Fighters not fighting, sick of this s**t

Dana made a good point at the UFC 177 post fight scrum, about Tyrone Woodley and almost everybody in the top 10 in all divisions.

As soon as a fighter gets in the top 10 they stop taken any fight and start worrying about there "Legacy" and were they rank rather than being a fighter.
Jon Jones got his title shot on short notice, Now he refuses to fight anybody without a full camp, Tyrone Woodley was famous for blowing Dana's phone up only months ago, looking to fight ANYBODY, now he refuses to fight Lombard because he is ranked 3 spots behind him, the list of fighter goes on . .
Now Gus is refusing to fight AJ even tho he knows Jones wont be ready (if he wins) to fight him for months and months! Everybody thinks there going to be Anderson Silva, I understand you need to have that mentality if you want to be the best, but your a fighter first! this is your Job that you chose, so fight.
If you really think your the best fighter out there and your not scared of anybody then WHY would you turn down any fight!? the plan is to beat them all anyway right!? why not make as much money as you can while in this game? About 15% of fighters will do great things, break records and get the belt, but you can not bet on that and wait out when near the top, when you peak you should be most active. Look at Cowboy in 2014, he is making money, getting in Dana/UFC's good books and moving up the ranking's.
I know Woodley just took a fight in Japan with a guy ranked lower, he made that card allot more exciting! why stop when he can stand out and get more bonus!?

This is just my opinion at the moment, when you see cards almost fall apart or lose exciting fights (177 & 178) it gets frustration hearing fighter turn down good fights.

What do you guys think of this situation?

Thought this was gonna be more of the usual "wah wah point fighting" crap, but totally agree w all of this.

The best thing a fighter can do for their career is FIGHT. Phone Post 3.0

Wow, gus happy to wait 7 months plus to fight bones? Phone Post 3.0

Most likely they don't think they're invulnerable. They might get clipped and loose their title shot. Look what happened to Karo Parysian.

Need more fighters like Cowboy Cerrone! Phone Post 3.0

thatonedude - It sucks over all, but we aren't the ones getting physically beaten as a job so it's really up to them


This is a valid point.

Gilbosh - Wow, gus happy to wait 7 months plus to fight bones? Phone Post 3.0

And that's if nothing else happens in between,
1. Gus out of Jones fight with Knee injury.
2. DC cancels his two knee surgery's to step up and fight Jones.
3. Jones hurts Knee and ankle out of fight.

Who's to say this is gonna stop now? . .

As a fan who only superficially gives a shit about the overall wellbeing of fighters...yeah I agree. But put yourself in the shoes of one of their managers, confidants, etc. I'd be telling them to do the same shit. Fight as little as possible after you've established yourself. Maximize your own brand and impact above all else.

Its a 'Chessmaster' approach to the metagame of a fighters career. Do it properly and you can create a huge revenue stream out of nowhere. Do it improperly and you can squander everything. Both have happened and continue to happen right before our eyes.

Look at Anthony Pettis as an example. We haven't seen him fight for quite a long time. There are reasons. It doesn't matter if they are injury or otherwise...lets just consider the results of this. Pettis has been the champ for a long time. Enjoying champ status and champ revenues. What jeopardizes this status? Another fight. If he wins that fight sure he's still champ, and a more established champ.. but the more is only marginally. A baby step towards Legendary status. But if he loses, well...

Now, I don't think this is all good for the sport or anything...just an obvious outcome of the circumstances and how the incentives are currently aligned. 

Fix the incentives here. Give fighters a reason to risk their status once they've accomplished something. Nobody wants to go backwards but perhaps they'd risk it more often for the right incentives.

JToller - Need more fighters like Cowboy Cerrone! Phone Post 3.0

I Agree 100%

Gilbosh - Wow, gus happy to wait 7 months plus to fight bones? Phone Post 3.0
That sounds like someone that doesn't want to lose.

7 months man ? Cerrone fights 10 times in that span... 5 times in the octagon and 5 at his cabin head kicking fools Phone Post 3.0

Here are the problems.

1. Fighters are allowed to decide who they fight. They're under employment by the UFC. If they're told to fight the Easter Bunny on Hanukkah while a crowd of naked Rastafarians look on, hey, they need to.

2. UFC is shitty towards great and entertaining fighters who lose fights. This is where Pride shined. They didn't care if a fighter lost as long as he was exciting. UFC will often cut you at any opportunity if you lose, regardless of how entertaining you were. There's no incentive to put it on the line in this sort of business model.

I agree Phone Post 3.0

Agree Phone Post 3.0

thatonedude - It sucks over all, but we aren't the ones getting physically beaten as a job so it's really up to them
Add in the lack of loyalty from Zuffa? You can be a pound for pound best fighter according to dana one day and a piece of shit the next according to dana. Phone Post 3.0

Soul Gravy - Here are the problems.

1. Fighters are allowed to decide who they fight. They're under employment by the UFC. If they're told to fight the Easter Bunny on Hanukkah while a crowd of naked Rastafarians look on, hey, they need to.

2. UFC is shitty towards great and entertaining fighters who lose fights. This is where Pride shined. They didn't care if a fighter lost as long as he was exciting. UFC will often cut you at any opportunity if you lose, regardless of how entertaining you were. There's no incentive to put it on the line in this sort of business model.

1.They are independent contractors, for each fight the UFC offers them a contract which they are under no obligation to accept.

2. They are shitty to all fighters. GSP is a promoter's dream and look at how they've treated him recently.

TwentyNineTwentyEight -
thatonedude - It sucks over all, but we aren't the ones getting physically beaten as a job so it's really up to them


This is a valid point.

There is no disagreement on the point. The decision to wait and refuse fights still licks balls imo. Phone Post 3.0

NewOldTRT09er -
Tad Ghostal -
Soul Gravy - Here are the problems.

1. Fighters are allowed to decide who they fight. They're under employment by the UFC. If they're told to fight the Easter Bunny on Hanukkah while a crowd of naked Rastafarians look on, hey, they need to.

2. UFC is shitty towards great and entertaining fighters who lose fights. This is where Pride shined. They didn't care if a fighter lost as long as he was exciting. UFC will often cut you at any opportunity if you lose, regardless of how entertaining you were. There's no incentive to put it on the line in this sort of business model.

1.They are independent contractors, for each fight the UFC offers them a contract which they are under no obligation to accept.

2. They are shitty to all fighters. GSP is a promoter's dream and look at how they've treated him recently.
VU Phone Post 3.0
Pacman sells 800k PPV's he walks away with 26 million and his opponent gets 6 million.

GSP sells 800k+ multiple times and gets 4-5 million, then gets told he owes the UFC...

If I was an athlete, I'd try learning how to throw a baseball with the potential of making 100's of millions, instead of taking repeated head trauma for 8k to show. Phone Post 3.0

Dillonpeterliam - Dana made a good point at the UFC 177 post fight scrum, about Tyrone Woodley and almost everybody in the top 10 in all divisions.

As soon as a fighter gets in the top 10 they stop taken any fight and start worrying about there "Legacy" and were they rank rather than being a fighter.
Jon Jones got his title shot on short notice, Now he refuses to fight anybody without a full camp, Tyrone Woodley was famous for blowing Dana's phone up only months ago, looking to fight ANYBODY, now he refuses to fight Lombard because he is ranked 3 spots behind him, the list of fighter goes on . .
Now Gus is refusing to fight AJ even tho he knows Jones wont be ready (if he wins) to fight him for months and months! Everybody thinks there going to be Anderson Silva, I understand you need to have that mentality if you want to be the best, but your a fighter first! this is your Job that you chose, so fight.
If you really think your the best fighter out there and your not scared of anybody then WHY would you turn down any fight!? the plan is to beat them all anyway right!? why not make as much money as you can while in this game? About 15% of fighters will do great things, break records and get the belt, but you can not bet on that and wait out when near the top, when you peak you should be most active. Look at Cowboy in 2014, he is making money, getting in Dana/UFC's good books and moving up the ranking's.
I know Woodley just took a fight in Japan with a guy ranked lower, he made that card allot more exciting! why stop when he can stand out and get more bonus!?

This is just my opinion at the moment, when you see cards almost fall apart or lose exciting fights (177 & 178) it gets frustration hearing fighter turn down good fights.

What do you guys think of this situation?
Vu, one of the better posts I've read on this subject. And I agree completely. Phone Post 3.0

Shit started going south when the insurance kicked in.

Because, generally speaking, you get paid fuck all until you get a belt.

If you're going to fight them all anyway, why not get paid well to do it? These guys they're fighting aren't chumps. If you step into the cage with them, any one of them could end your life.