If last week’s card was a mess on paper, this week’s show is the remedy. The alternative stats are terrific, the fights look exciting, and matchmaking is sensible. I don’t know why people are pushing for Ankalaev to be traded, he’s some such a long way and continues to be more impressive with each contest. Maybe it’s just the idea that he’s killed Poata…

The stats are speaking volumes of UFC Perth this week. A sprawling, 14-bout card only has a single ranked fight gracing its lineup and only three ranked fighters in total. When you factor in how much the Aussies are likely paying in site fees—let’s just say I’d be asking for a steep discount.

The main event looks like it will be a fun, action fight and …

UFC Noche has 14 fights but only two are ranked. That’s how we’re going to start you off today. This year’s Noche event had its “PPV” moniker removed thanks to Canelo-Crawford taking center stage with TKO’s best efforts at promotion and the event’s lineup absolutely show it. The main event is good. The co-main isn’t really co-main worthy and isn’t a ran…

UFC Paris is what an on-the-road fight night should look like. It has thoughtful, meaningful matchmaking (at least on the main card), a main event that looks like a title eliminator, and the potential for action. We don’t know what Bukauskas-Craig is doing on there, but aside from that contest, the premium portion of the event looks pretty damned good. …

UFC Shanghai is your classic mixed bag with a few good fights among a sea of regional level fodder. The main event should actually be Ortega vs. Sterling but we get why it’s Walker vs. Zhang. Why Kavanagh vs. Johnson isn’t on the main card is the card’s greatest mystery and just seems wrong on every level. But we’ve come to expect oddities like these. A…

Guess what? UFC is finally giving us a decent card. Is it a PPV? Of course it is. But the important thing to remember is that it’s got relevant matchups, great stats and the potential for a lot of fireworks. And let us not forget we also have a belt on the line with the main event. Will Dricus be able to fend off Khamzat? And what about Aaron Pico? Will…

UFC is making its way back to the Apex for the second time this month with UFC Vegas 109, and it’s only slightly better than last weekend’s awful-on-paper-but-decent-in-actuality card. Once again, the stats are pretty bad, and the matchmaking seems only incrementally better. At the top of the card is one of only two ranked fights, but it does pit two me…

UFC is returning home to the Apex this weekend, and boy oh boy does it show. Not only are the stats terrible, the matchmaking seems off, as well. Why pair Neil Magny with Elizeu Zaleski, rather than have a young gun use one of them as a springboard to get spotlight on their climb upwards? Why not wait to find Taira a better opponent than the unranked Pa…