All this pulling out

[dr. john lee]

First of all, pulling out of fights should effectively be treated as losses. IOW, if the #1 contender pulls ouf of a fight, he should have to win another fight before getting another shot, because they should treat the pull out as a loss. (Not saying it should go on the record as a loss, just saying they should treat them as now coming off a loss.) Because it is so ridiculous. This never happened in boxing, and it really didn't happen much in the early days of MMA.

I'd say a lot of it IS being scared. They are scared of the opponent, but they are scared of losing and dropping in the ranks.

My solution is that the UFC needs to just go to grand prix type format. Basically like a season, in any other sport. For example, maybe the LW would go through a Grand Prix every year, from Jan-Jun. What that would do, is have your top guys in the division on the same time frame. If one guy falls out due to "injury", it is easy to have the next man up. The champion also can't hold up the division, because the title would basically be up for grabs every year, just like in any other sport. If Conor didn't want to do it this year, no problem.

The amount of pulling out that fans have to see in MMA is ridiculous.

 

[Bowel-forged Stool]

 

[Darric]

Fighters get hurt.. it's isn't them practicing the rhythm method. They don't fight.. they don't get paid. While it's frustrating to have dream bouts fall apart due to injury, it's unfortunately just part of the fight game.

 

[qw3rty]

I actually agree with you TS
Many sherdogers have posted about it and it's not a bad idea

 

[FlyingDeathKick]

There should be an investigation every time a fighter pulls out. Also if they are cleared to fight but still pull out then yes it should definitely be counted as a loss imo.

 

[jsbx45]

Idea has merit for sure. In the current format tho, fighters will get hurt and pull out and they shouldn't be punished for it. Weight cutting issues are maybe a different story, but I think we are going to see some rule changes in this department soon.

 

[Darric]

There should be an investigation every time a fighter pulls out. Also if they are cleared to fight but still pull out then yes it should definitely be counted as a loss imo.

I DO get what you guys are saying. As it sometimes happens in boxing, where training is such a science that the camp knows exactly when a fighter should peak.. when it's not going so well a fighter all of a sudden gets a cut during sparring.
Depending on the prestige of the fight, there could be a press conference just so the fighter can show the cut to the world.

It goes both wsys though, because then you have top billing bullies that will claim more purse if you don't meet a deadline, like $$$ Mayweather.

 

[ArkhamAsylum]

 

[TrueBias]

Fighters get hurt.. it's isn't them practicing the rhythm method. They don't fight.. they don't get paid. While it's frustrating to have dream bouts fall apart due to injury, it's unfortunately just part of the fight game.

I can NO LONGER run with this.

It seems logical cuz, it is, but the frequency of which it occurs? And worse, to champs?

Something is amiss.

I say the champs calling out sick should get a fine of some sort. Like, forfeiting ppv percentages when they decide to show up to work.

A contender? You merely just go to the next in line.

That said, fuck max. Hes frightened.

 

[Workaholic]

Bellator did that and it was fucking awful

 

[DeeDubb]

This comes down to the UFC pay model. Unless you're amazing on the mic, the only way to make good PPV money is to be the champion (the champ gets extra pay based on PPV sales). It's simply not worth a champion risking their belt by fighting through a minor injury because if they lose, they'll likely never make championship money again. It's more lucrative for them to pull out and make sure they give themselves maximum odds to win their title defense and keep the money rolling in. If the lower tier main carders made money on par with the headliners, there wouldn't be nearly so much desire to cling to the belt. That's definitely why you see more championship fights getting scrapped than other fights.

 

[VIPERdude]

First of all, pulling out of fights should effectively be treated as losses. IOW, if the #1 contender pulls ouf of a fight, he should have to win another fight before getting another shot, because they should treat the pull out as a loss. (Not saying it should go on the record as a loss, just saying they should treat them as now coming off a loss.) Because it is so ridiculous. This never happened in boxing, and it really didn't happen much in the early days of MMA.

I'd say a lot of it IS being scared. They are scared of the opponent, but they are scared of losing and dropping in the ranks.

My solution is that the UFC needs to just go to grand prix type format. Basically like a season, in any other sport. For example, maybe the LW would go through a Grand Prix every year, from Jan-Jun. What that would do, is have your top guys in the division on the same time frame. If one guy falls out due to "injury", it is easy to have the next man up. The champion also can't hold up the division, because the title would basically be up for grabs every year, just like in any other sport. If Conor didn't want to do it this year, no problem.

The amount of pulling out that fans have to see in MMA is ridiculous.

I was with you until you said a lot of it is them being scared. They are professional fighters and doubt fear is the least of their worries when they wont be getting a pay check. Especially a championship bout purse

 

[Fishmonger]

Try pulling out of this, TS,

 

[Franc Mittelo]

This comes down to the UFC pay model. Unless you're amazing on the mic, the only way to make good PPV money is to be the champion (the champ gets extra pay based on PPV sales). It's simply not worth a champion risking their belt by fighting through a minor injury because if they lose, they'll likely never make championship money again. It's more lucrative for them to pull out and make sure they give themselves maximum odds to win their title defense and keep the money rolling in. If the lower tier main carders made money on par with the headliners, there wouldn't be nearly so much desire to cling to the belt. That's definitely why you see more championship fights getting scrapped than other fights.

The pay model is definitely a problem. There is absolutely no reason to risk losing in the UFC, especially, when you get the belt or a number next to your name.

A win by any means is better than a good performance in the UFC.

 

[LockardTheGOAT]

I was with you until you said a lot of it is them being scared. They are professional fighters and doubt fear is the least of their worries when they wont be getting a pay check. Especially a championship bout purse

lol So naive.

 

[skysolo]

Terrible idea.

Try pulling out of this, TS,

 

[Dead Kennedy]

 

[AJ Garcia]

You just compared training for boxing to training for an mma fight. Do I really need to explain why it’s much easier to get hurt in mma? That should need no explanation. Shit happens, and fighters get hurt. You’re thinking about this way too hard.

 

[209 Life]

I never pull out. Blast them walls

 

[12ga.]

If they actually stacked cards like in the past pull-outs would be no big deal. Another thing they did in the past is Fertitta always paid show money unlike these new cheap fucks who paid Ferg and Dodson like half of show money after a huge media firestorm.