Who would you give the most credit to the success of the UFC?

[BEATDOWNS]

Uncle Fester

 

[KORNBR3AD]

Its easy to see who speaks from emotion rather than reason.

 

[StonedLemur]

saying “ufc is successful because of the fighters” is kind of a trite statement. ufc is a fight promotion. they sell fights. of course they need fighters. the same can be said of every fight promotion. and indeed every fight promotion has fighters—many of them talented enough to find success in ufc. and yet ufc is the ubiquitous promotion everyone talks about. why do you suppose that is?

Ok so you have avoided my question.
What is the organization without the fighters?.... nothing.

 

[Ares Black]

From that list, Dana White.


But the real answer is The Fans.

 

[Choco]

Stephan Bonnar and Forrest Griffin

It's amazing that people still buys that shit in 2023.

 

[Hellowhosthat]

I dunno man, The Gracie's sold their idea to the right people that's hard to do when your the first to start something... I think the arc would of been much different had the Gracie's not started it and sold when they did to whom they did .. i mean just look over a Japanese MMA history. . it developed much differently then here

I think it would have taken longer but once the internet took off it would have happened.

 

[Haj01]

To be honest, it was Dana's idea and vision, but it required the Fertitas' money and investment to make it happen.

The fighters are incidental, irrelevant, and easily-replaceable.

Only vision, backed by money, makes things happen.

I think it was the previous owners idea and vision which Dana kind of took and made his own.

Remember it was actually the previous owners who brought in the athletic commission and introduced rounds to the sport.

They just lacked the funding to invest. Dana and CO saw the potential for what they were trying to do and bought it and made it their own. Because Dana knew as he was managing fighters at the time such as Chuck.

For sure Dana and the Fertitta brothers helped grow the sport immensely. But we must not forget who came up with the idea for UFC and it was not Dana.

Also the product wasn't doing so well till Forrest and Bonnar had their bout. Arguably they saved the company.

 

[ipowerslapmywife]

Dana

 

[chinarice]

People might not like it but it's Dana.

Could other people with money have come in to grow the sport at some point? Sure, so it's not the Fertittas although they were the ones that did and people have thrown money at other promotions.

The fighters? Sure as a whole but on an indivual level there have been great fights and great fighters in promotions that weren't the UFC and none of them have reached the audience that the UFC was able to.

Dana is the one guy who I can say that nobody else has really been able to replicate. Sure he's made fuck ups, but he's the guy who's been present and involved in the growth of the company.

But he failed as everyone knows the history and that TUF (Something he wasn't for) was what saved it.

He didn't do anything other than run it into the red year after year until a reality tv show saved it and that wasn't his idea.

Anyone could have done what Dana did.... Not hard to lose money year after year and almost have to close up shop until someone came along with a good idea to save it. It sure as hell wasn't Dana's idea.

 

[Goutfather]

Ok so you have avoided my question.
What is the organization without the fighters?.... nothing.

i did answer your question. yes, a fight promotion is “nothing” without fighters. that’s not exactly a profound insight.

now answer my question: why is ufc the largest mma promotion, with the largest media presence, and the most prestige and name recognition? “the fighters?” since we’re crediting “the fighters” with a promotion’s success, do the “the fighters” also get credit when a promotion fails? affliction had fighters too—arguably the best in the world at the time. so why did they fold? was it the fighters’ fault, or was it gross mismanagement? like i said, much more goes into creating a business than the talent of the workers.

 

[ipowerslapmywife]

I think it was the previous owners idea and vision which Dana kind of took and made his own.

Remember it was actually the previous owners who brought in the athletic commission and introduced rounds to the sport.

They just lacked the funding to invest. Dana and CO saw the potential for what they were trying to do and bought it and made it their own. Because Dana knew as he was managing fighters at the time such as Chuck.

For sure Dana and the Fertitta brothers helped grow the sport immensely. But we must not forget who came up with the idea for UFC and it was not Dana.

Also the product wasn't doing so well till Forrest and Bonnar had their bout. Arguably they saved the company.

UFC wouldn’t be as mainstream without Dana

 

[StonedLemur]

i did answer your question. yes, a fight promotion is “nothing” without fighters. that’s not exactly a profound insight.

now answer my question: why is ufc the largest mma promotion, with the largest media presence, and the most prestige and name recognition? “the fighters?” since we’re crediting “the fighters” with a promotion’s success, do the “the fighters” also get credit when a promotion fails? affliction had fighters too—arguably the best in the world at the time. so why did they fold? was it the fighters’ fault, or was it gross mismanagement? like i said, much more goes into creating a business than the talent of the workers.

I wasn't trying to be profound, just accurate sir.

 

[IronGolem007]

I think it was the previous owners idea and vision which Dana kind of took and made his own.

Remember it was actually the previous owners who brought in the athletic commission and introduced rounds to the sport.

They just lacked the funding to invest. Dana and CO saw the potential for what they were trying to do and bought it and made it their own. Because Dana knew as he was managing fighters at the time such as Chuck.

For sure Dana and the Fertitta brothers helped grow the sport immensely. But we must not forget who came up with the idea for UFC and it was not Dana.

Also the product wasn't doing so well till Forrest and Bonnar had their bout. Arguably they saved the company.

It's true Dana and the Fertitas bros did not come up with the idea, but they took a dying organization and breathed new life into it, making it bigger than it has ever been before.

And by a country mile.

MMA is now universally accepted, where (if you recall) it was not.

 

[Goutfather]

I wasn't trying to be profound, just accurate sir.

maybe profound is too aspirational, but at least try to be insightful.

you didn’t answer my question. it’s in bold.

 

[DrRodentia]

To those that answered "the fighters", why didnt the many other organizations throughout the years reach the level of the UFC? There were times throughout history where fighter talent in other organizations challenged UFC, but never came out on top.

 

[Dionysian]

Hard to say the gracies since the UFC was near dead and bankrupt after them

Also can't really say the fertitas because they were part of the reason for above said final decline. (Lorenzo while in fhe NSAC literally blocked SEG from getting MMA sanctioned, so they could swoop on on it)

Dana is just a self serving sociopath that uses people as objects for his own gain.
He in a lot of ways has damaged the sport more than help it in recent years.


The fighters are the answer.

The first real shot in the arm was Ken vs Tito.

Griffin and Bonnar were the crescendo

This.

TS please add "the fighters" in general. Stephen/Forrest are the most time-appropriate single answer among fighters considering the state of the UFC at that time, but "the fighters" is definitely more appropriate than something as specific as "Jon Jones"

To those that answered "the fighters", why didnt the many other organizations throughout the years reach the level of the UFC? There were times throughout history where fighter talent in other organizations challenged UFC, but never came out on top.

Sort of a weird concept man. Because that isn't how business works. One is in a near-monopoly position, others aren't.

If the monopoly was named Strikeforce and the upstart was named UFC, we'd have seen Scott Coker wearing a UFC shirt smirking after they bought them out.

why is ufc the largest mma promotion, with the largest media presence, and the most prestige and name recognition?

I'll answer if @StonedLemur doesn't mind me stepping in.

The same reason Exxon-Mobil is larger than your local gas station. Not because today's Exxon-Mobil leader is a genius and your local gas station is stupid. But rather because it is much, much, much, much easier to be larger today when you were larger yesterday.

So to answer the question historically... once Pride folded due to governmental/criminal outside factors... UFC won the game. They've maintained winning the game ever since, which is quite easy to do in a semi-monopoly position.

 

[mjfan23]

MMA fans!


We supported in the human cock fighting days too. There was a void to be filled and luckily the fertittas put some of their casino and mafia money into it to revive it!

 

[StonedLemur]

maybe profound is too aspirational, but at least try to be insightful.

you didn’t answer my question. it’s in bold.

You're right, the fighters as an answer is not insightful, profound or any other word that you want to use...it is however accurate.

 

[Levi_]

1) The Gracies started it.

2) When it was ready to collapse, the Ferrettis put the necessary money into it to save it.

3) Dana managed it to bring it back and into a more mainstream standing; Dana was known to be a cool and fighter friendly promoter in the early times and didn't become a prick until later.

4) The fighters kept the public's attention and drove sales. If you don't think individual fighters make a difference, look at Conor's numbers, and contemplate how far his popularity lifted the UFC (in a more general sense, not just as related to his PPVs)

 

[13Seconds]

Joe Rogan