The surge in popularity following the Griffin-Bonnar brawl has resulted in the UFC having more fans than it can satisfy. The Griffin -Bonnar fight was essentially false advertising; it suggested to newcomers to MMA that this is what a professional MMA fight looked like – a bloody, sloppy, wild, standup brawl. But, as should be clear by now, the more skilled the fighters (and the skill level keeps going up), the less likely it is for such fights to occur. Consequently, the newest fans grow more and more dissatisfied with MMA. But, these new fans represent a sizable chunk of the UFC’s market….
So how far will the UFC go to retain these fans?
So far we have seen:
*Refs pressured by the crowd into premature standups
*Fighters deemed to be less exciting banished to the undercard
*Fighters cut after a fight deemed to be boring
*Highly successful fighters denied title shots
*Threats of cutting even champions after fights deemed to be boring
*Less skilled fighters known for brawling rewarded by bonuses and prime appearances
What will be next in the coming years? Giving up any pretense of contender rankings and only giving title shots to “exciting” fighters? Major rule changes?
Remember, professional wrestling was real once upon a time…
Thoughts?
1) UFC doesnt control refs (neither should fans, but either way, the promoter cant control that)
2) Name these fighters? Jon Fitch one time...I cant think of any others...
3) Fighters are cut after losing, not because of "being boring" (Fitch is fighting Penn for fucks sake)
4) Name one? Fitch got a title shot. Shields is getting a title shot. Okami is getting a title shot.
5) They threatened Anderson, and it was a veiled threat trying to save face after the abomination of the Maia fight.
6) Are you a fan of Wanderlei Silva? Brawling produces some of the most exciting fights. People dont get up off their seat for a grappling match. Sorry, just the way the world works.
You pretty much failed on all points.
Hus - 1) UFC doesnt control refs (neither should fans, but either way, the promoter cant control that)
2) Name these fighters? Jon Fitch one time...I cant think of any others...
3) Fighters are cut after losing, not because of "being boring" (Fitch is fighting Penn for fucks sake)
4) Name one? Fitch got a title shot. Shields is getting a title shot. Okami is getting a title shot.
5) They threatened Anderson, and it was a veiled threat trying to save face after the abomination of the Maia fight.
6) Are you a fan of Wanderlei Silva? Brawling produces some of the most exciting fights. People dont get up off their seat for a grappling match. Sorry, just the way the world works.
You pretty much failed on all points.
Yes on everything except saying grappling is boring. There are boring stand up fights, just like there are boring ground fights, and A good grappling match with numerous sweeps, escapes, reversals, near subs, etc are just as exciting as good stand up fight and even more exciting than a sloppy brawl.
You pretty much failed on all points.<br /><br><br />So your response is simply to deny that these things are happening?
Well, let's see:
UFC doesnt control refs (neither should fans, but either way, the promoter cant control that)
So you claim there is no way the UFC could wield its influence to make some improvements in refereeing?
Name these fighters?Fitch and Okami just off the top of my head; I am sure there are others.
Fighters are cut after losing, not because of "being boring" (Fitch is fighting Penn for fucks sake)
So being perceived as boring has no role in how long a fighter sticks around? Give me a break. What's Matt Brown's record in the UFC? How many losses did Gerald Harris have before he was cut? You think the last fight might have had something to do with it?
Name one? Fitch got a title shot. Shields is getting a title shot. Okami is getting a title shot.
After how long? How long has Okami deserved a title shot? You don't think there is any preferential treatment compared to say...Hardy?
They threatened Anderson, and it was a veiled threat trying to save face after the abomination of the Maia fight.
Champions should not be threatened with being cut because the fight wasn't exciting. End of story. What kind of reputable sport does things like that?
Are you a fan of Wanderlei Silva? Brawling produces some of the most exciting fights. People dont get up off their seat for a grappling match. Sorry, just the way the world works.
At least no denial here. It is exciting if you like brawling. Grappling can be exciting as well, if you know what is going on. But when it comes to the point that the UFC is actively promoting a style of fighting that is ineffective, the line between sport and entertainment becomes blurred.
First post ownage. Awesome.
Though grappling is not boring, though sometimes it is.
Darth BLAF -misterw - The surge in popularity following the Griffin-Bonnar brawl has resulted in the UFC having more fans than it can satisfy. The Griffin -Bonnar fight was essentially false advertising; it suggested to newcomers to MMA that this is what a professional MMA fight looked like – a bloody, sloppy, wild, standup brawl. But, as should be clear by now, the more skilled the fighters (and the skill level keeps going up), the less likely it is for such fights to occur.That's a really interesting (and dumbfuck) theory seeing as how Bonnar/Griffin (and the entire show) was framed as a fight to see if two amateur prospects have what it takes to be a professional mma fighter in the UFC.
It wasn't promoted as the pinnacle of the sport.
Your entire premise is a fucking fail even before you went on to make your list of stupidity.
It doesn't matter if it was promoted as such. If it brings in millions of fans expecting to see more of the same, you have the exact same issue.
Why the profanity? Are you unable to have an adult discussion?
I realize the term "TUF fans" has developed somewhat of a negative connotation, so let me avoid the use of that term while I simplify and restate the original question (hopefully less profanity from the newer fans will result):
There are a lot of newer UFC fans. A sizable portion of them, judging by the threads that one sees here, are highly disappointed with what they are watching -- they don't like wrestling or groundwork (unless it quickly results in a submission) and they don't like technical, methodical standup either. They feel that many of the top fighters in the UFC, including arguably the best pound for pound fighter, are boring.
This is a big chunk of the UFC's market -- what do you think the UFC does about this?
Dana will be a coach soon. That's how far
Well, at least I see who I am dealing with. Carry on then...
Addressing some of the points would be good too though.
You forgot Kimbo and Toney, hopefully after them the only way is up.
Personally, I couldn't see the UFC ever working fights, like the original pro wrestling merged into entertainment. It would be too big a risk, as the the whole premise of the company is that these are real fights.
But I can see them taking it up quite a few notches with favoring certain styles of fighter. If you are a "boring wrestler," you had better win all your fights, because 1 loss and you will be cut. Swing for the fences like Leonard Garcia? We'll keep you around for a good long time. And if you should happen to string a couple of wins together? Title shot!
The question is -- will this be enough? What do you do when a big chunk of your market finds your best fighters boring?
I think you're placing too much weight on a vocal minority, if you just read the forums you'd think GSP would have no fans but 23,000 screaming Canadians loved every second of it and he is one of, if not the biggest star in MMA.
You could well be right.
Why, though, does Dana White state that the true fight of the night at 124 was the Riddle fight?
Why does he choose Leonard Garcia as the first fighter to represent the 145lb class?
Is he simply lacking an appreciation of the finer points of MMA? Or (as I assumed) is he trying desperately to cater to an important chunk of his audience?