All time low interest point - Anyone else?

[jakeharris74]

This is what happens when UFC shifts it's focus from building talent to building a corporate brand.

The brand power is so strong only long time hard-core fans can identify a massive decline in talent.

The average U FIGHT CHEAP casual legit thinks he's seeing the best and most talent filled product he's ever watched.

UFC has become the Amazon of MMA. Fast, cheap, convenient but absolutely SOULLESS.

Nailed it. I don't even have the shits to give to respond so I'm just gonna point at stuff that is correct.

 

[oldschoolmmafan]

High school 25 years ago? Holy shit. What's the average age of a sherbro?

39 here.

 

[Senbonzakura]

I think it just varies depending on your interest level at the time. Possibly because I gamble on the sport but I know all these fuckers because I watch every card. If people don't watch every card then of course people they haven't seen before are going to pop up.

I do the same your talking about and still dont care as much as I used to. I think for me primarily it has to do with my social structure in real life. I had more friends into the product back then it made me more invested and now that circle is little if any so I watch it myself and grasps at straws to stay interested. Its different

 

[AldoStillGoat]

I hate my life.

Gang

 

[ryun253]

MMA will continue to get worse as guys become more jack of all trades in all aspects of it. Thats why specialists are so fun to watch

 

[Wilmer Digreux]

The average U FIGHT CHEAP casual legit thinks he's seeing the best and most talent filled product he's ever watched.

I don't think there are any casual ufc fans anymore

 

[mirko>anyone]

My interest is at its lowest point/near non-existent these days. I think it’s a reflection of how i’ve changed more than MMA.

 

[Greyscale]

I've been watching this for 20 years and the current state of the sport is a tragedy. They don't give a shit about competition or integrity anymore at all. All they care about are the numbers and keeping new Middle Eastern shareholders happy.

 

[World eater]

I watch more than ever, but care less than ever. With the kids growing up I have more free time now and in Europe you can get combat sports for “free” on TV all day long. I watch a lot of boxing lately, many smaller orgs, but I keep to main cards only. Most of the guys fighting are unknown to me and I don’t care, it is just entertainment at this point.
UFC is a bit different because I never skip a card if I can help it, but weight cutting and bad matchmaking is preventing me to care beyond a certain point. I don’t care about weight classes below MW. I watch them, but am not invested much. MW and above are getting somewhat weaker because 6 foot tall guys keep starving themselves to reach WW. It is what it is. But I still tune in to every card, so it’s still fine.

 

[Takes Two To Tango]

The sport still has its moments of bliss, but I think it's reached its peak by the time Fedor reached his peak imo.

But it can rise up again, it's an ebb and flow thing. It'll have it's finest moments again for sure.

 

[gracie_barra_samurai]

This is what happens when UFC shifts it's focus from building talent to building a corporate brand.

The brand power is so strong only long time hard-core fans can identify a massive decline in talent.

The average U FIGHT CHEAP casual legit thinks he's seeing the best and most talent filled product he's ever watched.

UFC has become the Amazon of MMA. Fast, cheap, convenient but absolutely SOULLESS.

This is it.

MMA won't truly grow with a middle man taking 85% of the money.

Top tier athletes don't want to join a sport where you can get to Strickland level fame and still only paid like 100k/100k.

 

[Deleted member 585708]

I've been following the sport for about 25 years, since I was in high school. And I think right now the sport is at all time low as far as interest levels go. I'm not going to say the sport is dying, but I think something needs to change.

The major issue is lack of exciting champions and rivalries. The sport is woven of narratives, people need to care about the fights. But most divisions have a lack of interesting rivalries.

Flyweight hasn't had a dominant champion since at least Cejudo, if not DJ. It's a fun division that always delivers, but Pantoja doesn't seem to have any interesting rivalries in the division waiting, and he is a very bland character.

Bantamweight is, I think the most exciting division right now. O'Malley, love or hate, is a very exciting fighter, and there's lots of interesting fights there: Merab, and Umar down the line. It's a very fun division to watch overall.

Featherweight just crowned Topuria, who is very exciting, but also unfortunately very unlikeable and tryhard. The issue is everyone under him is a veteran that can only offer possible former champions to return: Holloway, Volk, Ortega, Yair... Evloev is the only fresh contender, but about as charismatic and exciting as a cucumber. The really exciting fight here would be with O'Malley, provided the latter gets past Merab, which is far from a given.

Lightweight was incredibly exciting a few years ago, but has become exhausted and filled with veterans that have spent their shots. Islam stands without par, and there's no one reasonably that could challenge him. Arman is very good, but we've seen that fight before, and Islam is better than ever. Even Islam himself talks about the staleness of the challenges in the division.

Welterweight is another division mostly filled with veterans, and with a particularly unpopular champion. Leon is not exactly the most colorful or exciting fighter out there, and the runner contender Belal is even less popular and often even more unexciting. The saving grace for the division is Shavkat, who is truly an interesting prospect that could very well be the next big thing.

Middleweight has a recently crowned champion that seems fickle in his position, with guys like Izzy, Strickland, Imamov and Whitakker in the periphery. After Pereira deserted the division, the Izzy-Alex rivalry which was super interesting waned, and now the division feels a bit lackluster. Khamzat was supposed to be the next big thing, but health issues and unreliability prevented that.

Lightheavyweight has Pereira at the top, and a bunch of familiar, tried faces at the bottom. Other than Ankalaev, who is probably even more unpopular than Belal, there doesn't to be anyone to challenge.

And HW is as usual the worst division out there. We are getting Jones vs. a nonagenarian Stipe, Ngannou fled the division, and Aspinall is there hanging loose about to face yet another incredibly unpopular and exhausted fighter in Blaydes.

I'll spare the ladies the sermon.

I think the sport lacks recognisable midcard guys, to be honest. That's the major issue at the minute.

It can be fixed though.

There are ways and means.

 

[Haj01]

I have felt this way for the past few years. Some interesting fights here and there but mostly I'm not that interested.

 

[AtlSteel]

The ESPN+ thing did it for me. Fuck ESPN and their parent, Disney. I'd still be buying PPVs if ESPN+ wasn't required.

I also don't like that early prelims are not included with the PPV, but that's more of an annoyance.

 

[Eric Silva 2.0]

This is what happens when UFC shifts it's focus from building talent to building a corporate brand.

The brand power is so strong only long time hard-core fans can identify a massive decline in talent.

The average U FIGHT CHEAP casual legit thinks he's seeing the best and most talent filled product he's ever watched.

UFC has become the Amazon of MMA. Fast, cheap, convenient but absolutely SOULLESS.

"UFC has become the Amazon of MMA. Fast, cheap, convenient but absolutely SOULLESS."

I take great issue with this. I don't find the UFC cheap at all. I went to the Strickland/Costa fight in New Jersey and it cost me a lot of money.

 

[KAZSoliloquy]

Few unique likeable fighters? How about Pereira, Jiri, Holloway, Volkanovski, Islam, Shavkat, Gane, Aspinall, Oliviera, Whittaker, Diego Lopes, Michel Pereira?

meh.

 

[13Seconds]

This was UFC 175, exactly ten years and three days ago. The cards were as good as they are now with a few exceptions. Not every numbered card is going to be a banger. They weren't a decade ago. As for Fight Nights, they're free. Tune in or tune out.

View attachment 1050971

George Roop getting ko'd was brutal

 

[Pancake Sprawl]

I think it's because most of us came at a time when we had less, but FAR more meaningful events.

The ESPN deal forces the UFC to put out terrible events every week watering down the quality we used to expect.

it's this but it's also just the overall talent isn't there. watering down something that's already dogshit doesn't make it any better.

 

[Pancake Sprawl]

Yeah it's a problem. I just have an idea in my head that the UFC should operate like a sports league, like the NFL, NBA, MLB or find a way to filter the best talent like the World Games and Olympics do type deal. It's definitely what's sold to us and most fans believe it, but the more I've followed the sport the further that seems to be the truth and it sucks. They don't really value talent and skill all that much and it shows in who they do sign and who they don't often.

The quality of athlete and skillfullness of individuals has for sure gone up in the UFC, well...I honestly think MW, LHW and likely HW were better a decade ago and WW might have been too. But there is more depth, literally more people signed, the promotion is worth 11.5 Billion now and it's a 800 fighter roster. But it's become way more like boxing in the ways they swore they wouldn't, and I do look at a lot of cards where there's like 12 fights and often only 2 or 3 bouts seem interesting, that's become a norm. All these last second fights being thrown together to save cards feels like WWE stuff.

Prize fighting always is like this though, I gotta accept that.

you know what it is? you're too young lol. you missed it when MMA was more closer to what you describe.

 

[Rhood]

At least the UFC is not a shit show like Rizin.
That shit is completely unwatchable.