Any long time fans feel like the UFC has lost its magic?

[orca]

It´s a combination of not much supertalented guys and not to much
colorful personalities.

I mean, back in the day you had Chuck, Randy, Rampage and Wand in LHW alone.

i dont think these guys you mentioned would even be champion today

 

[Hellowhosthat]

Trouble is the UFC is being run on the cheap with little investment in bringing in exciting new talent.

The women’s 145 division is testament to that. Casuals will think “there’s no women out there” but you look at the PFL, Bellator over the past 3-4 years and that’s just not true. The UFC just don’t want to invest, scout out and bring in good fighters.

Stale rematches and bad matchmaking.

Undeserved title shots.

Stalling divisions for fights no one cares about, (Jones / Miocic, Grasso/Shevchenko).

Cards with no WMMA fights (means I don’t even bother watching)

Featherweight isn't the best example, there really aren't any good fighters at that weight outside the UFC other than Cyborg and Larissa. Nobody is going to get excited about watching Leah McCourt, Sinead Kavanagh, Olena Kolesynk or Arlene Blencowe.

 

[ryun253]

Yeah, I think I'm just aging out of it. I barely watch outside of big PPVs now. I don't even bother with fight nights and I don't really feel like I'm missing out.

Pretty much this, turned main card / big name casual now. I'll watch all One FC Muay thai cards though

 

[ipowerslapmywife]

It’s because powerslap has taken over

 

[Takes_Two_To_Tango]

UFC 300 will pull you back in.

 

[moreorless87]

It's a combination of a few things.

1. Paying their fighter shit wages. Nobody is coming to do MMA and get CTE to make shit money. Other sports pay much much better.
2. Too many events and way too much bloat with mediocre fighters.
3. Fighter aren't allowed to have personality anymore after the shitty Reebok/Venom deals.
4. Fighters especially champs are unbelievably inactive and top fighters are constantly avoiding fights.

I get the feeling that this is not even JUST about maximising profits for the UFC, I get the feeling they do it to maintain control.

A small number of fighters who draw interest and the rest just there to fill up weekly cards makes it easier for them to maintain control, if you had say 5 times as many really great fighters in MMA it would become much more difficult for them to monopolise the sport, more likely they end up fighting for rival promoters.

 

[Barteh]

One thing that bothers me a lot more nowadays is the pacing of the events. If there's a 1st round KO it's something a 25 minutes break until the next fight. On top of that for somebody like me who skips the WMMA fights it turns into 45 minute breaks.

 

[jx820]

It's been severly dilluded.

When I started watching there were 4 divisions and maybe 100 guys on the roster. We were extatic when we got 12 events in a year. It was pretty common to know every guy on every PPV, and be familiar with their record. I could have rattled off the top 10 for every class from memory back then.

Today there are 10 classes? 600-700 fighters under contract. There were 43 events last year. Over 500 fights. It's common to see the #43 guy fighting the #62 in the division and you have no idea who either of them is. There's no sense of stakes, there's no story line, you can't even anlyze it because you don't know either guy's style.

That's a great problem to have. It's an embarrassment of riches. We get more great fights and great action than we have ever had. There's just a lot of filler around it.

 

[Jin Akutsu]

Your tastes have changed. I don't need to be invested in a particular fighter, I'm just there for the combat. We have way better and a larger cluster of great fights/fighters than ever before.

It is okay, we age out of everything. Some fans need constant promos with big events, that was never an issue for me, and that was a driving force with the scarcity of older cards.

One thing I dislike is the Apex. That place kills any inertia or emotion.

 

[Morning Star]

I get the feeling that this is not even JUST about maximising profits for the UFC, I get the feeling they do it to maintain control.

A small number of fighters who draw interest and the rest just there to fill up weekly cards makes it easier for them to maintain control, if you had say 5 times as many really great fighters in MMA it would become much more difficult for them to monopolise the sport, more likely they end up fighting for rival promoters.

I think they get minimums from ESPN no matter what for a certain # of shows so they probably are happy to throw whoever they can for cheap and make that easy money. But them settling that lawsuit made it so they pretty much retain their bully pulpit.

 

[Hellowhosthat]

I get the feeling that this is not even JUST about maximising profits for the UFC, I get the feeling they do it to maintain control.

A small number of fighters who draw interest and the rest just there to fill up weekly cards makes it easier for them to maintain control, if you had say 5 times as many really great fighters in MMA it would become much more difficult for them to monopolise the sport, more likely they end up fighting for rival promoters.

There's loads of top fighters they don't have, people just don't give a shit because they're not in the UFC

 

[TriangleMonkey]

Us older fans have just taken in too much mma

We get crazy critical at times but its fun to talk shit

 

[humdizzle]

we were spoiled in the past
silva, jones, mcgregor, prime tony, khabib, DJ, Aldo, GSP

the current champs are a far cry from those guys. Topuria is a monster and undefeated, but his trash talk is cringy and comes across as trying too hard.
o'malley is skilled, but puts on a fake persona to get the teenage vape crowd watching
jamahal hill -- LOL
Leon Edwards -- i think everyone forgot he existed
makhachev = khabib without personality
DDP = not really a dominant champ, but is undefeated. like topuria we will need to wait and see. the 'im a real african' thing was cringe.

 

[blaseblase]

The UFC has had multiple different eras and being nostalgic about the "old days" is normal, but there was always a certain magic throughout all of those years. Even when it went fully mainstream with Conor and millions of new fans came flooding in, it still kept that feeling. I just don't feel it anymore.

The UFC is obviously not dying, and that's not what I'm saying. I can't put my finger on what it is.

Anyone else feel the same?

It just means you're getting old. UFC 298 and 299 were insane PPVs and we have another one this week.

 

[skylolow]

I think for most long time fans of MMA the UFC today is so over saturated that very few cards even get you that excited today. When you got that many events its hard to build anything up and then react to it afterwards. It's like days of build up at best and a few minutes to react and we are on to the next one.

 

[Cyrano200]

Too expensive
Times are too inconvenient.
Events are drawn out, don't end until the wee hours (maybe same as #2)
viewing is inconvenient - I have to flip between ESPN, ESPN+, and PPV

All of those are more important than the added frustration that the top fighters are so inactive, but that's still a factor.

I'll watch 300, but I don't even know who's fighting.

 

[nonoob]

Us older fans have just taken in too much mma

We get crazy critical at times but its fun to talk shit

Those of us older Sherdoggers that saw the original UFC/Pride overlap period KNOW what warriors with NO Drama were. ZERO comparison to the Diva bull$hit of rank-squatting or "I'm not fighting X" for whatever reason cowards come up with. That DID NOT HAPPEN 20 years ago.

You and other long time no-shill fans aren't "crazy critical". We all call it as we see it, as it is, pitiful. Current ufc sucks immensely when comparing the past fighters and their total warrior mentality.

 

[MyMilk]

Yeah. For the first time ever I fast forwarded through the main event of a FN card. I just didn't care how it went because Curtis and Allen both aren't very good and will never contend for a title.

I think it's mostly the over saturation, the awful Apex atmosphere and the new generation of subpar "sink or swim" DWCS fighters that have created a much worse product. The ESPN deal was the worst thing to ever happen to the UFC because they don't have to try anymore outside of a few PPV's a year.

 

[Neck&Neck]

It’s just what business’ do these days
Take an established product or brand, and bleed it fucking dry, then stomp on it and move on

 

[Danespina]

I understand it, but 2024 seems like it's going to end up as one of the better years in UFCs history.

Once 300 is done, June might return Conor, then Saudi Arabia, then The Sphere. Maybe DDP/Izzy. Maybe Jones/Stipe. Maybe Spain too. It's got really good potential.