.

[Hellowhosthat]

People stanning for the Fertittas makes me laugh. They not only paid the fighters even less than they get now, but they sold the company for $4billion they made off their blood, sweat, tears and CTE.

Now you have owners who took out a huge loan to buy the company and are paying that back rather than paying the fighters, probably paying more back annually to pay back the loan than they pay annually to the whole roster combined.

If you want to know where the fighters money is, look at Lorenzo.

 

[wookie brawl]

Dont care. Just stream.

 

[kenetics]

Partly agree but what are you going to do about it?

Not pay for ppv or subscription like many people on here.

 

[FIghtxIQ]

Yeh, he's been a part of it forever, and obviously had a lot to do with where it is now. My point is that there are already plenty of people who do any job that Dana can do, and if they don't already do it better, people can be hired who can.

Dealing with fighters is nothing. The whole badass/strongman boss is old school bullshit that looks great for the media and is familiar. Dana is literally a figurehead at this point. WME is a talent agency who deal with far bigger clients than anything on the UFC roster. They didn't get where they are by not knowing how to deal with any sort of person in a variety of ways.

Nope that's not true, if they could replace Dana they would've. The reason he's still there is because they can't replace him, he's needed. There's a reason why the other mma promotions don't ever beat UFC. They can't do it better. So no, there is no one currently they can hire that can do it better than Dana. They are all beta to Dana and UFC. Maybe in the future someone will be able to fill that role. But I don't see any current options and I'm sure WME-IMG feels the same currently. Remember, they completely cleaned house when they took over. They got rid of everyone not needed, and replaced everyone they felt they could fill with someone better.

 

[Humongo]

Born to a Jewish family[2] in Chicago, Emanuel was raised in suburban Wilmette, Illinois. Emanuel is the brother of former Mayor of Chicago Rahm Emanuel, American oncologist and bioethicist Ezekiel Emanuel, and adopted sister Shoshana Emanuel. His father, Jerusalem-born Dr. Benjamin M. Emanuel, is a pediatrician who was active in the Irgun, a Zionist paramilitary group that operated in Mandatory Palestine during the 1930s and 1940s

 

[xhaydenx]

Nope that's not true, if they could replace Dana they would've. The reason he's still there is because they can't replace him, he's needed. There's a reason why the other mma promotions don't ever beat UFC. They can't do it better. So no, there is no one currently they can hire that can do it better than Dana. They are all beta to Dana and UFC. Maybe in the future someone will be able to fill that role. But I don't see any current options and I'm sure WME-IMG feels the same currently. Remember, they completely cleaned house when they took over. They got rid of everyone not needed, and replaced everyone they felt they could fill with someone better.

Yep, no smart entity takes over a fully functioning machine like the UFC and wipes everyone, because that would be stupid.

And Dana is absolutely replaceable. He's kept there because of the image and because having someone in that figureheard role is familiar. If Dana fucked up, WME would get rid of him in a heartbeat. He has nowhere near the sort of power that WME and their investors have.

Dana isn't the reason no other orgs beat the UFC. Money and a foothold in all the markets is. Dana absolutely had a big part in that, but that doesn't all suddenly die if Dana goes away.

If WME wanted to, they could replace Dana with some nobody none of us have ever heard of and we'd quickly get used to it. The UFC would continue to function and dominate, because all the things that make the UFC what it is exist with or without Dana.

 

[VectorSpace]

I think a major difference is that Fertitta was a fan of the sport while Emanuel seems like someone who doesn't know anything about the sport.

 

[kflo]

Lol. People don’t realize the fertittas are the reason things are the way they are. They could have changed the dynamics of fighter pay. It just would have resulted in them getting a smaller check. But they sold on the promise of keeping costs low, and all bidders bid on that premise. Any bidder planning to raise costs would have lost to another bidder planning to keep them down. And now you have the winning bidder executing on their plan when they bought the company. The ufc today was set in motion entirely by the fertittas.

Lol at the idea that the fertitta’s being fans of the sport resulted in them running it less ruthlessly. Joe silva was the fertitta era.

 

[kflo]

Yep, no smart entity takes over a fully functioning machine like the UFC and wipes everyone, because that would be stupid.

And Dana is absolutely replaceable. He's kept there because of the image and because having someone in that figureheard role is familiar. If Dana fucked up, WME would get rid of him in a heartbeat. He has nowhere near the sort of power that WME and their investors have.

Dana isn't the reason no other orgs beat the UFC. Money and a foothold in all the markets is. Dana absolutely had a big part in that, but that doesn't all suddenly die if Dana goes away.

If WME wanted to, they could replace Dana with some nobody none of us have ever heard of and we'd quickly get used to it. The UFC would continue to function and dominate, because all the things that make the UFC what it is exist with or without Dana.

If you don’t think Dana adds value today to the ufc brand you are kidding yourself. Its delusional imo. Dana is a media presence and people listen when he speaks. It’s not just easily replaceable with a no name. There’s an impact when the face of a franchise / series leaves. Like it or not.

 

[Aurelian]

Nope that's not true, if they could replace Dana they would've. The reason he's still there is because they can't replace him, he's needed. There's a reason why the other mma promotions don't ever beat UFC. They can't do it better. So no, there is no one currently they can hire that can do it better than Dana. They are all beta to Dana and UFC. Maybe in the future someone will be able to fill that role. But I don't see any current options and I'm sure WME-IMG feels the same currently. Remember, they completely cleaned house when they took over. They got rid of everyone not needed, and replaced everyone they felt they could fill with someone better.

They won't hire anyone from the outside. It will probably be someone like Sean Shelby who gets the position.

 

[SokoudjouFanboy]

The Fertitta brothers, not Dana built the system that inherently represses fighters in favor of the UFC shield. I find the concept of that reprehensible in a sport that is so inherently star driven and should logically be empowering for the athletes.

Just my opinion.

 

[Maori]

Ufc had a great yeat in terms of fights. The ppvs were consistently great, even undercards.

I dont think the UFC gets the credit it deserves

 

[DegenerateHypeTrain]

I definitely feel like since the sale to WME none of the corporate executives beside Dana and Epstein actually love and care about MMA. For the Fertittas yeah it was a business but it was also their passion project. They loved it they tried to give back to the fans with an amazing product, because they recognized that the fans are what even kept them alive in the dark era and so on. I feel like the WME era they come off like the companies of 2008 pre-market crash. They don’t care about the product that gets put out cause they know it’ll sell, they simply think they’re too big to fail and they don’t even try to hide that fact.

 

[FIghtxIQ]

They won't hire anyone from the outside. It will probably be someone like Sean Shelby who gets the position.

It all depends, they may if there's someone they feel is a better fit. They been hiring from the outside pretty much the whole time. But that role is a hard role to fill. They need a figure head as well to do what Dana is doing with the media/press. Can't just be the behind the scenes work.

 

[xhaydenx]

If you don’t think Dana adds value today to the ufc brand you are kidding yourself. Its delusional imo. Dana is a media presence and people listen when he speaks. It’s not just easily replaceable with a no name. There’s an impact when the face of a franchise / series leaves. Like it or not.

Of course he has value, but that doesn't mean he's irreplaceable, which is what my point was.

What do you think happen if Dana leaves? Do you think the UFC would suddenly stop working or something? Someone would quickly be put into Dana's position and things would continue on.

People listen when Dana speaks because he's the figure head of the UFC and that's it. When the UFC was getting bought up by WME, that Ari guy came out and took a few media briefings himself while the changeover was in swing. The media and the fans were not acquainted with this guy at all, but everyone still listened because it was made clear this guy was now a superior figure in the UFC's new parent organization.

 

[philweed]

Great point, TS. Most of us knew that Ari was gonna screw the fans over. It would be great to have the Fertitta’s back.

 

[lsa]

Ah yes..
For years Sherdog cried "sell the UFC!" We need a better owner" Zuffa sucks"
I always said , better the devil you know.

Now here we are..