My fellow sherdoggers, allow me to help THEE.
And to be completely clear- this isn't yet another effing "wahhh wheres Conor" thread.
Do you feel empty and sad about UFC 200? Does the approach of it have the same appeal as a rerun of a sitcom? Guess what- there's a ton of people who feel the same way, and here's why...
1. Recent changes in event promotion. This is a double edged sword, and blame is found on both sides- (UFC/Audience) So here's how it evolved into what it is today....
UFC, in addition to being a sport loved/watched/followed by millions, is a business. Just like any business on earth, it is interested in making profits, as it should. Anyone who pretends that shouldn't exist (to an extent) is just not being realistic.
So- here lies the dilemma. And as much as I, (as a fan/customer) have been quick to point the "greedy UFC" finger, during controversial stuff going on, I do understand that the UFC is a business that has a right to be totally interested in generating revenue in the best way possible. So, what is the best way possible- to cater to a bunch of smartphone wielding, A.D.D. induced, information flooded, TMZ social media zombies who get bored super easily? You change the entire way that you promote your events. And that is the subject of this number (1) reason for the empty shell like feeling that surrounds UFC 200.
To appease the 2 minute attention spans of the simple minded "tl;dr" ship jumping spoiled ass fair weathered fans- the UFC went coocoo, adding dozens of new shows, interviews, press conferences, podcasts, tidbits, reality shows, follow ups, via satellite, up close and personal, TMZ drama. How on earth do you stay relevant to people with the attention span of a fruit fly? You find characters, shit talkers, heels, drama whores, attention addicts- then you hype the living fuck out of them, shove them at each other while the cameras are rolling, hoping to catch the next screaming match or brawl that got broken up by security...meanwhile, you hope those same people you are "ultra hype promoting" actually KEEP winning, while being displayed in a plexiglass box for all to see, even while taking a shit. Gotta stay relevant! Keep those cameras rolling! Someone might tune out to eat dinner, and lose interest for 5 minutes! What else do we got? Who's arguing? Someone catch some drama and loop it on UFC.COM! GO GO GO!
So, initially it was going fantastic! Rousey was wrecking everyone in her path, while Joe Rogan compared her to Godzilla and swore she could beat Cain, Mayweather, and half the male bantamweight roster one handed. Crying and saying it was an honor to interview a "once in a lifetime human being". It was taking a lot of energy to be a rockstar. Conor McGregor was in full swing, riding around in Ferraris with Dana and predicting knockouts in what second of what round. Enter the 23rd venue of UFC, on you tube- Dana finds Sage Northcutt- Oooooooo, look at this! A suburban Ken doll with perfect teeth to draw in the 18- 24 year old yuppie crowd, guys and girls. Wait? Where's his female counterpart?? Throw Paige Vanzant in there! Get a media push crew in there, make up some shit. Paige will be the future of WMMA! Best female boxing on the planet!
Casuals were drawn in like moths to a flame! PPV numbers through the roof! Reebok wants in! It's like a mainstream DREAM!
(Meanwhile, all kinds of legit bad ass fighters seemed almost to dissapear, from a media standpoint. Their records stayed intact. Their skills remained the same. But the spotlight panned to the left, to the circus. Casuals, who were born into this circus, were delighted. Longtime fans, while feeling the difference in promotional style, and noticing the loss of spotlight to other fighters, still tuned in, and rubbernecked the TMZ hype circus that the UFC had become. Then, suddenly, and without warning- the reality hammer fell. And it fell hard. Rousey KTFO in devastating, soul stealing fashion. To (what the UFC considered to be) a total NON threat. Another 10 second highlight reel for Rousey, like a log to throw on the circus fire- turned in to a headshot knockout that sent her into hiding. Sage Northcutt- beaten in a way that made most casuals wonder why he was supposed to be the next Superman. Paige Vanzant, straight from some cutie pie social media interview with her blonde hair blowing in the wind to crawling across the octagon covered in blood, trying to escape from a bald headed Rose terminator, hammerfisting her right through the canvas. Then Conor. The last circus hype hope. The hype family's last member. Slapped all over the cage, 1-2 combo'ed onto queer street, panicked into trying to wrestle, ending up being mounted, pummeled, then RNC'ed with the camera on his bloody panicked face.
And just like that, all of the faces of the "new promotional style" of the UFC, the "Hansel is so hot right now" circus that had been shoved down everyone throat for months, had been put out like a match with a fire hose. Even the long time fans, who were adjusting to this new circus, left shrugging, like WTF do we do now?
So the camera pans BACK to the right. To a stable of bad ass high level fighters, with win resumes that are astonishing. Many of them scheduled to fight on 200. But the lame ass TMZ media circus frenzy, and it's effects, still linger. So that, if the first reason many feel empty about UFC 200. We all rubbernecked the hype train wreck that was the "new UFC mainstream" promotion plan. And now it lay in ruins. With some hope, the camera can stay focused on ALL of the top fighters again. And their skills in the octagon can return to be the main focus of he UFC. Pull that Twitter syringe out of your arm...
And to be completely clear- this isn't yet another effing "wahhh wheres Conor" thread.
Do you feel empty and sad about UFC 200? Does the approach of it have the same appeal as a rerun of a sitcom? Guess what- there's a ton of people who feel the same way, and here's why...
1. Recent changes in event promotion. This is a double edged sword, and blame is found on both sides- (UFC/Audience) So here's how it evolved into what it is today....
UFC, in addition to being a sport loved/watched/followed by millions, is a business. Just like any business on earth, it is interested in making profits, as it should. Anyone who pretends that shouldn't exist (to an extent) is just not being realistic.
So- here lies the dilemma. And as much as I, (as a fan/customer) have been quick to point the "greedy UFC" finger, during controversial stuff going on, I do understand that the UFC is a business that has a right to be totally interested in generating revenue in the best way possible. So, what is the best way possible- to cater to a bunch of smartphone wielding, A.D.D. induced, information flooded, TMZ social media zombies who get bored super easily? You change the entire way that you promote your events. And that is the subject of this number (1) reason for the empty shell like feeling that surrounds UFC 200.
To appease the 2 minute attention spans of the simple minded "tl;dr" ship jumping spoiled ass fair weathered fans- the UFC went coocoo, adding dozens of new shows, interviews, press conferences, podcasts, tidbits, reality shows, follow ups, via satellite, up close and personal, TMZ drama. How on earth do you stay relevant to people with the attention span of a fruit fly? You find characters, shit talkers, heels, drama whores, attention addicts- then you hype the living fuck out of them, shove them at each other while the cameras are rolling, hoping to catch the next screaming match or brawl that got broken up by security...meanwhile, you hope those same people you are "ultra hype promoting" actually KEEP winning, while being displayed in a plexiglass box for all to see, even while taking a shit. Gotta stay relevant! Keep those cameras rolling! Someone might tune out to eat dinner, and lose interest for 5 minutes! What else do we got? Who's arguing? Someone catch some drama and loop it on UFC.COM! GO GO GO!
So, initially it was going fantastic! Rousey was wrecking everyone in her path, while Joe Rogan compared her to Godzilla and swore she could beat Cain, Mayweather, and half the male bantamweight roster one handed. Crying and saying it was an honor to interview a "once in a lifetime human being". It was taking a lot of energy to be a rockstar. Conor McGregor was in full swing, riding around in Ferraris with Dana and predicting knockouts in what second of what round. Enter the 23rd venue of UFC, on you tube- Dana finds Sage Northcutt- Oooooooo, look at this! A suburban Ken doll with perfect teeth to draw in the 18- 24 year old yuppie crowd, guys and girls. Wait? Where's his female counterpart?? Throw Paige Vanzant in there! Get a media push crew in there, make up some shit. Paige will be the future of WMMA! Best female boxing on the planet!
Casuals were drawn in like moths to a flame! PPV numbers through the roof! Reebok wants in! It's like a mainstream DREAM!
(Meanwhile, all kinds of legit bad ass fighters seemed almost to dissapear, from a media standpoint. Their records stayed intact. Their skills remained the same. But the spotlight panned to the left, to the circus. Casuals, who were born into this circus, were delighted. Longtime fans, while feeling the difference in promotional style, and noticing the loss of spotlight to other fighters, still tuned in, and rubbernecked the TMZ hype circus that the UFC had become. Then, suddenly, and without warning- the reality hammer fell. And it fell hard. Rousey KTFO in devastating, soul stealing fashion. To (what the UFC considered to be) a total NON threat. Another 10 second highlight reel for Rousey, like a log to throw on the circus fire- turned in to a headshot knockout that sent her into hiding. Sage Northcutt- beaten in a way that made most casuals wonder why he was supposed to be the next Superman. Paige Vanzant, straight from some cutie pie social media interview with her blonde hair blowing in the wind to crawling across the octagon covered in blood, trying to escape from a bald headed Rose terminator, hammerfisting her right through the canvas. Then Conor. The last circus hype hope. The hype family's last member. Slapped all over the cage, 1-2 combo'ed onto queer street, panicked into trying to wrestle, ending up being mounted, pummeled, then RNC'ed with the camera on his bloody panicked face.
And just like that, all of the faces of the "new promotional style" of the UFC, the "Hansel is so hot right now" circus that had been shoved down everyone throat for months, had been put out like a match with a fire hose. Even the long time fans, who were adjusting to this new circus, left shrugging, like WTF do we do now?
So the camera pans BACK to the right. To a stable of bad ass high level fighters, with win resumes that are astonishing. Many of them scheduled to fight on 200. But the lame ass TMZ media circus frenzy, and it's effects, still linger. So that, if the first reason many feel empty about UFC 200. We all rubbernecked the hype train wreck that was the "new UFC mainstream" promotion plan. And now it lay in ruins. With some hope, the camera can stay focused on ALL of the top fighters again. And their skills in the octagon can return to be the main focus of he UFC. Pull that Twitter syringe out of your arm...
