Octagon Legacy speaks with Northern Strike about UFC London & overlapping themes in boxing and MMA

Hardcore Boxing fan Ethan O'Connor from Northern Strike has taken up a recent interest in MMA.

He sat down with Octagon Legacy and shared insights into UFC London this past weekend and made some comparisons between MMA and boxing.

It's well documented that the largest audience for the UFC and MMA resides inside the USA, but with big UFC events now being held in the UK more regularly, UK interest is gradually increasing.

Ethan discussed this and pointed to the fact that the UK's interest in UFC/MMA has not yet peaked but is slowly getting there.

Ethan said: "The UFC is something that's still growing in the UK, whereas it's almost at it's peak in the US.

"I think the emergence of UK stars like Tom Aspinall and Leon Edwards will only help in growing the interest here."

UFC at the 02 in London (Credit: Sports Keeda)

At the weekend, there was a lot of talk online about the atmosphere at the 02, with UK crowds being notoriously known for being rowdy, especially at previous UFC events.

This comes after controversy surrounding the British crowd at the last UFC event, which was held in the UK when UFC 304 came to the Co-op Live.

However, this time, there wasn't the excuse of timing with the previous event being tailored for US viewership, with the card running until the early hours of the morning locally.

Ethan said: "Overall, the event felt quite flat.

"I know the last event had timing issues, but ultimately it just felt like this event didn't reach it's full potential, and it might have a negative effect on events happening in the future."

He added: "The results were also disappointing, but it's frustrating as it's not to say that UK fighters aren't as good or can't reach the potential of the US and other fighters."

We quizzed Ethan on the showcase of UK fighters on the card and if that potentially contributed to the lackluster night.

Ethan felt there were more stars in the crowd than in the octagon but pointed to the fact that in today's entertainment business, the UFC may have trouble match-making, the same as in boxing.

He said: "It's similar in boxing; it's hard to always make the desirable fights happen, there's a lot of negotiation and money involved.

Tom Aspinall wins Interim Heavyweight Title (Credit: Bloody Elbow)

"There's been some stacked cards in the UFC in the past, and there's no doubt that we could have one just as big over here if we had the likes of Tom Aspinall, Paddy Pimblett, and Leon Edwards all fighting on the same night."

UFC London was reportedly the highest-grossing UFC Fight Night of all time, with the gate reaching $4.7 million, with lots of the income coming from a new audience from the UK.

The event was broadcasted on the popular UK channel, TNT Sports, and with it being the international break, many football fans who were craving entertainment will have tuned in.

The night saw no knockouts, four submissions, and nine decisions, and Ethan understands the disappointment because of the 'expectancy of knockouts' that's also in boxing.

Ethan said: "When it comes between boxing and the UFC, sometimes there's that aspect that the UFC feels more like a real fight.

"However, when it comes down to the entertainment value, it's that expectancy of knockouts, and if that doesn't happen, then it does feel underwhelming, and that's what we saw on Saturday."

Dana White has openly admitted he isn't a fan of holding a UFC event in an open roof stadium, which restricts the number of fans that can attend events in the UK.

Wembley sold out (Credit: Daily Mail)

Boxing events have been held at the likes of Wembley Stadium, which hosts 90,000 spectators.

Ethan alluded to the UFC potentially holding further events in the UK in the future and not just annually, to help boost awareness in the UK.

He said: "I think boxing is only ahead in that aspect because it's been rooted for centuries, whereas the UFC has only been around for the last 20-30 years.

"It feels like it might be down to a passion aspect as there are lots more home-grown boxers which fans get behind, but now with the new surge of UK MMA fighters, hopefully more UK events are possible."

More on UFC London and boxing/MMA comparisons are in the full video below:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J4Uobhwymlw