UFC London: BT Sport risks wasting momentum built by Leon Edwards and British stars

Look at Leon Edwards, and you’ll see gold and green. The romantics will see it in the flicker of the Jamaican flag behind him; the cynics will see it in the glint of his UFC title and the money he can generate.

When the softly spoken, Kingston-born welterweight became Britain’s second ever UFC champion in August – fighting from behind to knock out Kamaru Usman with a minute left on the clock – British MMA finally had a moment to eclipse Michael Bisping’s title win in 2016.

That was not only due to the miraculous nature of Edwards’ victory, which came courtesy of a head kick from the heavens against the pound-for-pound king, a man who had already beaten Edwards; it was also due to the context of the 31-year-old having suffered setback after setback for years leading up to his eventual title shot.

Nothing, seemingly, could rob the moment of its romance, and Edwards’ impending bout also seemed impervious. On 18 March, Edwards will defend his title against Usman in the main event of UFC 286 at London’s O2 Arena – almost three years to the day after the Briton was deprived of a headline clash with Tyron Woodley at the same venue, due to the onset of the Covid pandemic.

Furthermore, UFC 286 follows two raucous Fight Nights at the O2 last year, when British fighters lit the fuse that would see MMA explode on these shores as Edwards’ left shin made contact with Usman’s skull in Salt Lake City.

Why, then, would anyone be disappointed by UFC 286 before it has even begun?

After many fans were priced out of the chance to attend due to ticket prices (the cheapest seats cost approximately £200), viewers at home are now at risk of being priced out, too.

BT Sport, the UFC’s sole broadcaster in the UK, announced on Wednesday that UFC 286 will air on pay-per-view at a cost of £19.95. That number will apply to one-time customers as well as subscribers – with the latter already paying a monthly fee of £29.99.

In fairness, BT Sport rarely resorts to Box Office when it comes to the UFC; but then again, that has been part of the charm of mixed martial arts’ growth here in recent years. Whereas most of the biggest boxing bouts are placed on Box Office almost automatically, the UFC has been at least somewhat more accessible – while still residing on a subscription platform.

Now, with MMA at its most visible in the UK since the sport’s inception in the early 1990s, there is a risk that it becomes blurred once more.

As ubiquitous and respected as Edwards’ name is among MMA fans and fighters, there is a way to go before that name is heard in every household. Only Conor McGregor has achieved that kind of reach. Furthermore, newer fans who are aware of Edwards’ knockout of Usman and wish to see his first title defence may not yet be invested enough to pay the PPV price.

And, as big of a fight as Edwards vs Usman 3 is, the undercard at the O2 Arena is not as well built as many UFC PPVs – for example last week’s, topped by Jon Jones’ long-awaited return.

Usman vs Edwards is a great main event amid a stretch of four straight headline match-ups that are captivating UFC fans (Makhachev vs Volkanovski, Jones vs Gane, and Pereira vs Adesanya 2 being the others); there is actually an argument that one of those other cards would have been better suited as a UK PPV, rather than next week’s event.

BT Sport has done great work in growing MMA in the UK, and that is not only due to its status as the sole broadcaster of the UFC in this country; the broadcaster’s video packages and fighter interviews are among the best in the world. Furthermore, UFC London will be sold out and achieve impressive PPV numbers regardless of any fan frustration.

But there is a hazard in taking such success for granted, a move that would be a disservice to the work that Edwards and his peers have done in growing the sport here.

A backwards step with the pricing of UFC 286 is easily outnumbered by the forward strides that BT has taken with the UFC – but this could be a backwards step at exactly the wrong time.

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