Let's look at least weekend. There was a boxing match headlining Robbie Davies Jr against Lewis Ritson. The internet tells me that Davies was a 2:1 favorite to win based on being odds. There was also a UFC event, headlines by Joanna Champion vs. Michelle Watterson, where JJ was a -1400 favorite, which (though I don't bet) I think means she was 14:1 to win. I didn't cherry pick here. I just went to the headline of the bouts from last weekend.

It seems to be a common point of discussion that boxing matchups are massaged, and it's probably true. I don't think the difference is as big as people paint it to be, though, based on testimony about punitive matching coming from the UFC's top matchmaker. So do I think MMA would die if the fighters had more power and the promoters didn't have a virtual monopoly? No. I think the talent pool would get a lot deeper, though everyone might not get to see the exact matchup they want. (But when am I going to get to see DJ get a comeback win against Triple C? Why did I never get to see Fedor vs. any UFC champ while he was in his prime? And I've been waiting for Khabib vs. Tony so long that they may only fight when they are both ready to retire.)