What is the image goal of the UFC these days ?

Shep Proudfoot

Banned
Banned
Joined
Jan 1, 2018
Messages
136
Reaction score
0
While butts in seats and profit is always #1, has the UFC changed its marketing from determining who is the best fighter in each weight class to drawing as much star power from each fighter as possible, integrity and fairness be damned ?

I'm not criticizing either way - it's a business. I just wish Dana and company would be more open about. The company seems so scattered in what they represent these days.
 
While butts in seats and profit is always #1, has the UFC changed its marketing from determining who is the best fighter in each weight class to drawing as much star power from each fighter as possible, integrity and fairness be damned ?

I'm not criticizing either way - it's a business. I just wish Dana and company would be more open about. The company seems so scattered in what they represent these days.

long term i do believe 'sports entertainment' is the goal. in boxing there was a booger named John Ruiz who was champ, but no one would fight him because no one would pay to watch him fight, and he usually won ugly. so everyone avoided him. so we don't know how good or bad he was because no one would fight him. until he changed his style to get more viewers, against RJJ, and lost by not playing his booger fight game.

it made financial sense not to put Ruiz on a PPV. UFC also avoided these booger fighters - so it's not like they were ever fully invested in "determining who is the best fighter in each weight class" as the OP suggests - and WME will do so in the future.

meanwhile, short term, the "scattered" you reference is (i firmly believe) directly related to WME finding out that the work Zuffa did for 15 years perfecting the well oiled machine turned out to be harder than it looked. things like matchmaking, PPV stacking, Fox cards, etc. it's time sherdoggers realized this too.
 
Over saturation is hurting ppv numbers.

They need a LHW Grand Prix to bring some excitement.
 
long term i do believe 'sports entertainment' is the goal. in boxing there was a booger named John Ruiz who was champ, but no one would fight him because no one would pay to watch him fight, and he usually won ugly. so everyone avoided him. so we don't know how good or bad he was because no one would fight him. until he changed his style to get more viewers, against RJJ, and lost by not playing his booger fight game.

UFC also avoided these booger fighters, and WME will do so in the future. Ruiz was early 00, so WME certainly didn't invent this idea.

meanwhile, short term, the "scattered" you reference is (i firmly believe) directly related to WME finding out that the work Zuffa did for 15 years perfecting the well oiled machine turned out to be harder than it looked. things like matchmaking, PPV stacking, Fox cards, etc. it's time sherdoggers realized this too.

Ruiz' nickname was "the quiet man." LOL
He was the original Stipe.
 
Ruiz' nickname was "the quiet man." LOL
He was the original Stipe.
nooooooooooooooooooo.

Ruiz perfected the jab-jab-hug technique. ref break, jab-jab-hug-break. rinse, repeat. he was unbeatable with that technique!

that's not Stipe in the slightest bit.
 
nooooooooooooooooooo.

Ruiz perfected the jab-jab-hug technique. ref break, jab-jab-hug-break. rinse, repeat. he was unbeatable with that technique!

that's not Stipe in the slightest bit.

I meant he was not marketable even though he was dominant.
 
I meant he was not marketable even though he was dominant.
ahhh.

ya, Stipe isn't controversial at all. he and DJ. and it turns out great fighting simply isn't enough for MMA. the majority of fans need some sort of controversy to stay engaged & entertained.

which begs the question (and is pertinent to the OP): if WME give a majority of fans what a majority of fans want (e.g. and does not include "determining who is the best fighter in each weight class"), are they really doing anything wrong?
 
Last edited:
I think they went a little overboard trying to trim the fat and it's starting to suffer from it.
TUF saved it the first time, Conor could potentially here but it doesn't look likely.
They definitely need something to spice things up.
 
it'll probably take them a few years to work out all the kinks
 
The UFC never cared about who the best fighter was in each weight class.
 
Back
Top