FanPost

Reserve bouts

This past saturday we were treated to Mousasi vs Latifi after Gustafsson was ruled unfit to fight. While Latifi fought valiantly, he clearly did not belong in the cage with Gegard Mousasi that night. Not just due to the disparity in skills between the two combatants, but also due to the fact that Latifi had to cut 36lbs in one week and had no training camp. Though the event was fun to watch on the whole, the main event left a little to be desired. I don't fault the fighters for the anticlimactic performance. Latifi was over-matched and under-trained and Mousasi was injured and trained for about as opposite of fighter as possible.

I do however offer a possible remedy that's both simple and practical should a similar situation arise in the future. Put at least 1 fight in the same weight class as the main event on the card. If someone should drop out too soon for a suitable replacement to step in than someone can be moved from the fight lower on the card. This will insure someone who's in shape and relevant can be inserted into the main event. Look no further than UFC 158 to find an example. Though it wasn't the main, when Rory MacDonald dropped out of the Co main event Hendricks who was on the same card was able to replace him. If say Phil Davis vs Vinny Magalhaes was on the fuel TV card instead of 159 the UFC would have an easy solution to Gus being pulled. I think in the future it would be good practice to keep at least one fight on the card as a sort of insurance bout in case someone pulls out of the main event. Thoughts please.

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