The best and worst from UFC 231: Holloway vs. Ortega

Modified Jan 20, 2019 15:30 GMT

Max Holloway defended his title after a war with Brian Ortega

#2 Worst: Did Dawodu vs. Bochniak belong on a pay-per-view card?

Did Hakeem Dawodu vs. Kyle Bochniak really belong on a PPV main card?

As far as I’m aware – the system works differently in the UK for now at least – a UFC pay-per-view in the USA costs somewhere around $65 to order. That isn’t a small amount of money by anyone’s standards. If the UFC expect fans to pay that kind of money, they should provide them with the best fighters on the pay-per-view portion of the card. Which begs the question, why was Hakeem Dawodu vs. Kyle Bochniak on Saturday’s main card?

It’s not that the fight was awful – it was perfectly acceptable MMA if not a barnburner – but neither man is ranked near the top ten of the 145lbs division right now and judging on Saturday they’re not likely to be any time soon. Dawodu won a unanimous decision, but it was a largely pedestrian performance and for Bochniak, it marked his 4th loss in 6 UFC fights.

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On the preliminary card meanwhile we had #14 ranked Middleweight Elias Theodorou against Eryk Anders, who recently main evented a Fight Night card; and fights between the #3 and #9 ranked female Flyweights and between the #3 and #11 Strawweights. Why could one of these fights between proven, top-ranked fighters not have been placed on the main card?

Granted, it wouldn’t have made much of a difference in terms of fight quality, but for the paying customer, surely the more ranked fighters that are on a pay-per-view card, the better. Weak fights on the pay-per-view portion of shows have become too common in 2018 and this needs to stop going forward.

About the author

Scott is a veteran MMA writer with over two decades of experience, including his ongoing tenure in Sportskeeda, which began seven years ago. He has written over 3000 pieces for the organization, while also covering football. Before joining Sportskeeda, Scott wrote articles for websites like The Oratory and Inside Pulse MMA.

Scott has a degree in history, which drives his research skills and helps him compile accurate information. His long stint in the field helps Scott provide a clear take on important topics, such as the criticism of promotions regarding fighter pay. While he feels fighters deserve a bigger revenue share, he doesn’t want MMA to suffer with purse-split issues.

Scott’s work has been previously reshared by the former UFC middleweight champion Chris Weidman. He uses credible sources, such as the UFC’s official website, during the writing process.

His dedication to MMA writing won him the Feature Writer of the Month award for Sportskeeda in November 2021.

Outside of work, Scott likes to go to the gym, walk his dog, and travel.

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Edited by Shiven Sachdeva