The Double Standard in MMA: When It’s the UFC, Silence Follows

Last night’s Tom Aspinall fight ended in an awkward blur — double eye pokes, a no contest, and then a draw.

If the same thing had happened in the PFL, the MMA community would’ve gone wild. Fans would’ve mocked the promotion, called it “bush league,” and demanded that Aspinall move to the UFC, where “real fights” happen. People are upset and vocal about the incident — but hardly anyone seems to be saying anything about the UFC now.

There’s a strange double standard in MMA fandom — an unspoken rule that the UFC can stumble, but other promotions can’t afford to blink. When an official error or medical mishap happens outside the UFC, it’s seen as proof that the promotion isn’t ready for the big leagues. When the same thing happens inside the UFC, it’s dismissed as bad luck.

I get it — the UFC built this sport for most of us. It’s the name we grew up hearing, the one that carried MMA into the mainstream. But sometimes, loyalty becomes blindness. We defend the brand even when it’s wrong, and in doing so, we limit the sport’s growth.

Tom Aspinall didn’t deserve that ending. Neither did the fans. But the real story might not be the result itself — it’s the double standard in MMA that this fight exposed.

If fairness is part of the fight, maybe it should also be part of how we watch it.