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[Cat--Smasher]

After frustrating UFC 149 debut, UFC promises return trip to Calgary

You don't get a second chance to make a first impression, but following Saturday's frustrating UFC 149 event at Calgary's Scotiabank Saddledome, UFC president Dana White has vowed a return trip to Calgary.

"We'll be back," he said. "Listen, we're going to have bad fights. I'm not happy that we had a bad fight tonight, but it's not Calgary's problem. It's me and my boys.

"I was so excited to stick this one up everybody's ass that said this card sucked, and we didn't."

UFC 149, which marked the UFC's debut in Calgary, sold out in a matter of days back in May. However, a seemingly never-ending stream of injuries decimated the lineup, and scratched competitors included UFC featherweight champion Jose Aldo, Michael Bisping, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, Thiago Alves, Thiago Silva, Siyar Bahadurzada and Claude Patrick, among others.

But on Saturday, the event initially got off to a quick start. After all, all three bonus-winning fights took place earlier in the night, including Ryan Jimmo's seven-second knockout of Anthony Perosh (which tied a UFC record), Matthew Riddle's slick submission win over Chris Clements, and Bryan Caraway's hard-fought submission victory over Mitch Gagnon.

But starting with Shawn Jordan vs. Cheick Kongo, the final three fights of the pay-per-view main card concluded with a whimper. In fact, the event ended with a chorus of boos and some less-than-flattering chants.

"I thought that the undercard was awesome," White told MMAjunkie.com (UFC blog for UFC news, UFC rumors, fighter interviews and event previews/recaps | MMAjunkie.com). "These guys blew it out of the water. I said this the other day, and it's true: This company, we make money. The company makes money. I like breaking records. We broke the gate record tonight, and I'm embarrassed by it. I was excited when I heard, and now I'm embarrassed. The undercard delivered. They were awesome. The main card did not."

White, though, knows an event will be remembered by the big fights, not the prelims. And in that regard, his criticism was poignant.

"We can count on one hand how many shows suck," said White, who made comparisons to UFC 33, arguably the most panned card in the promotion's history. "Tonight is one more finger on the hand."

"We put together a rock-star card, and it fell apart," White said. "We put together another great card, and it didn't pan out. The hardest part for me is rolling into town and telling everybody we're going to deliver on Saturday night and then not delivering. Half the card delivered.

"These are the tough ones for me. If tonight was a home run, I'd be bouncing off the walls. But I love this – this is what I do. And now it's back to the drawing board, and we need to bounce back after a bad show. I hope that we didn't leave a bad taste in Calgary's mouth. But now we regroup."

After frustrating UFC 149 debut, UFC promises return trip to Calgary | MMAjunkie.com

[kingrobert]

I thought this fight card would be really good. Its really hard to predict styles and how fights will go and thats why you watch as a MMA fan. This was probably the most boring fight I have ever seen Faber in but it was still a good fight just not quite as exciting as people want.

[cnlclink]

I enjoyed all the fights. Kongo/Jordan fight was slow paced but Jordan should never have been in there with Kongo at all and yet still did quite well. I have no complaints about this card at all, enjoyed and am looking forward to watching the Boetsch/Lombard fight again as well as the Barao/Faber fight.