There are no analytics in the world that can justify a comparison of KoTC and RFA/Legacy. RFA & Legacy have a decent tv deal on AXS TV which is now now improved going forward as they increase their numbers of shows in 2017; their news and results get written up on all the major MMA news sites routinely; their owners Ed Soares and Mick Maynard are power brokers in the MMA industry; many of their fighters come from or go on to the UFC and other major promotions; sportsbooks worldwide release betting lines for their main cards. KoTC in contrast has a tv deal on a channel that almost no one ever heard about and broadcasts weeks or months long tape delayed cards in standard definition; they feature mostly completely unknown fighters; MMA news sites rarely talk about KoTC cards because they're mostly a bunch of tiny shows in obscure venues with little significance. Do a search on this very forum Sherdog and see how many threads and discussions there are about RFA/Legacy cards compared to the extraordinarily infrequent mentions of KoTC.
KoTC certainly has its place in history and in the sport today for what it is. But I think I'm probably the only person worldwide who actually sets their DVR to record a season pass of King of The Cage cards on Monday at 11 AM on MavTV and enjoys it for what it is. No one else is talking about them. RFA and Legacy are an order of magnitude more important than KoTC in terms of mindshare. It's not even close.
I mean.... sweet analysis based on perception, fella. Here's the thing, and I mean this as computery as possible... you don't know what you're talking about. RFA a waning trajectory. That's why they had to merge. They also do not have the spread or consistency of KotC (and btw, I'm not here to defend KotC, but simply here to explain to you how you're speaking in ignorance). Do I think they are or will be in trouble? Heck no. Do I think you're making a lot of assumptions based on consumer perceptions? Hell yeah.
See, what you fail to remember is what you read on MMA News sites are paid for 70% of the time. So yeah, RFA grabbing some conversation. It's much like ONEFC, who pays heavily to look prominent while in reality they cancel shows more than any other large promotion.
It's not your fault, this industry is private companies who hide their numbers and make themselves whatever they want to. But what they cannot do his hide analytics if you're able to get in front of them and pour over the numbers. The reality is when you dive into numbers and work with these guys, you learn what they are. Less than 5% of them are consistently profitable. Less than 20% are operating at a sustainable loss. Injections are often what keep companies afloat. Individuals create wealth but the promotions themselves often are in the red.
Having your name in the papers is fine, but creating content to spread is the key to any profit-cultivation. KotC are a content-mill, often filled with more than half amateurs. They create marketing interest organically (regional-heroes system), and then packages and sells the content internationally. Their game is the content-driven, and not the character-driven. RFA has gone the other direction. They hope to cozy up to the big dogs. And that works to a point, except they have not learned how to create an identity behind it yet. They're hoping LFA merging will bolster them into the defacto "Triple-A" team.... but the fact they think they're the "NCAA" and not a "Triple-A Team" shows their very process of thought is flawed.
Don't assume because a company says they are something means they are something. There is a reason RFA and Legacy are merging. You should consider why that might be.
