Building Superstars In The UFC

Yoshimitzu

White Belt
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So it seems every couple of days there is mention of PPV numbers declining, old fans being fed up of the new product and people hating the money fights. MMA is long removed from the days of nu metal and tapout shorts but the new product is so bland and the events so numerous it's hard to keep track of even for an experienced fan. I'm bored as fuck of hearing about this new "super athlete" and whatever shit he talks on social media, it's almost like these guys have to get into a nut swinging contest to even try and get the non die hard fans interested simply because there are no other avenues to showcase themselves. The previous era's fighters were appealing because they had unique personas and styles, this isn't WWE obviously but a signature image goes a hell of a long way. Chuck Liddell was a pot belly mohawked guy with nukes in his gloves, GSP was the consummate professional who could adapt to anyone, Anderson Silva was an artist. I don't want a movie style trailer to hype the fight, get me interested in whoevers competing so I'll stick by them for the long run and not for a singular event.

I think they need to allow fighters to have their own personality and build stars that way, go in depth into a fighters MMA background, focus on their best techniques in the promos prior to the fight similar to the "signature moves" videos the UFC were putting out a few years back. Hell, even let them design their own signature shorts with reebok once they hit main event status so that people will actually buy them instead of those boring fight kits they aren't managing to sell...Take a page out of the early UFC's book, give the casual or new viewer something to latch onto and teach him about each fighters skills or get them to demonstrate some of their victories or highlights from their own perspective, It's not hard to get a fighter to demonstrate their striking or submission skills for a quick promo after all.
 
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<{JustBleed}>
 
i don't disagree.

the Reebok deal was made for one purpose; so the F brothers could make the UFC more saleable. from that perspective, it was brilliant.

for fan fun, it was not brilliant.

hopefully when the deal ends, they'll give fighters some individuality back. but i'm afraid they won't, and the next shorts will be like Nascar jackets, but with UFC ads instead of fighter ads.
 
you dont need to build the superstars

let them build themselves

just give us decent cards for
 
you dont need to build the superstars

let them build themselves

just give us decent cards for

I agree but

Hard to be different and promote yourself when the have 500+ fighters and are restricted by presentation and uniform.
 
Building the UFC brand in recent years has smothered the fighters individuality, but I think the two biggest problems are not enough time between events to promote fighters and fighters turning down fights and denying people to build their careers up. It seems like it's pulling teeth to get up and coming prospects the fights they need to get exposure.
 
you dont need to build the superstars

let them build themselves

just give us decent cards for
i never considered it to fix everything. dogs and cats won'[t get along if we let fighters be more individualistic again.

but i agree with it nonetheless. it wouldn't fix everything, but it would be marginally better.
 
Less events means the build up and promotion doesn't get lost in the shuffle, and because less fighters would be on the roster it's easier for one to stand out.
 
Gotta agree with you there too, If you put on too many events you give yourself less time to promote and of course you have to spread out your top talent more. The company makes more money that way but the long term health of the sport goes down for sure
 
I agree but

Hard to be different and promote yourself when the have 500+ fighters and are restricted by presentation and uniform.

The problem is the fans. There are two types of MMA fans. People who watch for the same reason people watch NASCAR (wrecks) and daytime talk shows (trashy drama). And the second are people who enjoy the sport at its highest level.

If two of the best fighters in the world are fighting and you still need a reason to watch, maybe you need a new sport
 
The problem is the fans. There are two types of MMA fans. People who watch for the same reason people watch NASCAR (wrecks) and daytime talk shows (trashy drama). And the second are people who enjoy the sport at its highest level.

If two of the best fighters in the world are fighting and you still need a reason to watch, maybe you need a new sport
I'm fine with that, and to be honest I preferred MMA when it was mostly about that..

Its what set it apart from boxing, the best would fight the best most of the time.

But OP was asking about 'stars' and star to me is mainstream and they generally dont give a fuck about that, those are the trash casuals you mentioned - unfortunately for us, they dictate the market as the UFC gets more money out of them than they do out of hardcores.
 
The problem is the fans. There are two types of MMA fans. People who watch for the same reason people watch NASCAR (wrecks) and daytime talk shows (trashy drama). And the second are people who enjoy the sport at its highest level.

If two of the best fighters in the world are fighting and you still need a reason to watch, maybe you need a new sport
i agree.

but the fact is, the sport would have died without "People who watch for the same reason people watch NASCAR (wrecks) and daytime talk shows (trashy drama)."

fact is, this sport survived in the US because of a Big Brother type reality show with drunken spritzing. not because of fans like you and me.

and when it became a huge money maker, the die was cast. those fans you and i pay for our MMA on Fox and FS1.

and though we may prefer to go back to 5, 10 or 12 PPV's a year, that's over. the die is cast.

sucks, don't it? but hey, at least we get free MMA out of it.
 
[QUOTE="If two of the best fighters in the world are fighting and you still need a reason to watch, maybe you need a new sport[/QUOTE]

But what if they are upcoming prospects? Just getting on the main card and ready to make a statement? Rather than the bland pre fight interview "I'm gonna do this or that" I'd rather see an example of what makes them dangerous and hear their background, that's enough to separate two fighters who are otherwise unknown
 
Max Holloway used to be a much more interesting fighter when he had the corn nuts, mcdonalds, alienware and condom depot logo on his shorts, now it is like he is void of any personality so I don't watch his fights anymore.
 
Personally I think the product would improve and we would have more stars if the UFC would take some of the following measures...

1. Scrap at least 75% of the wmma. I understand fighters like Ronda and Tate drove the ratings way up. They are fairly attractive (straight) females. Most of the mainstream (silent majority) will not connect with most of the current females and their 'partners'.

2. Make being on a ppv a privilege. Putting a better fight in the prelim main event instead of stacking the ppv undercard may seem like a good idea in theory, but in reality the event doesn't build up the same anticipation when you get good fights in waves as opposed to a steady stream of better and better matchups.

3. If they really want to grow the sport and not just milk the short term cash out of it they need to cut CM Punk and pony up and pay their superstars. It's better to pay Conor whatever it takes to get him to fight and sacrifice a few million in this fiscal year in order to grow the sport and gain public interest over the long run. Same goes for GSP, as well as some of the fighters they've let go recently...

4. Use the FS1 studio/shows to generate more beef and more discussion between fighters. I'd rather see fighters arguing on skype or in studio than see these weak Twitter battles where nobody comes out looking good.

5. Give fightpass far more behind the scenes content while allowing subscribers to buy events for $49.99 instead of $64.99. That gives fans a chance to connect with the fighters leading up to an event, see which personality they admire and can latch onto between the two fighters, as well as a price incentive to see what happens.
 
Max Holloway used to be a much more interesting fighter when he had the corn nuts, mcdonalds, alienware and condom depot logo on his shorts, now it is like he is void of any personality so I don't watch his fights anymore.
Was expecting

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So it seems every couple of days there is mention of PPV numbers declining, old fans being fed up of the new product and people hating the money fights. MMA is long removed from the days of nu metal and tapout shorts but the new product is so bland and the events so numerous it's hard to keep track of even for an experienced fan. I'm bored as fuck of hearing about this new "super athlete" and whatever shit he talks on social media, it's almost like these guys have to get into a nut swinging contest to even try and get the non die hard fans interested simply because there are no other avenues to showcase themselves. The previous era's fighters were appealing because they had unique personas and styles, this isn't WWE obviously but a signature image goes a hell of a long way. Chuck Liddell was a pot belly mohawked guy with nukes in his gloves, GSP was the consummate professional who could adapt to anyone, Anderson Silva was an artist. I don't want a movie style trailer to hype the fight, get me interested in whoevers competing so I'll stick by them for the long run and not for a singular event.

I think they need to allow fighters to have their own personality and build stars that way, go in depth into a fighters MMA background, focus on their best techniques in the promos prior to the fight similar to the "signature moves" videos the UFC were putting out a few years back. Hell, even let them design their own signature shorts with reebok once they hit main event status so that people will actually buy them instead of those boring fight kits they aren't managing to sell...Take a page out of the early UFC's book, give the casual or new viewer something to latch onto and teach him about each fighters skills or get them to demonstrate some of their victories or highlights from their own perspective, It's not hard to get a fighter to demonstrate their striking or submission skills for a quick promo after all.




There's too much forced shit on fans, from Reebok, to WMMA, hoping undeserving fighters(Sage, PVZ, etc), shit cards, shit matchmaking, fighters only wanting higher ranked fighters, while refusing lower ranked but deserving fighters, Champs refusing to fight no. 1,2, and 3 ranked contenders, Champs calling out smaller fighters, etc.
 
Brian Ortega.... Hot young star. Diaz attitude and Gracie BJJ Skills.... Future Champion!!!
 
Fans today need drama reality TV stars. Fighting ability is second to smart marketing.
 
So it seems every couple of days there is mention of PPV numbers declining, old fans being fed up of the new product and people hating the money fights. MMA is long removed from the days of nu metal and tapout shorts but the new product is so bland and the events so numerous it's hard to keep track of even for an experienced fan. I'm bored as fuck of hearing about this new "super athlete" and whatever shit he talks on social media, it's almost like these guys have to get into a nut swinging contest to even try and get the non die hard fans interested simply because there are no other avenues to showcase themselves. The previous era's fighters were appealing because they had unique personas and styles, this isn't WWE obviously but a signature image goes a hell of a long way. Chuck Liddell was a pot belly mohawked guy with nukes in his gloves, GSP was the consummate professional who could adapt to anyone, Anderson Silva was an artist. I don't want a movie style trailer to hype the fight, get me interested in whoevers competing so I'll stick by them for the long run and not for a singular event.

I think they need to allow fighters to have their own personality and build stars that way, go in depth into a fighters MMA background, focus on their best techniques in the promos prior to the fight similar to the "signature moves" videos the UFC were putting out a few years back. Hell, even let them design their own signature shorts with reebok once they hit main event status so that people will actually buy them instead of those boring fight kits they aren't managing to sell...Take a page out of the early UFC's book, give the casual or new viewer something to latch onto and teach him about each fighters skills or get them to demonstrate some of their victories or highlights from their own perspective, It's not hard to get a fighter to demonstrate their striking or submission skills for a quick promo after all.

Agreed, 1,000%!

It appears to me that WME have a very clear business direction they want to take the UFC towards: building the UFC brand and only the brand, not the fighters.

One of the clearest indications of the UFC branding is the uniform. It takes away the individuality of each fighters and puts the focus on the UFC (and Reebok) brand.
 
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