Reason(s) WHY people keep saying PRIDE was better

Underground
1

Simply because it was. There has been much debate about why longtime fans have become almost numb to upcoming cards, in what has been claimed to be the "Golden Age" of MMA. Reasons why I think we are in/heading into the Golden Age of MMA are: Athletes who trained from adolescents in multiple forms of the fighting arts instead of just one (Grispi, Rory), or athletes who may have competed at another sport (Jones) are competing. Still, with a huge network deal spanning 3 channels, a highly maintained social media infrastructure, I have never felt more distant to sport I fell in love with when i was a child. Some have claimed it due to oversaturation of the market, rules or implementation thereof, or simple lack of starpower. I would like to throw in ZUFFA's unapologetic targeting of 1 demographic. Back in the 80's, grimdark comic series that appealed to the 18-30 demo flourished. In came the 90's, and the comic industry was near death. It took a total revamp of the industry to resuscitate the market, new formats and lines, even the introduction of trade paperbacks to keep Marvel and DC alive. We see it today with the video game industry. Every cycle we see less and less AAA, big budget games. The landscape has changed. Sure, if a name title like HALO or GEARS OF BLOOD, or Call of Shooting is released, by name brand alone it would move some units, but new IP that would target that demo will flounder. PT I 

2

 PT II



When watching any ZUFFA production, be it from ZUFFA owned WEC, UFC posters and commercials, it is clear cut who they are trying to appeal to: The lowest common demoninator.

Nothing wrong with that.



Problem is, the majority of that market will most likely settle down, have kids, have bills to pay.

Have any UG'er with kids, a wife and bills to pay have a wife who is totally unapologetic with your interest in MMA?

Are there any, whose wife's only exposure to MMA billboards and snippets of half naked, sweaty men rolling with each other while shit metal is played?

Good luck getting those ball busters to ok $60+ a month on that.



BUT, what if ZUFFA somehow appealed to them? Or at least made the effort to?



Granted, I am being totally unfair and posting vids from possibly the best MMA event of all time.



I remember Quadros saying in the first Fedor/Nog fight:

"MMA appeals not only to the blue collar, but to the white collar as well".


3
Tranny Yarbrough G(ayest)OAT - BEFORE people say

"freak show fights derp"


I'd rather see a freakshow fight than a fight like Okami vs Buddy Roberts IN THE MAIN CARD

100% for freakshow fight vs a lot other fights. I love em. Phone Post

4

Tranny Yarbrough G(ayest)OAT - BEFORE people say



"freak show fights derp"





I'd rather see a freakshow fight than a fight like Okami vs Buddy Roberts IN THE MAIN CARD

THIS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

5

Tranny Yarbrough G(ayest)OAT - BEFORE people say



"freak show fights derp"





I'd rather see a freakshow fight than a fight like Okami vs Buddy Roberts IN THE MAIN CARD

  PT III



There are freakshow fights in the UFC to this day, at least there are mismatches.

What you just mentioned was a mismatch, though the UFC tried to amend it.

2 fighters where injured before Okami fought Buddy Roberts. I never heard of Buddy Roberts, Kuiper, saw 1 fight of Halloways.

Shields? Ed Herman? Please.

So much for a stacked division (though the MW division has never looked better).

Even Dana snorted "It was a Shields fight" when proded by Ariel Helwani.



Back to the target demo.

My elderly korean grandparents and aging korean mom know who Fedor and Cro Cop are. They don't watch MMA, they never heard of UFC of Liddell or Ortiz. They just know via osmosis, somehow (and it wasn't from me).

I wonder, how an abstract promo of a UFC event would do during the commercial of an MLB/NFL game like this would fare...


6
Tranny Yarbrough G(ayest)OAT - That Fedor vs Cro Cop Intro..........GOAT

This. Language barrier means absolutely nothing when the production is that good. Phone Post

7

Pride had a better roster and better presentation. Phone Post

8

 Pride's production did not alienate the audience.

I went to Pride total elimination in 2005. I could not believe how many children and eldery people made up the crowd.



Gomi would have children from his gym fill the ring after he beat Azeredo. When was the last time we saw a group of kids at a UFC? The only kids we see are sporadic, I think I saw 2 in the crowd at 150 when the camera did an audience sweep.





TL:DR

I hope ZUFFA makes a more active effort to promote to demo's outside it's 18-30 range.




9

"freak" fights as u call em are what this sport was built on.

Look at the early ufc's......practically all "freak" fights

I call them real fights because no one on the street is checking to see if ur a pound over the limit, no one is point fighting, its not fair and its not gunna last long.

Big guy vs little guy
Beginer vs vet
Giant vs giant
mismatches

All much more real and appealing to me than two exactly the same, evenly matched, cardboard cutout fighters point fighting or wrestlefucking each other to the W

Dont get me wrong I love the current version of mma but who the fuck doesnt love throwback fights......the kinda fight that brings u back,to hackney vs yarborough or nog vs sapp




I love me some real fights Phone Post

10
Tranny Yarbrough G(ayest)OAT -
omgjoshjames -  Pride had a better roster and better presentation. Phone Post

plus the UFC has sooooooooooo many damn shows which really dilutes the cards, there's really nothing that can be done about that, uncle fester isn't going to cancel the fox, fuel and fx cards........and the production and presentation is the other half that separates PRIDE from the UFC.........the UFC specifically targets young douchebags. the countless trolls on here prove that. PRIDE didn't.  

Agreed 100%. Phone Post

11

To those who were watching in the Pride era, there is no comparison. The hype, stacked cards, production were unrivaled. MMA to me will never be as great as it was during that era. Phone Post

12

the ring, the production values, the crowd - all sadly gone and never to be replicated :'(

the fights - obv we will have exciting fights in the future but i'm not sure how PRDIE managed to get them so awesome most of the time. stomps? lack of elbows? yellow cards? the 'fight to win' based judging? maybe fighters just wanted to put on an exciting show (knowing that would get them extra fights, not like now when losing = getting cut from the only show in town)... dunno

13

Just want to throw this in there, but ZUFFA shamelessing shutting down videos ADVERTISING their product, not stealing, is cannibalistic and only hurts itself.

It's free promotion, dfwjr.





Also, DFW or any zuffa exec who may be reading

The comic book industry is as money grubbing as any other industry, implementing cost cutting measures where ever they can.

Even they see the need to cater to their "hardcore" demographic.

With almost every major comic issue releases, Image, Marvel, DC would release variant, limited edition covers for their issues.

Is it possible to make abstract posters for some UFC events, something that we as hardcores would pay good money for?

And i am not talking about that horrible Rampage poster where he is super imposed in the Tokyo skyline, but something that an artist put actual work into?







Maybe print about 1/100th of the variant posters, signed by the fighters on the card.

They are of value...to us at least.



The imagery, the approach that PRIDE had, not JUST the rules and fighters, that kept us non-TUFers whining about past PRIDE days.



We can only take so much "FACE THE PAIN FACE THE PAIN".

14

kinkle - 

To those who were watching in the Pride era, there is no comparison. The hype, stacked cards, production were unrivaled. MMA to me will never be as great as it was during that era. Phone Post


this

15

Sub Phone Post

16

ajdefiant - PRIDE IS DEAD

DEAL WITH IT

  You won't get any disagreements here. Pride died for a reason.

It wasn't due to it paying it's lowest paid guys twice as much as the UFC pays ITS lowest guys (lowest paid guys in PRIDE 34 where paid 10 g's to show).

It was due to Yakuza ties being made very public and FUJI TV refusing to air it's fights.

SKY was PRIDEs death rattle.



Pride WAS better.



I would rather watch tape of PRIDE events than watch the last 3 PPV cards (Sorry wandy, but that card sucked) here on out.

17

MarcusRenatoBlackBelt - There was No Red Tape when the Champions wanted to fight Champions

  lol, really?

18

You wanna know the real reason?

Rose Tinted Glasses.

End of thread. Phone Post

19

Sub Phone Post

20

Pride was raw, that's why. Phone Post