Farid Basharat isn’t biting his tongue when it comes to why the UFC refused to offer him another contract after he went 7-0 with the promotion.
Basharat is 16-0 as a pro fighter and held the longest winning streak at bantamweight in the UFC. That didn’t stop the promotion from going ‘Meh’ when it was time to offer him a new contract. Basharat joins a growing list of fighters with winning records whose contracts were not renewed.
Dana White mysteriously suggested an unnamed deeper reason for Basharat
not getting re-signed. If we were to guess, we’d say it’s because the Afghani fighter only finished one fight in seven bouts. In a new video, Basharat shares more of his thoughts.
“I think the company, the UFC, is manufacturing a fan base that doesn’t appreciate good quality fighting,” Basharat said. “Even if it’s a mismatch, even if it’s a low level fight, as long as there’s blood, as long as it’s a first-round finish, we’re happy.”
“In my opinion, you just can’t build a sport off that,” he continued. “Because you might do well for a couple of years ratings wise, but sooner or later it’s going to de-legitimize the sport, and the fans are going to be left wanting high-quality fights.”
“When I see the best against the best, for me, that’s what’s entertaining. But the UFC is guaranteed $7.7 billion over the next seven years, so they’re clearly great at what they’re doing. So what do I know?”
Basharat leaving the organization comes at a time where UFC events keep miraculously posting record numbers of finishes per event. That certainly sounds exciting at first, but long-time MMA fans know it’s the competitive back-and-forth wars that are the true highlights, not endless first round knockouts.
The unspoken argument on the other side is that the UFC won’t keep you around if you aren’t exciting. Critics of Basharat note his lack of finishes, control-heavy style and low striking stats. But the guy wasn’t laying eggs in the octagon by any means. At what point does dropping a 7-0 fighter become promotional malpractice?
