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COLUMN: Pay-per-view main events should be five rounds, Title fight or not
Jan 18, 2010 - 6:46:59 PM COLUMN: Pay-per-view main events should be five rounds, Title fight or not

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By: Mark Skiba, MMATorch Columnist

UFC 109 and UFC 110 are both solid fight cards coming up in February, but how could they be even better? With no title fights on either card the casual MMA fan might be reluctant to order either of these upcoming events, let alone both of them. The answer is simple: all main events on pay pew views should be five round fights. This gives every event the dramatic ending it deserves and gives fight fans a better dollar value. To take it a step further, a main event that is a non title fight should be a #1 contender bout; this gives a clearer picture to the fans, and all of the fighters in each weight class.

First and foremost, this rule change would be for the fans. At UFC 108 we saw Rashad Evans and Thiago Silva fight to a three round split decision. Why cheat the fans? Why end the night’s main event in three rounds? Rashad kept to his game plan and used his wrestling to ultimately win the split decision by the judges while Thiago almost ended the fight in the third. Let it keep going; let Rashad continue to execute his game plan, let Thiago use his standup. After five rounds, 25 minutes of action with both fighters leaving it all in the Octagon, then send it to the judges.

Who would not want to see Couture vs. Coleman, a fight that has been years in the making, go four or five rounds? Two veterans of the Octagon showing they still have what it takes to compete and prove to themselves and the fans that they still have enough left to battle for five rounds in a title fight would be great. If you look ahead towards UFC 110, Cain Velasquez will be taking on Antonio Minotauro Nogueira in the night’s main event. Either fighter, with a victory, could be next in line for a shot at the Interim Heavyweight Title. Why not let them prepare for that with a five round war of their own; allow them to not let it go to the judges by giving them an additional two rounds if need be to prove they are the better fighter.

Allowing two fighters to compete to be the #1 contender gives a clearer picture to the fans as well as the fighters. The division will know who the top two challengers are at the current time, and what they need to do to elevate themselves to be apart of the next #1 contender bout. This policy change would also allow fighters to learn how to train for a five round fight, as well as what it takes physically, mentally and emotionally to actually go all five rounds. When it comes time to fight for the title they will be well prepared because they were given the opportunity in their last bout to prepare their mind and body for a five round war.

Give the change a chance; allow a growing sport to evolve just a little bit more. Give more people the opportunity and reason to become a fan. If you're not a fan of installing this plan in every weight class in the UFC then try it with one weight class and see how it goes over the course of a year.

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[Thiago Silva art credit Cory Gould (c) MMATorch]