What lies ahead for the UFC post Covid-19

What lies in the future nobody truly knows. but with this forced "hiatus" it can set up some new directions. Paths that might help in the recovery of even just a couple of dollars in the company's till. And after all, t hat's what this is all about anyways, isn't it?

If you take each idea separately, it's not bad overall. Key critical moments in time have always forced sports to change their paths. Sport doesn't decide its destiny, situation does. Take the "sweet science" for example. Duk Koo Kim fights Ray Mancini and 4 days later ends up dead in a hospital bed. In essence, boxing then made the move from 15 rounds to 12.

In amateur and regional combat sports, rounds, times, and rule sets are all different. But nowhere near what they were back in their so-called "golden ages". If the UFC is able to pull off the May 9th card there will be major violence in the main event. For a short while, let's not get into whether medical resources are pulled from many in need. Because they very well might be. No one knows.

So perhaps it's time that major MMA organizations take long term fighter health into consideration and make a move. Although that couldn't happen unless lead by athletic commissions. A perfect argument for a combat sports athletes union. Former UFC fighter Chael Sonnen once made a fantastic breakdown and rant of what it takes to prepare for a five-round war inside the Octagon.

Maybe it's time to make that change. A couple of less minutes or maybe even dump a round. If you polled fighters in any sport, it's a safe bet they'd rather go shorter fight, longer career than the other way around.

Another possible modification is in equipment. Bellator, like Strikeforce in the past; uses the red and blue gloves, along with the tape. Both colors are sought after by collectors and many fans. So there's a financial gain in it. Whereas the UFC goes solid black with colored tape. Those few extra dollars would surely add up. Massively? No, but a couple of extra shekels wouldn't hurt. Plus a change in glove discussion has gone on for a long time with a history of eye pokes, accidental or not. Joe Rogan has talked about it, and in fact Dana White and the UFC have thought about a switch.

Now for the interesting turn for the UFC specifically. With Dana White securing a "fight island" although for all we know it could just be code for the APEX in Vegas; what to do with the champions?

For the foreseeable future even White admits fights will go on without a crowd in attendance. Well, with travel restrictions it's likely that champions may not be able to defend titles. This could be a silver lining in disguise for the UFC. Remember, this is a company that made up a "BMF TITLE" because they needed a headliner. With all due respect to Nate Diaz and Jorge Masvidal, the headliner of UFC 245 featured fighters whose numbers were not overly impressive.

Perhaps they might introduce a men's and women's Fight Island Championship title? Or split every single division and make International Champions and North American Champions. All to be unified when and if this nightmarish situation with the ongoing pandemic ceases to exist. Before that idea gets squashed, take a look at the numbers. In 12 divisions, 5 are international fighters. Six are from North America, and the men's flyweight division is still without a champion.

Imagine Israel Adesanya vs. Kelvin Gastelum 2 to unify the 185 strap. Or Volkanovski vs. Max Holloway 2 doing the same at featherweight. If Henry Cejudo gets past Dominick Cruz, him vs Jose Aldo for an undisputed title. Not to mention the 155 situation either. And the list goes on and on. The company wants and needs money. Well that plan would stack cards till the cows come home.

Look, we're all ready and itching to get back to business. But some change is always a good thing.