It was the culmination of over two decades cultivating mixed martial arts. UFC 200 was going to build upon the monumental UFC 100 card, and all of the cards that were built before it. Fighters gathered their presence and power like a Dragonball Z spirit bomb to pour energy into what was supposed to be the most incredible, face-melting fight event of all time. So, why did it fall flat?
Of course, UFC 200 was still a good card. Maybe it was even better than good, but it didn't shatter records, erupt our fleshy minds and make us perform the moves on our friends. Was UFC 200 a victim of the over-hype curse, or was it the constant flux of changes the card suffered? I offer another reason: Bruce Buffer.
Well, not just Bruce Buffer. It's way more complicated than that. It involves experimental physics, a mystical anterior cruciate ligament and perhaps a prior knowledge of the early 2000's cult TV show, "Lost".
I propose that Buffer blowing his knee out doing lips syncing not only tore the inner workings of his leg, but also tore a rift in time. After this injury to our beloved Buffer, everything fell apart because he was not able to perform the 360 degree spin.
Joe Rogan convinced Buffer to do his now-famous 360 for UFC 100. He campaigned for it, planted the seed and passionately pursued this endeavor. The movie "Inception" could literally be rewritten with Rogan "incepting" Buffer. Rogan has experienced so much time in an altered state using psychedelics that he knew the future implications of the ritual.
Time repeated itself. Rogan wanted it to-no-needed it to happen again. He even pondered the possibility of adding another rotation, clearly to compensate for Dana White laughing in the face of the MMA god's with his leviathan. Unfortunately, this would never happen and Buffer would limp his way through the three day of fights.
You may not believe in the hocus pocus of the universe, or alternate timelines that can shift, and you don't have to. All the evidence I need is that Buffer pulled off the 360 at UFC 100 and it was (and still is) the biggest card of all time. On Wednesday evening when Buffer tore his ACL singing Billy Idol, Jon Jones was pulled off the card on the same night.
This is where you cue the X-Files theme song.
By Justin Golightly
