MMA is really lacking something right now. All we get is "this guy vs. that guy", ok now let's do "that guy vs. this guy". It's just match-up roulette. There's no hype. No storyline. We just got fighters trying, and mostly failing, to earn a crack at a belt that increasingly means nothing to the fans. We got fighters ducking each other or trying to pick and choose who they fight. I think i got the cure, though. So what about this?
A $1,000,000 one night MMA GRAND PRIX!
No belts on the line. No ten point must scoring system. No three month fight camps. Just show up and fight!
These fighters want to get paid, right? I envision a one night tournament where each fighter gets show money, maybe in the ballpark of $80 with a $40k pay increase for making it to the next round of the tournament. Whoever wins the tournament will cash out with a paycheck totaling (all rounds included) $1,000,000. Although all the fights would be three round fights, the rounds won't be scored individually. At the end of three rounds, if there hasn't been a finish, the judges will score the entirety of the fight and declare a winner. Stalling will also be called quick and often, perhaps even penalized. The brackets won't be announced until maybe a day or two before the event, hell, maybe not even until the weigh ins.
I'd like to see fighters try to duck such a payday, or complain about who they have to face in the tournament, with a million dollars on the line. I also think that with such a payday, fighters would lobby to get in from the weight classes bordering the weight class that the tournament is being held in. For example, I envision a UFC version and a Bellator version.
UFC potential participants in a LHW GP:
Jon Jones, Jimi Manuwa, Glover Teixeira, Alexander Gustaffson, Roy Nelson, Jacare Souza, Luke Rockhold, Gegard Mousasi, Yoel Romero, Daniel Cormier, Michael Bisping and whichever else HWs can make the 205 limit.
Bellator WW GP: (I've made a previous thread about a possible BFC WW GP involving the following fighters):
Lorenz Larkin, Paul Daley, Rory McDonald, Chidi Njokuani, Douglas Lima, Andrey Koreshkov, Michael "Venom" Page, and maybe someone like brennan ward (or Ben Askren might be available in co-promotional role).
Not only does this provide a potential payday for the fighters, but would give us something to actually talk about as fans rather than just waiting to see yet another #1 contenders fight that won't actually lead to a title shot.
A $1,000,000 one night MMA GRAND PRIX!
No belts on the line. No ten point must scoring system. No three month fight camps. Just show up and fight!
These fighters want to get paid, right? I envision a one night tournament where each fighter gets show money, maybe in the ballpark of $80 with a $40k pay increase for making it to the next round of the tournament. Whoever wins the tournament will cash out with a paycheck totaling (all rounds included) $1,000,000. Although all the fights would be three round fights, the rounds won't be scored individually. At the end of three rounds, if there hasn't been a finish, the judges will score the entirety of the fight and declare a winner. Stalling will also be called quick and often, perhaps even penalized. The brackets won't be announced until maybe a day or two before the event, hell, maybe not even until the weigh ins.
I'd like to see fighters try to duck such a payday, or complain about who they have to face in the tournament, with a million dollars on the line. I also think that with such a payday, fighters would lobby to get in from the weight classes bordering the weight class that the tournament is being held in. For example, I envision a UFC version and a Bellator version.
UFC potential participants in a LHW GP:
Jon Jones, Jimi Manuwa, Glover Teixeira, Alexander Gustaffson, Roy Nelson, Jacare Souza, Luke Rockhold, Gegard Mousasi, Yoel Romero, Daniel Cormier, Michael Bisping and whichever else HWs can make the 205 limit.
Bellator WW GP: (I've made a previous thread about a possible BFC WW GP involving the following fighters):
Lorenz Larkin, Paul Daley, Rory McDonald, Chidi Njokuani, Douglas Lima, Andrey Koreshkov, Michael "Venom" Page, and maybe someone like brennan ward (or Ben Askren might be available in co-promotional role).
Not only does this provide a potential payday for the fighters, but would give us something to actually talk about as fans rather than just waiting to see yet another #1 contenders fight that won't actually lead to a title shot.