UFC`s Dana White Protecting Conor McGregor from the Best Fighter of the Post-Soviet Era Arman Ospanov from Kazakhstan
By Sultan “Nomad” Arapov
Conor “The Notorious” McGregor`s triumphant ascent to the UFC`s featherweight champion title could generally be described as smooth. He beat up the best in the division pretty easily. Now there rises a question whether he should step up to the lightweights? A motivation could be that thereby, he would be able to truly test himself by facing tougher competition. While, it seems to be a right step for the ambitious fighter that McGregor is, it may turn out that the business has not been finished yet in the current division. One would wonder whether there ever was anyone able to pose a true challenge to the champion McGregor. In reality, there could be one from a time ago, if he was allowed to enter the UFC. Indeed, what would be a need for the Dubliner to go up if there was someone posing a threat to him?
For almost 2 years, sometimes regarded as the pound-for-pound #1 MMA fighter in the whole Post-Soviet area, Arman Ospanov (7-0 in MMA) from Kazakhstan, has been banging on the wall of indifference from the UFC`s managers. Back in early 2014, Bellator and ONE FC sent an offer to Ospanov, which he declined, with hope to sign with the UFC soon. However, opposite to his own expectations and fans of the Kazakh pride, pretty surprisingly, the organization has not expressed a deserving attention to him, although, it has been eager to keep and sign many fighters of a lesser talent. It is truly hard to comprehend for a combat sambo grandmaster to turn out to be not good enough of a resume for the organization. The fans of Ospanov in Kazakhstan have been at a loss with the fact that, a 3-time World Champion in Combat Sambo, Arman Ospanov, happens to be against the grain with the UFC.
Such a perplexed situation can lead someone to asking a straightforward question: Who could be the most interested in keeping off a talent like Ospanov? Well, if there is someone whose existence is very lucrative for the company, then there may arise an incentive to keep him away from disadvantageous “high risks low rewards” situations. It is no secret that out of all options there, Conor McGregor is the one to best fit the description of being lucrative. Neither Chad Mendes nor Jose Aldo were those guys producing “the high risks low rewards” situations. Neither of them was a favorite against McGregor nor low rewards. Moreover, both of them carried established fanbase, which, certainly, was of commercial interest to the UFC. Even if Aldo beat McGregor, they would assure a rematch and make no less revenue than from the original bout. Yet, the point here is that Arman Ospanov is a way more dangerous than any opponent “The Notorious” has faced so far. The Kazakh is that proverbial “high risks”, while, being unknown and unable to bring a large fanbase make him “low rewards” as well.
Ospanov fights both as a featherweight and lightweight. In a nutshell, he is an all-round universal complete fighter, possessing rich arsenal of tools. To remind, the Kazakh is the 3-time world champion in combat sambo. The title speaks for itself, making further descriptions look somewhat redundant. For a brief comparison, the undefeated and sometimes regarded as the best in lightweights division, Khabib Nurmagomedov, is a 2-time world champion in the same discipline combat sambo. After seeing McGregor virtually helpless on the floor against a smaller man of a lesser talent Chad Mendes, you could only imagine what if instead of the latter it was the 3-time world champion in combat sambo or another sambo master like Nurmagomedov, a man who treated the current lightweights champion Dos Anjos like a ragdoll.
On one hand, it may seem wise to keep your cash cow away from “high risks low rewards” situations, on the other hand, it can have two sides of the coin. Other popular promotional companies, such as ONE FC and Bellator, close on the heels of the UFC. Founded only in 2011, within the shortest period of time, the ONE FC has become regarded as the most dominant MMA organization on the Asian continent, the market of no less significance and perspectives than the domain, the UFC has been operating within. Given the rapid success of likes of the ONE FC, those unwelcome talented fighters, like Arman Ospanov, will have to turn their face to them.
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