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

[ultra321]

How the fuck is Jon junkie Jones on there...
The fuck he do expect be an embarrassment

 

[Hellowhosthat]

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.

Every other promoter who's ever tried MMA has failed and quite a few of them have had good backing. Chatri for example has had hundreds of millions in investment and is still nowhere near turning a profit.

 

[b00tysweat]

How the fuck is Jon junkie Jones on there...
The fuck he do expect be an embarrassment

"the fuck he do expect be an embarassment"

wot

 

[chinarice]

Every other promoter who's ever tried MMA has failed and quite a few of them have had good backing. Chatri for example has had hundreds of millions in investment and is still nowhere near turning a profit.

Right and Dana was no different. The idea that saved them wasn't his. All he did was run the company into the red until someone had a bright idea that wasn't him that saved it.

Pretty sure Dana is on video saying if TUF didn't take off, they were done.

 

[Hellowhosthat]

Right and Dana was no different. The idea that saved them wasn't his. All he did was run the company into the red until someone had a bright idea that wasn't him that saved it.

Pretty sure Dana is on video saying if TUF didn't take off, they were done.

Sure, but that's ignoring all the other stuff he's done to help them grow. Of course he made fuck ups, but he's also had tremendous successes.

 

[chinarice]

Sure, but that's ignoring all the other stuff he's done to help them grow. Of course he made fuck ups, but he's also had tremendous successes.

Outside of getting UFC sanctioned in other states, which I assume he didn't do solo, I am not sure what he's really done other than fail to promote the guys who make the company money

I've watched him run his talent into the ground in interviews year in and year out. I guess that's a skill....

 

[Levi_]

Right and Dana was no different. The idea that saved them wasn't his. All he did was run the company into the red until someone had a bright idea that wasn't him that saved it.

Pretty sure Dana is on video saying if TUF didn't take off, they were done.

You are WAY oversimplifying the situation. There was a huge amount that went into bringing the UFC back; TUF was a necessary breakthrough for the company to be successful, but there is way more to it than that.

The UFC had nearly totally gone dark- PPV carriers wouldn't offer it. Dana took numerous steps to bring it back- getting it back on PPV, getting it sanctioned, getting the first event in Vegas, turning it into a mainstream sport.

There is actually a video where Dana talks about the process when they were almost ready to give up the UFC but made plans to give it one more round; it was a lengthy process that had everything to do with Dana. Also, that's the way business tends to go- new businesses can take a while to turn a profit.

It has also grown by leaps and bounds well after the initial success of TUF, and it is pretty hard to argue with continued success when others fell by the wayside.

 

[Skarsgard]

Without the Fertittas, Dana is still teaching boxercise and the US-based fighters are all scrapping in low level regional organizations for free beer and a parking pass.

 

[Killhippies]

Honestly, luck that they were the first to market and gained enough mainstream traction that the name became synonymous with MMA.

TUF is really the only marketing that comes to mind that was exceptional for the brand. Everything else seems so bare minimum for expanding the business to greater heights when compared to what every other sport does.

 

[Paolo Delutis]

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

Very possible but i dont think it would of had its roots as Martial art vs Martial Art...maybe more clown like ...like street brawling turned spectacle .. Dada 5000 vs Kimbo Slice at UFC 1 type thing... I think because the roots came from Martial Arts it allowed for more of that influence to flow through its history then the slopfest bar brawl faces of death street fight culture..which would of dramatically changed where we are now

 

[Goutfather]

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.

it’s trite to the point of being meaningless.

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.

that’s not a perfect analogy, but let’s run with it anyway. first, you should give credit where it’s due. the people who started large oil companies were very smart. they had to learn the business—how to drill, how to transport it, how to refine it, how to make it profitable, how to make it sustainable. in many cases, they had to build infrastructure where none existed (e.g., pipelines, factories). many oil companies failed in the oil business, for reasons that had nothing to do with other companies. companies that survived did so through a combination of ingenuity and trial-and-error. today, those same surviving companies are indeed larger, and they probably have the business figured out until the oil runs out. “won the game,” as you say. but that’s not by happenstance; it’s not a consequence of merely being older. that’s the result of years of hard work, skill, ingenuity, foresight, etc.

similarly, ufc had to figure out the mma business, and how to make it profitable. ufc also had to build mma “infrastructure,” because the market for mma was very small in the beginning. they were not the only promotion around, but they are the ones who survived. that’s not an accident. they’re very good at the mma business. credit where it’s due.

you brought up pride. clearly pride was not a well-run business, despite having a phenomenal roster. so apparently “the fighters” weren’t enough to save pride from crumbling. and what about all of the other companies that met the same fate? how about bellator, which was backed by viacom? clearly the ufc is doing something right if it’s competing with one of the largest media companies in the world. and any way you slice it, dana has played probably the largest part in that.

 

[Gamer2k4]

The fighters, because without them there's literally nothing.

That's like saying the mouse is the most important component of the mousetrap. Sure, without them there's no point, but that's not what anyone is asking with a question like this.

 

[StonedLemur]

That's like saying the mouse is the most important component of the mousetrap. Sure, without them there's no point, but that's not what anyone is asking with a question like this.

Without a mouse theres no need for a mouse trap.

 

[chinarice]

You are WAY oversimplifying the situation. There was a huge amount that went into bringing the UFC back; TUF was a necessary breakthrough for the company to be successful, but there is way more to it than that.

The UFC had nearly totally gone dark- PPV carriers wouldn't offer it. Dana took numerous steps to bring it back- getting it back on PPV, getting it sanctioned, getting the first event in Vegas, turning it into a mainstream sport.

There is actually a video where Dana talks about the process when they were almost ready to give up the UFC but made plans to give it one more round; it was a lengthy process that had everything to do with Dana. Also, that's the way business tends to go- new businesses can take a while to turn a profit.

It has also grown by leaps and bounds well after the initial success of TUF, and it is pretty hard to argue with continued success when others fell by the wayside.

Again, I don't think Dana was the sole hand in getting it sanctioned. I am willing to bet Lorenzo had just as much of a hand in that as Dana did.

They were in the red on Dana's watch until someone came up with an idea that finally had them go into the green. From 2001 to 2007, It was in the red on Dana's watch. Until someone who wasn't Dana came up with the concept of a reality TV show, there was no green in sight.

 

[orca]

No, that's impossible.

Sure there were guys that were more popular than others but if you take them and try and put on a card you'd only have a few... that's not enough to keep an organization going.

It takes all of them tbh.

ufc isnt even the most popular org back then
but they dominated now

guess your opinion is wrong
other org back then would still dominate today because
they have more well known fighters

its like saying a kingdom doesnt need a great king
they only need soldiers

they need a ruthless man like dana white
/thread

 

[ComeChooDaddy]

Donald Trump

 

[StonedLemur]

ufc isnt even the most popular org back then
but they dominated now

guess your opinion is wrong
other org back then would still dominate today because
they have more well known fighters

its like saying a kingdom doesnt need a great king
they only need soldiers

they need a ruthless man like dana white
/thread

No fighting organization exists without the fighters.

 

[Levi_]

Again, I don't think Dana was the sole hand in getting it sanctioned. I am willing to bet Lorenzo had just as much of a hand in that as Dana did.

They were in the red on Dana's watch until someone came up with an idea that finally had them go into the green. From 2001 to 2007, It was in the red on Dana's watch. Until someone who wasn't Dana came up with the concept of a reality TV show, there was no green in sight.

OK, but again you are picking at details and failing to see the bigger picture. You don't sound like you even read my post.

 

[chinarice]

OK, but again you are picking at details and failing to see the bigger picture. You don't sound like you even read my post.

I read it. I refuse to give Dana White credit for anything.

I'll credit him for being a shitbag human. That's about it

 

[Levi_]

I'll credit him for being a shitbag human. That's about it

Well, I give him credit for that also.