UFC 147 on FX? Just Move the Fight Card to Free TV Already

If I might indulge my inner Bill Simmons for a moment: Why is this even a debate? How does this make sense? How is it even remotely possible that UFC 147 is still only available on pay-per-view?

I will now light myself on fire.

OK, that's done. But the points, they remain.

UFC 147, set to air on pay-per-view June 23, is little more than an empty husk drifting across the empty streets of Rio de Janeiro. It's all that remains of a once-proud lineup topped by the most anticipated bout of the year, bar none: a rematch between Anderson Silva and Chael Sonnen for the UFC Middleweight Championship of the world. It could have been the biggest MMA event ever to take place in Brazil.

We were all so happy when the lineup was announced. It all felt so right. We were like kings of the world, and we thought we would live forever. How silly that all seems now.

Because soon after, things took a bit of a turn. The United Nations got involved; that's almost never good. Then injuries took their pound of flesh, as is their wont.

The new main event? An implication-less catchweight bout between 35-year-old Wanderlei Silva, currently ranked as, give or take, the 20th-best middleweight in the world, and 37-year-old Rich Franklin, currently ranked as, give or take, the No. 1 fighter in the world who regularly fights outside of a weight class (this is his third catchweight engagement in his last five fights—a stretch spanning three years, by the way).

Both of those men are former champions and surefire Hall of Famers. Nowadays, though, they're just trading on the names they built as much younger men. An MMA fan's dream scenario in normal circumstances—a highlight-reel knockout—would, in this case, just be sad.

Further down the card, things don't look much better. Fabricio Werdum versus Mike Russow is a great contender eliminator for the heavyweight division, but a co-main event? Featherweights Yuri Alcantara and UFC newcomer Hacran Dias should put on a good show, but no one should pretend there's anything more to see here than there really is.

Only one other pairing—14-4 (2) Felipe Arantes and 13-7-1 Milton Vieira—is even confirmed for the event. Why the uncertainty? Well, it seems they're planning to flesh it out with fighters from The Ultimate Fighter: Brasil.

You know, the Brazilian version of the TV show whose American counterpart just finished raking in tepid-at-best ratings—only this version was, until recently, only available stateside via the Internet? Oh. 

Talk about slim pickins. Yeah, yeah, they're all fine fighters. But come on. Ask yourself, and be honest: Are you seriously going to pay $49.99 for this?

Sometimes, things just don't work out in life. It's no reflection, necessarily, on your abilities or your talent or your business model. Sometimes, bad luck happens. But why pass it on to your customers? Why force them to almost literally pay for the mistakes or mishaps of others?

Why not, as Brock Lesnar and so many other wise heads of modern civilization have said, make chicken salad out of chicken expletive?

Yep...put it on free TV. That's what I'm saying. What's the holdup?

Now, I realize the Fox family of networks may not be any more excited to air this card than average fans are to buy it. You can't just snap your fingers and get it on TV. But they could be creative. Put the bulk of the prelims on Facebook or something. Get the main card on Fuel or FX.

The TUF Live finale last week disappointed in the ratings department, but it still pulled in one million viewers. FX might have to reschedule Pineapple Express in order to accommodate it, but I dare say that's an upgrade for a Saturday night. Seth Rogan and James Franco aren't going anywhere. 

I'm not an executive for a television channel or the UFC. But to bring the "Sports Guy" theme full circle, I think I make a fairly decent VP of Common Sense. And this solution makes a ton of sense to me.

You know what else makes sense to me? Following me on Twitter @ScottHarrisMMA.