UFC 210: Daniel Cormier vs. Anthony 'Rumble' Johnson 2

UFC 210 Lost in the Dust of UFC 211

UFC 210 Lost in the Dust of UFC 211

The lineup for UFC 210 appears to have suffered in order to make UFC 211 a super stacked event.

Mar 14, 2017 by James Lynch
UFC 210 Lost in the Dust of UFC 211
Did the UFC forget it has a pay-per-view event next month?

The KeyBank Center plays host to UFC 210 on April 8 in the promotion's first trip back Buffalo, New York, since 1995. The main event is an exciting rematch pitting UFC light heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier (18-1) against Anthony Johnson (22-5). In addition, the co-main event features an intriguing middleweight scrap, as former UFC 185-pound champion Chris Weidman (13-2) battles surging contender Gegard Mousasi (41-6-2).

The draws at the top of the card are locked in some solid tilts, but this show is one injury away from being a glorified Fight Night card. Take away either the main or co-main event and tell me: Is this card worth the $60 price tag?

Daniel Cormier (18-1) vs. Anthony Johnson (22-5) -- light-heavyweight title
Chris Weidman (13-2) vs. Gegard Mousasi (41-6-2)
Jan Blachowicz (19-6) vs. Patrick Cummins (8-4)
Shane Burgos (8-0) vs. Charles Rosa (11-2)
Katlyn Chookagian (8-1) vs. Irene Aldana (7-3)
Will Brooks (18-2) vs. Charles Oliveira (21-7)
Sean Strickland (18-1) vs. Kamaru Usman (9-1)
Magomed Bibulatov (13-0) vs. Jenel Lausa (7-2)
Patrick Cote (23-10) vs. Thiago Alves (21-11)
Desmond Green (19-5) vs. Josh Emmett (11-0)
Gregor Gillespie (8-0) vs. Andrew Holbrook (12-1)

You only need to look at what happened in December at UFC 206 for a reminder of how quickly a card can fall apart.

The rematch between Cormier and Johnson was initially scheduled to headline UFC 206 in Toronto. Unfortunately, an injury to the champion pulled that title fight from the card. The UFC scrambled and immediately stripped Conor McGregor of his featherweight championship. This was done so the promotion could promote Jose Aldo to the official 145-pound champion and create an interim featherweight title fight between Max Holloway and Anthony Pettis as the replacement main event.

The UFC opted to go this route instead of moving one of the many big-name matchups that took place at UFC 207 just a few weeks later to that card. There are conditions that mean fights can't be moved back for a variety of reasons, but it seemed like the UFC was more interested in tweaking UFC 206 instead of improving the card with another fight.

Now taking a glance at UFC 210, it appears the same process is occurring as the promotion continues to stack UFC 211 in Dallas, Texas. 

Here's the current lineup:

 
Stipe Miocic  (16-2) vs. Junior dos Santos (18-4) -- Heavyweight title
Joanna Jedrzejczyk (13-0) vs. Jessica Andrade (16-5) -- Strawweight title
Demian Maia (24-6) vs. Jorge Masvidal (32-11)
Eddie Alvarez (28-5) vs. Dustin Poirier (21-5)
Henry Cejudo (10-2) vs. Sergio Pettis (15-2)
Frankie Edgar (21-5-1) vs. Yair Rodriguez (10-1)
Enrique Barzola (12-3-1) vs. Gabriel Benitez (19-5)
Marco Polo Reyes (7-3) vs. James Vick (10-1)
Fabricio Werdum (21-6-1) vs. TBA
Jarjis Danho (6-1-1) vs. Dmitry Poberezhets (24-5-1)
David Branch (20-3) vs. Krzysztof Jotko (19-1)
Jason Knight (16-2) vs. Chas Skelly (17-2)

With only four bouts announced for the UFC 210 main card, the promotion will likely add a fifth match soon to round out the card. Reports surfaced in regard to the promotion trying to rebook Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Tony Ferguson or adding Tony Ferguson vs. Eddie Alvarez to UFC 210 with no luck. But if that's the case, why didn't they solve this problem by adding Alvarez vs. Dustin Poirier to the Buffalo card instead of UFC 211?

When it comes to the UFC's bottom line, Dallas is a much more lucrative market than Buffalo. But if the UFC wants to set a standard for all their pay-per view cards they need to treat all markets accordingly. Here's a revised UFC 210 card where I've switched around the Alvarez-Poirier matchup in bold. UFC 211 isn't impacted by much, as Strickland-Usman is added to the card and Buffalo gets a much more solid event.

UFC 210 Revised


Daniel Cormier (18-1) vs. Anthony Johnson (22-5) -- Light-Heavyweight title
Chris Weidman (13-2) vs. Gegard Mousasi (41-6-2)
Eddie Alvarez (28-5) vs. Dustin Poirier (21-5)
Will Brooks (18-2) vs. Charles Oliveira (21-7)
TBA vs. TBA

Shane Burgos (8-0) vs. Charles Rosa (11-2)
Patrick Cote (23-10) vs. Thiago Alves (21-11)
Katlyn Chookagian (8-1) vs. Irene Aldana (7-3)
Jan Blachowicz (19-6) vs. Patrick Cummins (8-4)
Magomed Bibulatov (13-0) vs. Jenel Lausa (7-2)
Desmond Green (19-5) vs. Josh Emmett (11-0)
Gregor Gillespie (8-0) vs. Andrew Holbrook (12-1)

UFC 211 Revised


Stipe Miocic  (16-2) vs. Junior dos Santos (18-4) -- Heavyweight title Champion
Joanna Jedrzejczyk (13-0) vs. Jessica Andrade (16-5) -- Strawweight title
Demian Maia (24-6) vs. Jorge Masvidal (32-11)
Frankie Edgar (21-5-1) vs. Yair Rodriguez (10-1)
Henry Cejudo (10-2) vs. Sergio Pettis (15-2)
Jason Knight (16-2) vs. Chas Skelly (17-2)
Sean Strickland (18-1) vs. Kamaru Usman (9-1)
Enrique Barzola (12-3-1) vs. Gabriel Benitez (19-5)
Marco Polo Reyes (7-3) vs. James Vick (10-1)
Fabricio Werdum (21-6-1) vs. TBA
Jarjis Danho (6-1-1) vs. Dmitry Poberezhets (24-5-1)
David Branch (20-3) vs. Krzysztof Jotko (19-1)


Agree or Disagree? Have a better solution? Let me know what you think on Twitter @LynchOnSports.