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<\/a><\/p>\nWith New Years around the corner, a lot of people try to set a New Year\u2019s resolution to try and better themselves. What are 3 resolutions, in your opinion, that the UFC should do to make the organization better in 2026?<\/p>\n
Well, by the time this comes out, New Year\u2019s will already have happened, and we will be into 2026. Still, the first UFC event will be weeks away, and there are some things I would love to see from the UFC (though I\u2019m not confident we will see any of them) that are at least theoretically possible. I\u2019m not silly enough to believe they\u2019ll start paying fighters appropriately (which would make the sport better as a whole and improve the viewer experience, but not getting on that soapbox here), but these resolutions are all doable.<\/p>\n
Resolution One: We will actually try this year<\/p>\n
The UFC has a stranglehold on MMA, and over the last few years, that\u2019s led to a lessening of the product. There are fewer stars, more APEX shows, and almost no fights that feel culturally significant. It\u2019s tough, as a fan, and it\u2019s made worse by the cookie-cutter promotion of everything, every weekend. Part of the reason Noche UFC at Sphere felt so big was that it was different than the standard fight week promotion we get 42 weeks a year.<\/p>\n
I have several ideas on how to fix this generally, but none of those are feasible for the UFC\u2019s business model. But bringing in some new production teams is not a huge lift and would at least make things not as monochromatic, which would be a welcome change from the paint-by-numbers way they do things now.<\/p>\n
Plus, they\u2019ve got a new TV deal! You always try to put your best foot forward in a new relationship.<\/p>\n
Resolution Two: We will minimize using the APEX, and when we do go there, it will have crowds<\/p>\n
I know people get tired of us bashing the APEX, but it\u2019s hard not to. It\u2019s a lifeless place to hold events. One of the reasons 2025 felt like a better year of MMA (to me, at least) was because the UFC went to the APEX less than it had before. We probably are never getting fewer than 12 APEX cards, but I can live with one trip there a month; it\u2019s two or three that hurts. And since it seems like they\u2019re adding seating to the APEX, maybe even those won\u2019t be as bad. We can hope, at least.<\/p>\n
Resolution Three: We will return to some semblance of meritocracy<\/p>\n
The UFC is starting off on a bad foot with this one, as the first few events of 2026 are headlined by some very dubiously \u201cearned\u201d title shots. But that\u2019s the point of this. Sometimes you get started late on losing that weight, but just because it\u2019s not Jan. 1 doesn\u2019t mean you shouldn\u2019t start.<\/p>\n
Anyway, it was always a bit of a bad look for Conor McGregor to get super special treatment when he was fighting, but at least you could justify it by saying he\u2019s the exception because he\u2019s the biggest star in the sport. But now it\u2019s overt favoritism for people who barely move the needle. That\u2019s going to have some consequences somewhere down the line if it keeps up.<\/p>\n
Of Jiri\u2019s 6 finishes in the UFC, where do you rank his debut KO against Volkan Oezdemir? That fight doesn\u2019t get talked about enough IMO.<\/p>\n For those interested, I answered the rest of this in the Feed<\/a>, so you can go there if you\u2019d care to read some of my thoughts on Game of Thrones and The Wire.<\/p>\n As for Jiri and Volkan, yes, that probably is a forgotten gem, but that\u2019s sort of the problem with Jiri \u2014 when every time you fight something insane happens, some stuff falls out of memory.<\/p>\n In my opinion, Justin Gaethje is the most exciting fighter in the history of MMA (with Robbie Lawler right behind him), but Prochazka is making a run at him. I think Jiri already has \u201cmost exciting fighter over 170 pounds\u201d locked up, and he\u2019s still got plenty more to give in his career. Just look at what he\u2019s done in five short years in the UFC: eight fights, six wins, six finishes, eight bonuses. And in his two losses to Alex Pereira, \u201cPoatan\u201d won a bonus as well. When Jiri fights, someone is getting $50,000.<\/p>\n So, with that said, ranking his finishes is a fool\u2019s errand. However, I am a fool, so I shall try.<\/p>\n Submitting Glover Teixeira at UFC 275. It\u2019s not just that Jiri won the title in the Fight of the Year; I think people are already starting to forget how great this fight was. It has a legitimate case for the most exciting fight of all time, and if he didn\u2019t get the submission, Jiri was probably going to lose. Has to be No. 1.KOing Dominick Reyes at Vegas 25. Another Fight of the Year contender that ended with a KO of the Year contender.KOing Khalil Rountree at UFC 320. I had this as one of the best fights of 2025 and one of the best KOs. It\u2019s a terrific comeback via Jiri going full Jiri.KOing Volkan Oezdemir at UFC 251. Shows just how good Jiri\u2019s r\u00e9sum\u00e9 is that this is this low.KOing Jamahal Hill at UFC 311. Another one of the better KOs this year.KOing Aleksandar Rakic at UFC 300. Kind of insane that one of the best highlights on one of the biggest cards of all time is his least memorable KO, but that\u2019s Jiri for you. Is it time for the UFC to use the Contender Series as the old school version of Bellator tournaments with the amount of events proposed? With the number of possible shows and contenders you would think they would need an easy way bring up the \u201cnew\u201d show winners? Would be an actual reason for me to go back to watching again personally speaking.<\/p>\n Frankly, I would love this. I grew up watching tournament MMA, and I am always interested in ways to bring it back. And while doing tournaments at the highest levels of the sport doesn\u2019t work (too many injuries), doing it for guys trying to break in would be totally fine.<\/p>\n Unfortunately, that\u2019s not what the UFC wants. Contender Series is cheap labor. It\u2019s why they basically sign every winner, regardless of performance. If the UFC truly wanted Contender Series to serve as a launching pad for fighters, they\u2019d only sign the good ones off it. Also, tournaments are chaotic by nature, so they definitely don\u2019t want to do that and risk losing the guy they were intending to sign anyway.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n