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January is an important month for the Ultimate Fighting Championship.
Dana White's UFC entered into a new television deal for 2019, leaving behind their broadcaster of so many years in Fox, to sign with ESPN. As such their very first event on ESPN is set to take place on the 19th of January, with a huge Champion vs. Champion match headlining the card.
It is the only event UFC is holding in the first month of the new year. However, this was not always the case.
UFC was set to hold UFC 233 on the 26th of January. Continuing its tradition of holding one major pay-per-view event each month, UFC 233 seemed to have a lot of problems surrounding it from the very beginning. As the UFC neared the date, it became more and more evident that the pay-per-view was in danger.
However, when the event was cancelled completely, this was not something that anyone had expected.
While there are rumours now that the UFC had known about the Jones incident, and did not want back-to-back cards in California, we will not be talking about that as it is no more than a rumour.
In this article, we will outline four possible different reasons why UFC 233 was cancelled. In one of the reasons, UFC continues a trend which no one might have noticed in the past.
#1 Lack of big fights
One of the major problems that UFC had heading into the new year, was that their very first show was lacking a comprehensive big-name fight.
With the Dillashaw vs Cejudo Championship fight shifted to the UFC Fight Night 143 event on ESPN+, the card was left looking extraordinarily bare. Going on with the fight at such a time given that it was the first pay-per-view of the year, it would be setting an incredibly bad precedent.
UFC thus 'postponed' the event, in effect cancelling it, and shifting the fights already on the card to other cards, thus bolstering them.
#2 Focusing on their first ESPN Show
TJ Dillashaw proved all those who doubted him to be wrong when he silenced Cody Garbrandt at UFC 227.
Holding the UFC Bantamweight Title, Dillashaw was going down to Flyweight to challenge the UFC Flyweight Champion, Henry Cejudo for the title in the headliner for the show. Given rumours that Dillashaw winning it would mean that UFC were closing their Flyweight division, there was a lot on the line for the fight.
Unfortunately, the title fight did not happen, and it was shifted to the ESPN+ show on 19th January instead. UFC decided to bolster their first ESPN show instead of focusing on their pay-per-view, something which might have been key in the show being cancelled in the end.
Askren vs. Lawler was still on the cards, but with Askren being a new signee, it would be a lot to ask from him to debut by headlining the card in his very first outing.
#3 Last minute injury
A Bantamweight Bout had been scheduled for Dominick Cruz and John Lineker. Due to his problems with injuries in the recent past, Cruz had not been able to fight for a long time.
So when he got a chance to fight against John Lineker at UFC 233, the fans were extremely excited about the former Champion's return to the Octagon. However, injuries appear to not be leaving Cruz alone.
Despite having been cleared earlier to compete against Lineker, in the lead up to the pay-per-view, Cruz suffered yet another injury, which saw him removed from the fight once again.
Cruz's unfortunate luck with injuries was the last straw that broke the camel's back as far as the UFC was concerned, as he had to back out of the fight. They cancelled the event altogether in light of such a serious lack of fights to headline the card.
#4 Not wanting to go head to head with Bellator
UFC has now developed what is a trend. They are unwilling to go head to head with one of their fiercest rivals in the world of Mixed Martial Arts, Bellator MMA.
What many people might have missed, was that January 26th was a date when UFC was set to go head to head with Bellator. Bellator 214 is supposed to take place then, with Fedor Emelianenko and Ryan Bader facing each other in the final of their Heavyweight Grand Prix.
With such a huge card, also featuring the debut of former WWE Superstar, Jack Swagger, the UFC did not want to take on Bellator with such a depleted card. Add to that the two events were set to take place within a couple of miles from each other, and they were even battling for the audience.
As a result, the event had to be cancelled, as it was better taking place on a day where the two companies would not have to go head to head.
UFC 208 was yet another such occasion where UFC cancelled an event in January, and on that occasion too, Dana White's company was facing Bellator.
Given that both times two events of the different companies were set to go head to head, UFC cancelled, this might be something to keep an eye on in the future.
