What would happen to MMA if the UFC folded?

 I guess what i want to know now is what steps Zuffa has taken to ensure they don't collapse...or is it all just onward and upward still?

AndersonSilvasMoney - 
Chimonos Revenge - The existence of the UFC enables the smaller promotions to do what they are doing.

Without the exposure the UFC provides, MMA might regress significantly.

Look what happened in Japan after Pride folded, MMA died off severely.

This.

I doubt you'd see a smaller org step up and take its place. UFC is the face of MMA. If the UFC folded, it would speak to a decline in interest of the sport. If the interest isn't there, no one else is going to grow. Phone Post


Bang on. If the UFC fails it is because there is not enough interest in the sport itself. MMA would regress to fringe levels.

I think MMA would be ok...because someone else would buy the name. The name is worth so much...it's actually bigger than the sport, at least in North America.

...whether MMA could bounce back to florish the way it has in Brazil without the UFC name may or may not be another matter, but I think the UFC name is needed to build the sport in the US.

I could be wrong, though. Those Affliction cards did very well...but someone WOULD buy the UFC name, no question.

Dougie -  I guess what i want to know now is what steps Zuffa has taken to ensure they don't collapse...or is it all just onward and upward still?

The steps Zuffa has taken are probably fine print in the contracts that state the fighters are never allowed to fight again if Zuffa folds.

I really don't see the UFC folding. It's too much of a brand name to fail.

But with the amount of cards the UFC put out, they are essentially sucking the excitement and anticipation out of MMA. What I do see is Zuffa selling at some point if popularity fades. I think that can only be good for MMA. The sport needs to be run by people who understand promotion and the sport itself. Let's face it UFC is being run by Casino guys and a boxercise instructor who collectively have the creativity of a sheet of plywood.

Dougie -  I guess what i want to know now is what steps Zuffa has taken to ensure they don't collapse...or is it all just onward and upward still?

Unfortunately the UFC is over saturating the market. There are too many cards and interest is falling off significantly. Many people I know who use to make a point in seeing all the cards are now just casually following the sport.

This isn't a sport where you follow a team because they represent your area. Nor is it a sport where the same people compete night after night. In MMA you need to know who the individual fighters are, their history, their fighting styles etc. With this many cards it's impossible to know who even half the fighters are, and it's hard to care when you don't know who is fighting.

I don't know what is happening behind the scenes but from the outside, it looks like they are increasing the number of cards to make up for dwindling returns. This obviously is only going to make things worse.

I would like to see them reduce the number of cards to once a month with a PPV once every 3 months.

Would a reguar tv fight broadcast be good to get people to know who the fighters are and expose them to the public then have a PPV every few months be an idea?



That seems to be the WWE model.

JOESONDO -
Dougie -  I guess what i want to know now is what steps Zuffa has taken to ensure they don't collapse...or is it all just onward and upward still?

Unfortunately the UFC is over saturating the market. There are too many cards and interest is falling off significantly. Many people I know who use to make a point in seeing all the cards are now just casually following the sport.

This isn't a sport where you follow a team because they represent your area. Nor is it a sport where the same people compete night after night. In MMA you need to know who the individual fighters are, their history, their fighting styles etc. With this many cards it's impossible to know who even half the fighters are, and it's hard to care when you don't know who is fighting.

I don't know what is happening behind the scenes but from the outside, it looks like they are increasing the number of cards to make up for dwindling returns. This obviously is only going to make things worse.

I would like to see them reduce the number of cards to once a month with a PPV once every 3 months.

yup... if UFC did fold, someone would either buy the name or another org would step up in its place. Not as powerful tho.

I always liked having a bunch of smaller orgs and competing orgs. I remember when fighters could fight in different orgs if they wanted to and hold belts in two different orgs.

It was also fun finding new talent in smaller orgs and watching their fight career as they move from org to org.

It is all about the money now and Brand protection. imo that is bad. Phone Post

MMA would come back from the dead! Believe that!


MMA would finally be allowed to grow and expand.