego Brandao in one round, people were expecting big things for UFC's return the following year. But Stipe Miocic was pulled from his co-main event clash with Ben Rothwell two weeks before their date at the 3 Arena, and 'Irish Joe' Duffy was scratched from his main event meeting with Dustin Poirier days before.

Despite Paddy Holohan and Louis Smolka putting on a master class in their late-notice headline bout, it didn't shake the hardcore Irish fans referring to the event as "UFC: Cage Warriors", given the similar standard in had to the European promotion's events.

BT Sports deal sets the table for improved European events

The obvious improvement in the European events could be attributed to the broadcasting deal that was struck at the end of the July. 

BT Sports have exclusive rights to broadcast UFC in the U.K. and Ireland until the end of 2018, but it was unclear whether Sky Sports was willing to get involved with the promotion right up until the eleventh hour.

After the Dublin card, UFC came back to Europe in February with one of the most highly anticipated middleweight showdowns of the decade: Michael Bisping vs. Anderson Silva.

The events have continued to impress as all the matchups were put in place before the deal was signed. But since the UFC Belfast card in November was put together after the deal was been struck, it remains to be seen whether UFC will continue to keep the strong cards coming.

The UFC are already planning a colossal show for UFC 204 on October 8 in Manchester, where Bisping will defend his title for the first time in a rematch against Dan Henderson, which doesn't help Belfast's chances.

Gunnar Nelson has already been confirmed for the main event alongside Dong Hyun Kim. Even though he is one of the most popular fighters on the island, the promotion will have to do a lot better if they want to match the caliber of events fans have already seen in the continent this year. And Irish fans will hope they get a heavyweight contest to replace the one they missed out on last October.

Heavyweights do it better

The UFC knows heavyweights are the best way to get something spectacular from an MMA bout. UFC Hamburg main-event fighter Josh Barnett wasn't surprised that they drafted the services of the biggest fighters they have to offer to bolster the European market.

"Putting heavyweights together is a sure way to see fights getting finished," the former UFC champion said. "The reality is, people look at these guys and girls going into the ring and they see them as heroes of sorts.

"Seeing a guy that is half your size or around the same weight as you whoop someone versus seeing someone who has 100 pounds and 20 centimeters of height on you is completely different. I guess it's something straight out of a storybook."

In April, former heavyweight champion Junior Dos Santos topped the first UFC bill in Croatia on a main card that had four heavyweight offerings. A month later, the home fans lapped up Alistair Overeem taking center stage in the first UFC show in the Netherlands. Stefan Struve and 'Big Foot' Silva took co-main privileges.