Last week it was announced that the UFC is coming to Calgary for the first time this summer (July 21) and then this week the UFC revealed that it would be doing a show in a soccer stadium — with potentially 80,000 fans in attendance — for the first time in Brazil a month earlier (June 23).
Only two fights are known so far for the Rio show (Anderson Silva vs. Chael Sonnen for the middleweight belt and Vitor Belfort vs. Wanderlei Silva in a battle between TUF Brazil coaches), while all that was announced for the Calgary card was that Jose Aldo will defend his featherweight belt.
Both events will obviously be huge and historic. But the question is, which one will the UFC feel more pressure to stack? And should Aldo really be headlining Calgary rather than be used in the co-main event in his native Brazil for a show in which they’re hoping to break records?
Our two guest bloggers, Dwight Wakabayashi and Mark Prior debate.
ALDO HEADLINING CALGARY A GOOD CALL?
Wakabayashi: Brazil show doesn’t need Aldo
A main event fight in a first-time city should cover one of two criteria for satisfying the standards of the fans in that city: First, fans should expect a title-fight headliner, and second, they should expect one or two of the very best fighters in the world on the card. The UFC has delivered both for Calgary with Jose Aldo defending his title, and they should be thankful for it.
Let’s not forget the importance of the fact that Canadian fans are already familiar with Aldo based on his fight with Mark Hominick in Toronto last April. The knowledgeable Western fans will know they have a star on hand and now the card can be rounded out in fine UFC fashion by a couple of other big-name stars and lots of Canadian talent.
Some say that Aldo should have been saved for the mega show that will be UFC 147 in Brazil because his title, popularity and nationality are needed for the success of that show. While I agree that putting on a show of that size and magnitude needs many hands on deck, the UFC has already stacked that card with a title fight and three of the best and most popular Brazilian fighters of all time.
Silva-Sonnen II is the most highly anticipated title fight of the year, and legends Wanderlei and Vitor will have the crowd in a frenzy. There are also many other elite and home country fighters still available for that card.
Let Calgary have Aldo, he is needed more there.
Prior: Calgary should have Canadian headliner
I think the UFC would be better off switching Jose Aldo to co-headline Brazil instead of Calgary because I think a rising Canadian star should have the main spotlight instead.
Of course it’s hard to argue that having a well-known name (and a title holder at that) headline a new event is not a good idea. But in the near future, I can see every UFC in Canada having Canadians fight in every main event, and why not start now?
Instead of Aldo, I think it would be beneficial for fans to see lesser-known Canadian talent perform and progress in their careers right before the Calgary crowd’s eyes. And by "lesser-known," I mean anything less than Aldo’s level of world-recognition.
I would like to see Rory MacDonald back in action in Calgary (after he gets past Che Mills next month in Atlanta). I see him becoming the next superstar at welterweight and I honestly believe he could pull off the main event in Calgary.
Obviously he wouldn’t get the same amount of world-wide attention as Aldo, but I believe MacDonald is becoming quite the popular force to be reckoned with and a well-known name in Canada. At the same token, while the Brazil show will do just fine without Aldo, I think the Brazilian fans deserve the same thing in their historic event by seeing as many of their local heroes in action as possible.
PRESSURE GREATER FOR UFC ON WHICH SHOW?
Wakabayashi: UFC has upped the ante in Brazil
If entering a new market a month wasn’t enough pressure on the promotion, the UFC has upped the ante with the sheer magnitude of the summer show in Brazil. The pressure to succeed is much bigger than the show in Calgary because it is a showcase for the entire country more so than for a particular city within the country.
Sure, there is pressure on the first Calgary show to be a success so that the promotion can make a regular and successful return to the city for years to come. However, if the show is not a huge success it won’t have any implications for the UFC in market cities in the rest of Canada. The Toronto show in September and the Montreal show in November will both still generate buzz and sell out no matter what happens in Cowtown.
If the UFC fails to deliver on the size of this show in Brazil, however, it may prove that stadium shows are a risky venture in many countries and not a guaranteed success.
Are they reaching for too much too soon in Brazil? The bar has been raised here going to a stadium of this size and the optics say it must be a raucous and record sellout to succeed.
The same fears and doubts were being raised leading up to UFC 129 in Toronto last April but in the end they delivered. They need to make sure the same thing happens in Brazil.
Prior: Need to make lasting impression in Calgary
I think there should be more pressure to stack the Calgary card than the Brazil card simply because it’s a new city for the UFC to hold an event. Making a lasting impression is very important. It won’t be easy but they have to make sure they deliver in Western Canada.
I also think this is a great opportunity for the UFC to showcase its Canadian talent in a new Canadian city. Great up-and-comers like Mitch Gagnon and Nick Ring will already be fighting in the event and we hope for more.
But no matter what they do, I still think the Brazil event is going to be far more successful than the Calgary event. Dana White says Canada "is the mecca of mixed martial arts" but I honestly think Brazil deserves that title (sorry Canada).
Let’s not forget the modern era of the sport was born in Brazil. Far more people eat, sleep and live this sport everyday than Canadians (and cue the hate mail). Look at how they embraced Aldo after his last fight in Brazil and ran into the crowd.
The UFC already broke records when it came to the Rogers Centre, but the soccer stadium event in Brazil is going to blow that one out of the water.
Dwight Wakabayashi is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report and a writer/analyst for MMACanada.net.
Mark Prior is a mobile multimedia journalist for The Daily Press. He filmed a mini-documentary on Sportsnet’s Showdown Joe Ferraro.
