"They say the UFC has peaked. They are morons !" - Dana White

[Cam Zink]

who's they?

The "upper management".

 

[DorianGray]

“Do you know how many times I’ve heard, ‘Oh my God, the Chuck Liddell era is over, Chuck Liddell is retiring, what’s the UFC going to do? They don’t have stars anymore. Or, ‘Oh my God, the GSP era is over, what are they going to do without GSP?’ Or, ‘Oh my God, the Anderson Silva era is over, what are they going to do without Anderson Silva?’ They say the UFC has peaked — and we just sold it for 4 billion dollars. I can’t read this stuff or listen to these morons who talk about it. They know nothing about the business and they don’t understand how it works. We do.”

http://www.mmamania.com/2016/8/4/12...think-ufc-peaked-following-4-billion-sale-mma

I've been watching MMA since 2003 and I while I agree this has always been said, the difference is I (and many other loyal fans) actually feel it this time. I always defended the UFC in years past from the "UFC is over" crowd, but for the first time 14 years, I'm willing to admit I think they've over pushed their boundries and they are a falling company. Sorry, Baldfather, your ship is sinking.

the problem is you're feeling instead of thinking. Next time, think it through and lay it out and maybe more people will hop on board with you

 

[HuskySamoan]

yes, Sherdog is the world's biggest MMA forum and I've been on here since 2009. I have never seen threads last several days on the first page that only have 50 comments until this last year.

There is no buzz for the UFC anymore.

A lot of that has to do with social media amalgamating so much. Now a lot of people just use Twitter, YouTube and Instagram to keep up with news, followed their favorite fighters and talk shit in the comment sections. Reddit has a huge MMA following too.

Ironically if what you are saying is true, it could actually mean the opposite, the the UFC fanbase is growing.

 

[Lemmy Caution]

It's impossible to predict the future. I know, duh.

Look at the 1990s and early 2000s and all the calls to ban MMA. Who would ever have thought casual people would warm up to the bloodshed? Boxing was considered too violent by most, now it's not violent enough to draw a crowd.

 

[Mob69]

Since November I have paid almost no attention. WME are undermining the structural integrity of this sport (the thing that distinguishes us from boxing) and as such are rapidly killing my enthusiasm.

Circus atmosphere, chaos, general disaffection, meaningless belts galore (interim FW, female FW, now interim LW in last three months), numerous elite fighters being unwanted and allowed to leave.

Plus there's a lack of truly special, dominant champs.

 

[The guest]

ANY asshole that creates a thread, quoting Dana as the source is a MORON.

 

[Pseudo Sane]

“Do you know how many times I’ve heard, ‘Oh my God, the Chuck Liddell era is over, Chuck Liddell is retiring, what’s the UFC going to do? They don’t have stars anymore. Or, ‘Oh my God, the GSP era is over, what are they going to do without GSP?’ Or, ‘Oh my God, the Anderson Silva era is over, what are they going to do without Anderson Silva?’ They say the UFC has peaked — and we just sold it for 4 billion dollars. I can’t read this stuff or listen to these morons who talk about it. They know nothing about the business and they don’t understand how it works. We do.”

http://www.mmamania.com/2016/8/4/12...think-ufc-peaked-following-4-billion-sale-mma

I've been watching MMA since 2003 and I while I agree this has always been said, the difference is I (and many other loyal fans) actually feel it this time. I always defended the UFC in years past from the "UFC is over" crowd, but for the first time 14 years, I'm willing to admit I think they've over pushed their boundries and they are a falling company. Sorry, Baldfather, your ship is sinking.

As a general heuristic, I assume that whatever Dana says is untrue.

 

[TatooNU]

New UFC owners overpaid. Sorry. Stipe, Nunes, D.C., jj, don't sell ppv.

 

[Lemmy Caution]

(2) MMA doesn't have come-up programs like the major sports, where children start very young in youth leagues and school leagues, and the process of selecting the best potential begins at a very young stage, by the time athletes reach the pro-stage, they are probably the best in that respective sport.

Because parents who are hesitant to see their kids play football and hockey due to head injuries will just throw their kids at a sport where the goal is to beat the other guy to a living dead. And football and hockey are watered down compared to how they were just a few decades ago.

But, as I wrote earlier, things may change. Future parents may love to watch their kids beat each other to a pulp on the playground. Then the UFC will be the front runner.

 

[PeterGriffin]

I find the other organizations are up and down, with Bellator making the most of the UFC's current position(s).

The UFC may or may not have peaked yet, but it certainly is in a lull right now. With the pending antitrust suit(s), and the Senator lobbying to have MMA fighters included under "The Ali Act", it seems like the UFC is in damage control mode right now. Streamlining the organization following its purchase is normal, so the UFC staff layoffs and restructuring doesn't come as a huge surprise.

Releasing or letting higher ranked fighters leave, especially in weak divisions is a different story. I feel it might be a play to support the UFC's position claim of not being a monopoly in court proceedings, but that's purely a guess on my part.

The titles and rankings have reduced value, and too much emphasis has been placed on the events being a spectacle.

 

[AusMMAfan]

2016 was a very big year with Conor and Ronda but 2017 has been lackluster so far.

No Brock, No Ronda, White knights PVZ, Sage and Holm all lost, Anderson Silva past his prime, Conor not fighting, JBJ on the sideline, GSP who the fuck knows.

So basically all of the above is going to have a real impact on PPV revenue, easy as that Dana.

Fertitta brothers sold at the exact right time.

 

[Danespina]

“Do you know how many times I’ve heard, ‘Oh my God, the Chuck Liddell era is over, Chuck Liddell is retiring, what’s the UFC going to do? They don’t have stars anymore. Or, ‘Oh my God, the GSP era is over, what are they going to do without GSP?’ Or, ‘Oh my God, the Anderson Silva era is over, what are they going to do without Anderson Silva?’ They say the UFC has peaked — and we just sold it for 4 billion dollars. I can’t read this stuff or listen to these morons who talk about it. They know nothing about the business and they don’t understand how it works. We do.”

http://www.mmamania.com/2016/8/4/12...think-ufc-peaked-following-4-billion-sale-mma

I've been watching MMA since 2003 and I while I agree this has always been said, the difference is I (and many other loyal fans) actually feel it this time. I always defended the UFC in years past from the "UFC is over" crowd, but for the first time 14 years, I'm willing to admit I think they've over pushed their boundries and they are a falling company. Sorry, Baldfather, your ship is sinking.

It's just your time to feel it. The sports keeps growing though. Last year was their most successful year ever.

 

[Danespina]

The UFC may or may not have peaked yet, but it certainly is in a lull right now.

This lull is literally 2 months old. UFC is coming off the amazing New York show and the Ronda Rousey show. Most even agree the Toronto PPV was one of the years best.

January/February have been weak. That's it. But not one champion fought in either month. They'll be returning soon.

 

[Rob_M.]

I would say it's leveled off. It's becoming less interesting for me. Tired of them pushing superstars.

 

[Based Akali]

The UFC is not even close to peaking yet.

(1) Fighting requires a lot of athleticism, but the current batch of UFC fighters are not the best athletes the world has to offer.

The average story of a current UFC fighter is "I was a fuck up who loved to fight, and when the UFC started getting famous, I started fighting for money."

These are essentially bar brawlers turned athletes.

(2) MMA doesn't have come-up programs like the major sports, where children start very young in youth leagues and school leagues, and the process of selecting the best potential begins at a very young stage, by the time athletes reach the pro-stage, they are probably the best in that respective sport.

For example, it is rare to a find kid who likes to play hockey on his driveway, and later starts playing in some rec league and gets picked up by an NHL team. You have to go through the system.

(3) Most UFC fighters cannot execute the techniques they drill in the gym. They look good hitting pads, shadow boxing and etc, but in a fight, they are very tentative and unable to execute.

Other professional athletes are able to execute the techniques that they practice.

Also, most UFC fighters are still not able to function at their best for the entire duration of the fight. They are not condition to go 3 or 5 rounds.

In comparison, Lionel Messi can play 90 minutes + extra time of football at a high level. He is conditioned to play his sport, because he has been playing it from the time he knew how to walk.

Conclusion, MMA has a long way to go. The UFC needs to invest money (1) Establishing a come-up system from school-age to professional (2) Invest in research for better training practices (3) Invest in current fighters to allow them to be professional athletes, and not part time fighters.

The UFC will never do that, because no one is going to raise their child training MMA for a career later in life for peanuts compared to what they could train their child for in other more traditional sports that pay far far more and also don't include getting repeated head trauma through their life.

On top of that you don't own an entire sport and basically almost a monopoly on that sport and sell it if you think it's going to get even bigger and bigger.

 

[Deleted member 220895]

Peaked?

 

[RJ43]

They need more stars. Conor is proving that a straight up MMA fighter can become a megastar. Their problem is that there is only one of him, and no one seems to give a shit about anyone else.

What Dana is conveniently ignoring is that with each passing of the stardom torch there was someone there to take the handoff. Rousey is a flop and Conor is MIA. There is no one else there.

They need some more stars and they likely need them now.

 

[Cooliox]

this time it is different.

they ran out of self-made stars, and hence they chose to force-manufacture stars instead, through lies, bullshit, and hype.

 

[Fraz]

Piqued*

 

[Clippy]