not happy with new trend in mma

"Their is a current trend in the UFC of fights needing to be exciting at all costs, even if it means losing. None of that "pussy" wrestling."

Stupid comment. How about the go for it at all costs type of grappling you see from MANY guys (mostly in Pride). THIS is the grappling that would satisfy EVERYONE.. When you sit and do NOTHING but stuff another fighter's ground game by leglocking and armholding someone in place, you deserve to get smacked.

"The WWE fans that forgot to change the channel. "

I think this is a myth that has been dispelled. UFN proved that they don't need the WWE lead-in to get good ratings.

As for the rest of your post, I generally agree. I cringed when Tyrese said he "didn't wanna see any of that wrestling". This problem isn't unique to MMA, though. Slick boxers who don't have big punching power usually aren't very popular either.

I think the solution is simply to get people to become familiar and attached to the fighters, which the UFC is trying to do. In retrospect, a fight like Tito/Randy wasn't that exciting. Nobody did a lot of damage and it was basically just a real technical takedown and ground control display by Randy. However, to fans of the sport who knew who Randy and Tito were and what they were about, it was electric. Penn/Pulver was a similar case in the UFC, and Pride has had its own cases of it with guys like Yoshida and Takada. Get the fans to invest themselves in the fighters, and they'll still cheer when a fight isn't a bloodbath.

Guy,

I think the groundwork in Pride is much more exciting, and when it
isn't, i get a lot of satisfaction in knowing that the guy who is being
dull is going to lose some money. I also think that people are much
busier on the ground in Pride, and i think that guard passing is much
more common.

Just my opinion i guess. Since i think that a ground game more than
g&p from inside the guard and l&p is more desireable, i find that the
UFC, for the most part, is not as entertaining, or technical on the group
as Pride is.

-doug-

self righteous mma fans sicken me

I have to agree with the origainal post.

I like the points that people like tomato can is making about getting to
know the fighters. Alot of masked sports simply wont rise to very high
levels of populatity just because people can't see the faces of the
athletes.

The way to generate interest in fights is for people to feel some sort of
attachment to the fighters, which is created by getting their face out
their, and hearing about some of their story.

More of an aside than anything.

-doug-

"Probably because it is boring and chess doesn't do to well on PPV. Excitement sells. Boring strategy, lay and pray, waiting 20 minutes to get a submission, all that puts the viewers to sleep and is bad for the sport."

Am I wrong or didn't the first UFCs, before it got banned by cable, do very well with the ppv. The first ones had no stand ups at all, and weren't grapplers winning everything back then?

Kinda shoots a hole in your 'grappling doesn't sell' theory.

excelent post point very well taken TTT

"Am I wrong or didn't the first UFCs, before it got banned by cable, do very well with the ppv. The first ones had no stand ups at all, and weren't grapplers winning everything back then?"

Not exactly. The early UFCs did do quite well but it wasn't due to the popularity of grappling. Did you watch those shows? They were filled with short, brutal KOs where near zero skill was involved. As Jim Brown said "I just saw swingin'".

Original,

I didnt use the argument at all, nor is it a good one, but i'll jump in
anyway. I'm pretty sure the PPV numbers dropped very rapidly after the
first one. If it continued that way, the only MMA fans would be, guess
who? Those that want rule changes to make the fights better. :)

-doug-

Actually I believe original UFC PPV numbers peaked with UFC 6.

Interesting post. I don't think that the fact that many of the fights these days end with strikes is a bad thing. I have grown to enjoy a enjoy a good ground fight but I have also found the older ground fights where a bloke could sit on a guys chest all day and do nothing and still win are annoying.

Fighting is about action.

One of my favorite fights is Thompson vs Strebendt. Both fighters went out and tried to finish the fight and you cannot say that they were laying about for a judges decision. I am glad that more of the fights these days are not left to the judges. It is nice to see fighters willing to take risks to end a fight instead of leaving it to chance.

LOL. And because maxo says its so, it must be true.

TC,

For real? I swore i remember the first being the highest. The fights
were getting worse and worse anyway, if you ask me, but i'll believe
you :)

-doug-

Here are the early UFC PPV buyrates courtesy of www.prowrestlinghistory.com:

UFC 1 - 0.35

UFC 2 - 0.5

UFC 3 - 0.65

UFC 4 - 0.9

UFC 5 - 1.05

UFC 6 - 1.1

UFC 7 - 0.9

UFC 8 - 0.7

UFC 9 - 0.6

UFC 10 - 0.43

UFC 11 - 0.45

UFC 12 - 0.55

UFC 13 - 0.5

UFC 14 - 0.52

UFC 15 - 0.5

UFC 16 - 0.4

I have no idea what kind of numbers the UFC gets now.

"I didnt use the argument at all, nor is it a good one, but i'll jump in anyway. I'm pretty sure the PPV numbers dropped very rapidly after the first one. If it continued that way, the only MMA fans would be, guess who? Those that want rule changes to make the fights better. :)"

I will respectfully disagree. The ppv numbers were doing very well until it was taken off of cable. Grappling completely dominated the sport back then. And it was the grapplers that were the fan favorites; Gracie, Shamrock, Severn, Taktarov. Yes there were some quick brutal KOs that made it "exciting", but who do the casual fans remember from the early UFCs?

Excellent post.

But also..

Hi KKM!!

(The UG is Slipping)

People remember Harold "the mullet" and Fred Ettish too. And Fred has
a lot of fans, myself included. That doesnt make him a technical
fighter, or fun to watch.

People loved Pete W. and Mo Smith because they were finally strikers
that could actually beat the unstoppable wrestlers. Who doesnt know
Tank Abott?

And i doubt that Royce was a fan favorite solely because he was a
grappler. Royce has so many fans because he was a little scrawny dude
taking out big guys, and that appeals to the insecure little voice in all
of us. He also appealed to people's suspicions that those who wear gi's
must know something the rest of us don't. In that, he possessed a
mystical quality that people were looking for in a freak show, which is
how they marketed the first UFC's.

I think the grapplers were the fan favorites because they were the
winners. People like winners. Once the hitters learned how to sprawl,
who do you think the fans liked and remembered then?

Its a tough call. i like your points though, and i do think that have
some good insights. I was mistaken about PPV totals. It was all
heresay! :)

Guy,

Its agreed. There will always be some dull fights, i dont care about
that. But obviously positive rule changes that only punish the stallers
and do nothing to those who are active can't be bad, i guess. Judging
criteria is important too :)

Also, i dont mind g&p from in the guard if it WORKS. If it doesnt, it's
time to move on, and for most, it doesnt.

-doug-

"And it was the grapplers that were the fan favorites; Gracie, Shamrock, Severn, Taktarov."

Dude, that is a mis-assessment. Tank was probably the biggest fan favorite because he was a big fat brawler who beat the shit out of people. A lot of fans hated Royce because his fights weren't big slugfests and they didn't understand his game.

PS, to TC. Thanks for posting the numbers.

I dont like when wrestlers put them on the ground and hold them there. Or just try to win a decision. I like fighters that try to finish, whether its on the ground or on the feet. Try to finish the damn fight, dont hold them down, ala pat milletich.