Do fans really prefer circus fights?

[egk]

I personally thought UFC 200 was dragged down by what they put on the main card. Lesnar/Hunt was a circus fight. Then they added a second one with DC/Silva. That one can at least be blamed on Jon Jones but people seemed practically giddy at the thought of Silva fighting on 2 days notice. Both ended up being terribly sloppy and boring fights.

Pena/Zingano was bad but at least it meant something in the rankings. We all know Sage is only fighting nobodies on the main card because he's young and pretty.

Now we're going to get Bisping fighting 45-46yr old Hendo who is 4-6 in his last 10 fights.

Are these really the kinds of fights people want to see? Circus fights where popularity trumps talent? What happened to MMA being a sport where we look forward to the best fighting the best?

 

[Tanaka]

The original main event was Connor vs Nate 2...

 

[jase0910]

Depends on what TS defines as "fans".

 

[Reach4theSky]

Circus fights can add a bit of intrigue to a fight card...

 

[Mau]

Yes

 

[egk]

The original main event was Connor vs Nate 2...

Which is also a circus fight. Conor should be defending his belt.

My point is a lot of fans seem to only care about "names" and popularity rather than current worth or rankings . The worst circus fight I can remember was years back when Royce Gracie came back to fight Matt Hughes.

I was a big fan of Fedor and Pride back in the day but man, I moved on years ago. A lot of fans seem unable or unwilling to move on from the past. Just the fact people still want him in the UFC today makes me shake my head.

When the UFC puts on these fights that invariably turn out bad, we all complain but it seems to be what fans want to see. It's in the category of "be careful what you wish for".

 

[egk]

Depends on what TS defines as "fans".

The ones who Dana claims all want to see Bisping vs Hendo 2 even though everyone knows Hendo doesn't deserve a title shot.

 

[Pliny Pete]

I enjoyed both "circus" fights last night and will enjoy cheering on Dan Henderson against bisping

 

[what-wut]

Circus fights. Freak show fights. Fun fights. Super fights. ENTERTAINING fights. Whatever you wanna call it. Yes I prefer it. I would rather Hendo vs Bisping a thousand times more than Jacare.

PRIDE NEVER DIE!!

 

[egk]

Circus fights. Freak show fights. Fun fights. Super fights. ENTERTAINING fights. Whatever you wanna call it. Yes I prefer it. I would rather Hendo vs Bisping a thousand times more than Jacare.

PRIDE NEVER DIE!!

Man, you must have positively LOVED Royce Gracie vs Matt Hughes.

 

[JonesBones]

Lesnar and Hunt are symbols of two opposing sides. They are more polarizing than any fight for hardcore fans. I mean Brock Lesnar just pounded the shit out of Mark Hunt. That makes a lot of people mad. I love it. This is the reason I come to Sherdog.

 

[Tanaka]

Which is also a circus fight. Conor should be defending his belt.

My point is a lot of fans seem to only care about "names" and popularity rather than current worth or rankings . The worst circus fight I can remember was years back when Royce Gracie came back to fight Matt Hughes.

I was a big fan of Fedor and Pride back in the day but man, I moved on years ago. A lot of fans seem unable or unwilling to move on from the past. Just the fact people still want him in the UFC today makes me shake my head.

When the UFC puts on these fights that invariably turn out bad, we all complain but it seems to be what fans want to see. It's in the category of "be careful what you wish for".

I'm not opposed to "feature/circus fights' per se there are enough fighters out there to make fights for entertainment sake which is why I have no problems with a fight like Lesnar vs Hunt. Even in PRIDE champions were given feature fights from time to time (Fedor only had 3 official title defenses). I'm not too keen on the UFC doing this with their champions but it appears it is the direction management wants to take and some fans are already on board with it.

 

[Which Doctor]

Which is also a circus fight. Conor should be defending his belt.

My point is a lot of fans seem to only care about "names" and popularity rather than current worth or rankings . The worst circus fight I can remember was years back when Royce Gracie came back to fight Matt Hughes.

I was a big fan of Fedor and Pride back in the day but man, I moved on years ago. A lot of fans seem unable or unwilling to move on from the past. Just the fact people still want him in the UFC today makes me shake my head.

When the UFC puts on these fights that invariably turn out bad, we all complain but it seems to be what fans want to see. It's in the category of "be careful what you wish for".

How many amateur wrestling PPVs did you order last year? What about point karate tournaments? Judo tourneys? BJJ tourneys?

If it wasn't for Baby Halph, Martin Kove, and the dude from Happy Days, 0 people who mattered who have ever seen the All-Valley Karate Championships.

You are watching A professional combat promotion, not amateur sporting body tourneys.

 

[egk]

Lesnar and Hunt are symbols of two opposing sides. They are more polarizing than any fight for hardcore fans. I mean Brock Lesnar just pounded the shit out of Mark Hunt. That makes a lot of people mad. I love it. This is the reason I come to Sherdog.

I get it. You're happy Lesnar won even though the fight itself looked worse then you can see at a corner bar any Friday night. That's exactly what I don't get it. I posted about it when they made the Lesnar/Hunt fight. The UFC was matchmaking to put Brock over. The HW division mostly sucks but matched Brock with the most tailor made guy they could find who still had name recognition.

So many on here are talking about how bad UFC 200 ended up being but you can trace it directly to the two circus fights they put on the main card. People were complaining about how a WMMA fight got elevated to main event but Nunes put on a technical display that put Brock/Hunt and DC/Silva to shame.

 

[JonesBones]

I get it. You're happy Lesnar won even though the fight itself looked worse then you can see at a corner bar any Friday night. That's exactly what I don't get it. I posted about it when they made the Lesnar/Hunt fight. The UFC was matchmaking to put Brock over. The HW division mostly sucks but matched Brock with the most tailor made guy they could find who still had name recognition.

So many on here are talking about how bad UFC 200 ended up being but you can trace it directly to the two circus fights they put on the main card. People were complaining about how a WMMA fight got elevated to main event but Nunes put on a technical display that put Brock/Hunt and DC/Silva to shame.

Nah. Lesnar is interesting to watch. To watch a guy move like that. He is quick. On the ground and on his feet. Don't act like Hunt was tailor made. You know Lesnar can go down at any time. I expected him to.

And that was a fucking beating. Mark Hunt is one of the few guys on Earth who can walk away after those shots. That was a serious fuckin fight.

 

[NobodyNothing]

GSP vs Hendricks now! Circus fight that also affects the rankings. I think "3 year layoff" GSP destroys "shell of himself" hendricks. One fight, that will silence the haters, usher one fighter back into the WW discussion and one fighter off to Bellator. Please, now!

 

[Fro]

A good mix of stuff is the best, so some freak show/circus fights are fun.

Not everyone likes vanilla ice cream, as Vince McMahon says.

 

[egk]

Nah. Lesnar is interesting to watch. To watch a guy move like that. He is quick. On the ground and on his feet. Don't act like Hunt was tailor made. You know Lesnar can go down at any time. I expected him to.

Hunt is short, slow, immobile and had a 10inch reach disadvantage. Sure Hunt punches hard but everyone knew Brock was going for a takedown which Hunt couldn't stop. How do you not call that tailor made for Brock's one dimensional, wrestling game?

 

[MusterX]

I personally thought UFC 200 was dragged down by what they put on the main card. Lesnar/Hunt was a circus fight.

Lesnar and Hunt are both heavyweights that weighed in at 265. Lesnar is the former UFC Heavyweight champion. That is in no way a "circus fight."

 

[Kryptt]

My point is a lot of fans seem to only care about "names" and popularity rather than current worth or rankings

I believe more care than you think - I also feel that regardless of what we think of the rankings the UFC will always make "popular" fights. We have been at the mercy of wish-washy bout making for years now. Not sure that's acceptable but seems most do.