Is the UFC ever going to grow up?

[MMAfan83]

Longtime MMA fan here. I usually don't comment on the way things are, but with all this ridiculousness about UFC 200, it's just driven me crazy with how bad the UFC and UFC fighter mentality has become.

So much talk from Dana and Conor about marketing and fighting, and I look back at UFC 100, and think that things really haven't evolved a bit. UFC is still stuck in this dudebro fake "rival" mentality of spending a lot of money to hype up fights that isn't necessary, with a couple guys who will readily admit they're "selling" the fight. It always reminds me of the Shamrock - Ortiz "rivalry" when Ken said, "we made a lot of money."

It's so goofy, and while people can say that that's part of the fighter's persona, it's the UFC that encourages and rewards it. Which is why Chael Sonnen was put in all sorts of main events despite being a roided mediocre fighter than would have been on the cut line without his mouth.

Maybe there was a point when UFC was gaining notoriety when this was all necessary, but now it's just a turn off. We know it's an act, it's a tired act, $10 million doesn't have to be spent to hype an event everyone knows about. Fighters don't need to act like The Rock or Muhammad Ali to garner interest. The whole meta "I make more money than anyone" is a tired work, and UFC and the fighters need to evolve beyond this crap.

Believe it or not, people will still watch just as much without all this worked crap, and without a bunch of fake juice commercials hyping how really bad fighters hate each other, before pulling yet another Ken Shamrock after the fight. Grow up UFC.

 

[mbach4307]

Honestly I have found myself searching for other forms of entertainment. I think maybe I'm burnt out on it and I think 1/2 of why I'm still watching is this forum. I find myself watching a lot more boxing these days. There isn't all the useless bullshit. Hell if this continues I may just keep going to the gym and stop watching altogether.

 

[NHB7]

I think your wrong that it would be popular without it, but I am with you in that it is embarrassing that it has to be this way.

 

[DLX]

The fanbase they're trying to attract isn't the people that are already avid fans of MMA and UFC. It's the people that don't know anything, casual everyday people they're going after. Media draws lot of attention. When you're trying to grow the sport (and they are), it's a necessary requirement.

 

[PabloMEX]

Have you seen the people that go to ufc ppvs at bars? That's why things are this way.

 

[megaton]

UFC, soon to be sold to WWE and run by Vince McMahon

 

[riitzni]

Believe it or not, people will still watch just as much without all this worked crap, and without a bunch of fake juice commercials hyping how really bad fighters hate each other, before pulling yet another Ken Shamrock after the fight. Grow up UFC.

Give me a break, guy.

If you've been a long time fan, then you know that 'fake juice commercials' = more PPV buys and asses in seats. Always. Period. You and I? We've seen it a thousand times before. It doesn't work. The beefs, real or fake, they don't matter because we're there for the part where the cage door slams shut.

Ali and Dwayne Johnson got to where they are/were by shit talking and stroking their own ego. Conor fucking McGregor got to where he is by shit talking and stroking his own ego. You think that's an accident? No, it's a formula. A formula for getting famous that's been in place for a long time, as long as there's been newspapers and media that can widely disseminate whatever outrageous thing someone says to garner attention.

They'll "grow up" when a press conference brawl or someone getting called a pussy on national TV doesn't translate into dollars. Which will be never.

 

[touchedbyjab]

It's only going to get worse.

 

[snakedafunky]

I hope not, the "unprofessionalism" is great. While Dana can be a buffoon sometimes, I hope he keeps speaking his mind etc.

Last thing I want is another professional sport with no controversy. The other sport like soccer, NFL, NBA are all the same boring stuff. You can take all their statements and just change the name of the team they are all the same.

 

[Clippy]

UFC, soon to be sold to WWE and run by Vince McMahon

This is what I keep thinking

 

[613]

You know what Ali, Tyson and Jordan all have in common? They were three of the biggest stars in sports history and they were three cocky, trash talking ass holes. Fans in EVERY sport eat it up, not just the UFC.

Its sounds like you have not watched many combat sports (or just fucking sports in general). The trash talking and "fake" rivals have always been there and always will be

 

[MMAfan83]

I think your wrong that it would be popular without it, but I am with you in that it is embarrassing that it has to be this way.

I think the time has passed for it to be needed though. There was a point where UFC was the edgy 'outsider' sport trying to make a name for itself, with 4-6 major events a year, and TUF being a new style of reality show combined with fighting to bring in fans. I don't think it's effecting much at all these days.

Now we're on UFC 200 and TUF I don't even know what - 30, maybe? And it's still the same exact tired style it's been 10 years ago. We still have the same gladiator dudebro thrash intro - even though the UFC spent money to make a nice HBO boxing - esque MMA intro before that. We still have the same fake beef hype ups. Still the same Dana yelling at clouds moments about different subjects. The only thing different isn't even different - FOX's tired NFL presentation and NFL on FOX theme they use for everything with UFC's network deal has been the only "change."

It's such a turnoff anymore that we have to sit through this goofy fake crap to get to the fight, where we all know AFTER the fight it's all a work. Guys give respect, the loser is glad to get a paycheck even if he stalls the whole fight, etc. It's crazy how this song and dance is happening again with Jones and Cormier, when Cormier is flat out saying I'm going to do the exact same thing as last time and try to lay on the guy. We're all getting hyped up for this hated "beef" that's almost certainly going to end in an unsatisfying decision? The bark is more of the hype than the bite in these fights.

I hope by the time UFC 300 comes around, that whoever is there then manages to change things around this tired model of selling pay-per-views. Get the Fight Pass digital network to be something actually relevant, get someone who moderates in the background at press conferences instead of wanting to be in the forefront, use the massive amounts of money hoarded to make the product better and cultivate the sport instead of bragging about how much you can spend in casinos, and maybe go public on the stock exchange so those in charge would have to answer to a board of directors.

All things I would hope will evolve in the future for the sport and the UFC and we start getting beyond the fake stuff and become more professional where the content sells like the four major team sports.

 

[megaton]

This is what I keep thinking

The funny thing is Vince would probably do a better job than Dana, promote the fighters not the brand.

 

[AceCooch]

Longtime MMA fan here. I usually don't comment on the way things are, but with all this ridiculousness about UFC 200, it's just driven me crazy with how bad the UFC and UFC fighter mentality has become.

So much talk from Dana and Conor about marketing and fighting, and I look back at UFC 100, and think that things really haven't evolved a bit. UFC is still stuck in this dudebro fake "rival" mentality of spending a lot of money to hype up fights that isn't necessary, with a couple guys who will readily admit they're "selling" the fight. It always reminds me of the Shamrock - Ortiz "rivalry" when Ken said, "we made a lot of money."

It's so goofy, and while people can say that that's part of the fighter's persona, it's the UFC that encourages and rewards it. Which is why Chael Sonnen was put in all sorts of main events despite being a roided mediocre fighter than would have been on the cut line without his mouth.

Maybe there was a point when UFC was gaining notoriety when this was all necessary, but now it's just a turn off. We know it's an act, it's a tired act, $10 million doesn't have to be spent to hype an event everyone knows about. Fighters don't need to act like The Rock or Muhammad Ali to garner interest. The whole meta "I make more money than anyone" is a tired work, and UFC and the fighters need to evolve beyond this crap.

Believe it or not, people will still watch just as much without all this worked crap, and without a bunch of fake juice commercials hyping how really bad fighters hate each other, before pulling yet another Ken Shamrock after the fight. Grow up UFC.

The UFC is trying to expand the brand into new markets with all the Conor hype in Europe. This caters to casuals who don't know shit about the sport and don't care, thus you get some silly matchmaking and over promotion. In the long run it is good though because it invites new people, but I see your frustration.

 

[MMAfan83]

You know what Ali, Tyson and Jordan all have in common? They were three of the biggest stars in sports history and they were three cocky, trash talking ass holes. Fans in EVERY sport eat it up, not just the UFC.

Its sounds like you have not watched many combat sports (or just fucking sports in general). The trash talking and "fake" rivals have always been there and always will be

It sounds like you have not watched many. Ali wasn't fake, that was his persona. Go watch any of the documentaries on Ali, and you can see that. He wasn't pounding his chest on how much money he was going to make the other guy by being fake, he was up there talking about discrimination and a useless war that killed millions - and even was suspended in his prime for his actions.

Tyson wasn't fake, he was a freaking psycho, who has a rap sheet mile long before he even went pro, and then added jail time to that once he was. For better or worse, people were drawn to pay to watch someone who was legitimately violent by nature to fight.

Jordan falls into that as well with his competitiveness. Here's a guy who would punch guys on his own team in practice for not playing hard enough, and concoct stories about opponents to fire himself up after a bad game.

There's a difference between being real and being fake for the money. And here's a tip: if your persona is bragging about how much money you're making the other guy by being fake rather than kicking ass, and after the fight it's shown to be a work over and over with your opponent saying "he's doing what he does" - it's a joke. Frazier hated Ali for decades after their wars inside the ring. In the UFC it's all too common to pat each other on the back and congrats on a promotion well done.

 

[blazerkor]

Longtime MMA fan here. I usually don't comment on the way things are, but with all this ridiculousness about UFC 200, it's just driven me crazy with how bad the UFC and UFC fighter mentality has become.

So much talk from Dana and Conor about marketing and fighting, and I look back at UFC 100, and think that things really haven't evolved a bit. UFC is still stuck in this dudebro fake "rival" mentality of spending a lot of money to hype up fights that isn't necessary, with a couple guys who will readily admit they're "selling" the fight. It always reminds me of the Shamrock - Ortiz "rivalry" when Ken said, "we made a lot of money."

It's so goofy, and while people can say that that's part of the fighter's persona, it's the UFC that encourages and rewards it. Which is why Chael Sonnen was put in all sorts of main events despite being a roided mediocre fighter than would have been on the cut line without his mouth.

Maybe there was a point when UFC was gaining notoriety when this was all necessary, but now it's just a turn off. We know it's an act, it's a tired act, $10 million doesn't have to be spent to hype an event everyone knows about. Fighters don't need to act like The Rock or Muhammad Ali to garner interest. The whole meta "I make more money than anyone" is a tired work, and UFC and the fighters need to evolve beyond this crap.

Believe it or not, people will still watch just as much without all this worked crap, and without a bunch of fake juice commercials hyping how really bad fighters hate each other, before pulling yet another Ken Shamrock after the fight. Grow up UFC.

Promotion will always be part of the fight game. So maybe you should look elsewhere but you could also just stop paying attention to the promotion side of it. Just go to http://www.ufc.com/schedule/event every once in a while and choose the fights you want to watch. Then if the broadcast is too much for you, mute in between fights or the whole thing and just watch the beautiful mma that takes place. You can also probably enjoy the countdown shows they do but it sounds like that's it.

I've followed boxing for 25 years, since I was 12; rivalries and hype have always been a part of it (real or fake) so it doesn't bother me to see the UFC do it. The UFC isn't worse about it than boxing, it's just that the UFC is promoting around 20 fighters they want to be seen as stars and boxing is being promoted poorly right now, so not too many fighters are making money good money.

So, I don't blame you for hating the promotion side of it but it's not going anywhere.

 

[LHWBelt]

I couldn't get through all of this. It's the fight game it's going to be driven by rivalries at times. We're still getting great fights so I could care less. Look at the upcoming championship fights and tell me they aren't awesome fights:

Werdum/Stipe
DC/Jones 2
Rockhold/Weidman 2 (Not a fan of this one)
Cruz/Faber 3

Those are the only ones I know but they're excellent fights. Throw Lawler in there against anyone and it'll be good same with RDA. Not a big fan of DJ but he's dominant and that's exciting as well. The women I know a little less about but this is enough for me.

 

[mjfan23]

They are now targeting the soap opera and the kardashians type shows viewing audience.

 

[mjfan23]

That Brazil card though is sick and one of the best in a long long time. HW title, cyborg, vitor, Jacare, Maia, and Spider all in one card!

 

[613]

It sounds like you have not watched many. Ali wasn't fake, that was his persona. Go watch any of the documentaries on Ali, and you can see that. He wasn't pounding his chest on how much money he was going to make the other guy by being fake, he was up there talking about discrimination and a useless war that killed millions - and even was suspended in his prime for his actions.

Tyson wasn't fake, he was a freaking psycho, who has a rap sheet mile long before he even went pro, and then added jail time to that once he was. For better or worse, people were drawn to pay to watch someone who was legitimately violent by nature to fight.

Jordan falls into that as well with his competitiveness. Here's a guy who would punch guys on his own team in practice for not playing hard enough, and concoct stories about opponents to fire himself up after a bad game.

There's a difference between being real and being fake for the money. And here's a tip: if your persona is bragging about how much money you're making the other guy by being fake rather than kicking ass, and after the fight it's shown to be a work over and over with your opponent saying "he's doing what he does" - it's a joke. Frazier hated Ali for decades after their wars inside the ring. In the UFC it's all too common to pat each other on the back and congrats on a promotion well done.

Yes Tyson was legit crazy, but both Ali and Tyson have admitted playing shit up to get attention. You know what Ali said about his feud with Frazier? "I'm sorry. It was all meant to promote the fight" (word for word). Frazie hated Ali for years, but Ali NEVER hated Frazier and Frazier was not the one talking trash. In all sports you fucking see guys shit talking until the game/series is over and they shake hands and say good job. Thats part of sports