Ignoring the need for 165 is one of Dana's biggest mistakes

ABCTT_PaleAndGangly · August 26, 2022, 1:25am

jgiveshead:

ABCTT_PaleAndGangly:

Too many weight classes. Next they will double and be all separated by 5 pounds. When will it be enough?

Guess what, pussies. Sometimes a dude will have a few pounds on you.

These are great points that are hard to argue against. I don’t want to argue that they’re wrong, but I want you to stand back and look at the MMA landscape. Ask the question, who should we be watching on the biggest stage? Should it be the non-existent competition at 125 or WMMA?

There’s a serious argument to be made for trading in 125 and WMMA for 155-165-175-185. We’d be trading in virtually non-existent talent for the most talent rich pool of fighters. @BJ_Penn_Forever actually wrote out a list of guys that have won 45 man tournaments just to be signed to a BELLATOR promotional deal at 155. That’s absolutely insane. There are guys with 15-0 and 20-1 records at 155 that are showing up on the DWCS. In a sense, that’s great, it means 155 has never been better. But do these guys deserve to be seen RIGHT NOW? Consider the alternatives. Would you rather make room for these guys, or would you rather watch another Jessica Eye fight, who is what, 0-8 in her last 8 fights (completely guessing).

We’ve got the wrong divisions right now. It’s obvious. The only question remains: what divisions SHOULD we have? It makes sense to add divisions in the most talent rich area. The divisions would still be 10lbs apart, which is still greater than the NCAA’s 8lb gaps.

Hindsight being what it is, Dana’s biggest fuck up was bringing in 125 and WMMA FW instead of shuffling the divisions to get 155-165-175-185. In terms of investment in his own company, he invested in the wrong things.

Here’s what I propose to fix it.

125 Men’s → Gone.
115-125-135 WMMA → 120-130 WMMA
145 WMMA → Gone.

3 of the most underperforming, talent starved divisions disappear and get reallocated to the most talent rich pool of fighters. The competition level skyrockets. No more fighters who are 0-8 in their last 8 on UFC main cards. The right guys get watched. And 10 lb gap isn’t that bad (keep in mind it’s what we already have for 125-135-145-155).

I honestly don’t know how anyone could argue to keep 125 and the current WMMA structure the way that it is. WMMA’s weight classes are a laughing stock, in particular. It could be argued to scrap it all and create a 127lb weight class.

Either way, Dana is just making himself look incompetent by keeping the current structure.

Uhg. You want me to read all that? Lame.
Can’t believe you’re making me READ!
(Kidding of coarse. Excellent points.)

chrisedmonton · August 27, 2022, 4:04pm

Can you show us your data modelling on this subject?

Would love to see how you calculated EBITDA outcome, marketing reach, roster size for this division, social marketing reach etc.

Give us a baseline for the decision for/against 165 lb division.

Loiosh · August 27, 2022, 5:07pm

This is the only really relevant data in this topic, IMO (I’ll ignore the snarky, troll-y shit):

Let’s keep it Murican, since the forum is based there.

Avergage male height 5’9"

How much should a fit 5’9" male weigh?

https://www.dietbites.com/How-Much-Should-I-Weigh/male-weight-8.html

They all seem to put the center of the range at around 150 pounds. Add in some muscle mass and the average male would be in the LW to WW range.

Put it on a bell curve and the talent pool for all the other weight classes is much smaller than that in the 150-170 pound range

Why jam the largest percentage of the population into the broadest weight class? If talent is close, size makes the difference. I’d much rather see another class of killers than more 125 or WMMA.

BJ_Penn_Forever · September 23, 2022, 11:01am

Most of the upcoming events are being carried by FW through WW.

From now through Nov 12th is the page I’m looking at on tapology…
11 major org events are headlined by FW through WW.
1 event is headlined by FLW
0 events are headlined by HW.
0 events are headlined by WFW or WLW.

Tonight’s Bellator Ireland- headlined by LW.
Super RIZIN- Floyd vs Asakura at FW.
Oct 1st Bellator biggest card of the year- headlined by FW with McKee’s LW debut the co-main.
Sep 29 ONE- headlined by WW.
Oct 4th ACA- headlined by WW.
UFC 280, biggest UFC of the year, headlined by LW.
Oct 23rd RIZIN- headlined by FW.
Oct 29th Bellator Italy headlined by LW.
Oct 29th UFC headlined by FW.
Nov 4th ACA headlined by LW.
Nov 12 KSW headlined by LW