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What are we comparing?
It’s a safe bet that the weekend’s fight cards will all deliver some measure of entertainment to the masses, but for the second time this week, BKFC 41 has topped UFC Vegas 72 in that regard. Not only is their card better, the social media offerings from the promotion and its fighters have also won the week with a combination of unintentionally funny clips, cringeworthy interviews and presser hijinks all mixed together with highlight reels and faceoff videos.
Transparency
In the interest of transparency, this week, I kept the post selection strictly to Twitter. When I plugged in my search queries: UFC Vegas 72 and BKFC 41 respectively, the results pulled up a much wider variety of content from BKFC. Going a little further in, I changed the search queries to the main event stars. Again, the results demonstrated more variety on the BKFC side.
Based off my extremely limited, non-peer-reviewed study, I have determined that BKFC 41 has defeated UFC Vegas 72, excelling at social media hustling and utilizing their athletes’ quirky personalities to full benefit. Where they really shined was flooding the timeline with all manner of promotional posts from highlight reel clips to fight clips to interviews. They clearly understand the value of going the extra mile. UFC typically reserves that treatment for their PPV cards.
Notable
BKFC has established a foothold in the combat space that finally seems less tenuous than when they first arrived. For those first two years or so, we were all wondering how long they’d last. I don’t see so much of that speculation anymore. Instead, I’ve noticed a definitive ramping up of their production value. I’ve also noticed the more concentrated effort to promote their cards via any outlet they can find. And it’s hard not to notice when they’re signing decent talent regularly.
They’ve enjoyed some measure of success in netting corporate sponsors and cultivated a dedicated following, as well. I don’t know if they’ll be around in ten years, or if they could ever go head-to-head with a UFC PPV and come out the other side whole, but it’s refreshing to see someone else come along and upset the status quo from time-to-time.
Problems?
Do I like the $49.99 price tag that BKFC 41 will zing my wallet for? Nope. That said, I understand this is how the sausage gets made and have resigned myself to the fact that I, like so many of you, spend a small fortune on combat sports every year. I doubt that is ever going to change for any of us.
Am I the new leader of the BKFC fan club? No, and further, I do recognize they have issues that need addressing. But for this weekend, where they’ve put in the effort and gone that proverbial extra mile, I’m going to give them their flowers and root for the success of their PPV (which is still overpriced).
The good stuff: UFC Vegas 72
Yadong Song vs. Ricky Simon
Cody Durden vs. Charles Johnson
Irina Alekseeva
Caio Borralho
Yadong Song
The better stuff: BKFC 41
Rowdy Bec
Christine Ferea vs. Bec Rawlings
Luke Rockhold
Mike Perry
Chris Camozzi & Chris Weidman
The BKFC 41 Main Event: Exhibit A
The BKFC 41 Main Event: Exhibit B
The BKFC 41 Main Event: Exhibit C
The revolving door
The revolving door part 2
Check out our full weekend coverage
We’ve got the recipe for your weekend violence. As a matter of fact, we have several. Check out our staff predictions or the betting odds for UFC Vegas 72. Or have a gander at our five biggest reasons to watch BKFC 41. And if you don’t find anything to your liking in those, try out our five biggest reasons to watch Rizin Landmark 5.
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