Do you think UFC cares about nationale diversity in the roster?

[Evangelion]

Because the world is larger than America, and MMA is growing globally every year. Compare champs 10 years ago to today...Right now there is only one American champ, and this is despite America having 50% of the roster.

Top Tens of each divisions have more International fighters than Americans, too.

Your argument doesnt make any sense. You admit America has a large pool of great athletes, excels in almost every sport it takes interest in and has a higher interest in mma than almost every other country. Yet its just going to stop producing great fighters. Logically that doesnt make any sense.

 

[PulsingJones]

That's assuming the number is limited to picking only 10 from 30, but they will still pick the best out of the region they can get. So it would still be the best representatives for mma. If the other prospects exceed expectations and do better than the original picks, they will end up in UFC as well.

Does not change the fact that with other regions, you are picking 10 out of 30 prospects, while in America, you are picking them all.
This also assuming we trust the UFC Brass to sign the best, it's not like there haven't been questionable signings before

 

[FIghtxIQ]

Does not change the fact that with other regions, you are picking 10 out of 30 prospects, while in America, you are picking them all.
This also assuming we trust the UFC Brass to sign the best, it's not like there haven't been questionable signings before

Those are assumptions, so unless people know the exact metrics used it's just speculation. They are going after the best from those regions. Having more just means a saturated selection, better to focus on the best of the best.

UFC is pretty diverse already, so it's not like it isn't.

 

[PulsingJones]

Your argument doesnt make any sense. You admit America has a large pool of great athletes, excels in almost every sport it takes interest in and has a higher interest in mma than almost every other country. Yet its just going to stop producing great fighters.

No? I admitted no such thing. I said we'll never know just good America is at MMA if they are over represnted at the expnse of the rest of the world.

Signs indicate that it won't excell... Most champs and top ten fighters are foreigners despite having equal % to Americans

 

[executionermma]

Yes. They definitely do have a maximum quota for Brazilians and Russians. Many great fighters in ACA/RCC/OFC (Russian regional circuit) that could and/or should've been fighting in UFC, but are most likely passed over due to this factor.

 

[M.U.S.C.L.E.]

To answer your question, TS, yes.
Just look at all the crappy Chinese fighters they've been pushing. Glad that Cody Durden did America proud.
I don't know about you, but I want to see the best of the best, not the best of China.

 

[Doctor Grudge]

Yes, absolutely - as does pretty much every other org in MMA.

The UFC is not a meritocracy, it isn't the equivalent of going from a minor league to a major league.

The UFC is based in USA, thus it has to have fighters that can attract an American audience - just like Rizin in Japan, OneFC in Pan-Asia, KSW in Poland, and logically just about any org based in any demographic would do the same. How popular would an MMA be in Nigeria if it was filled with a bunch of great Russian Samboist? Probably not very popular.

The UFC will then select fighters from other regions (hoping they can find either exciting ones or good ones), because they also have a global expansion in mind, but their primary demographic is USA, with expanding to other markets as a secondary goal.

This is why you might see some really good fighters in Bellator who are from Eastern European backgrounds and wonder why they are not in the UFC (they might also be boring fighters as well).



But yes, the UFC is like any other promotion, and they all take into account where a fighter is from when they are constructing their roster. They also take into account how many wrestlers, grapplers, strikers, and guys with unorthodox bases they have. They also of course have certain preferences to certain weight classes.


Many promotions in other sports do the same thing, hence why when you watch a sport in another country you'll notice a lot of people on the team are from the country of origin.


There is a reason why in sports you see players national flags next to their names.

Just like the NBA has a cap....

The NBA doesn't have a cap. You can have as many players from as many backgrounds.

Unless you mean a salary cap.

 

[DestinedAussie]

I imagine they have some internal caps on how many Brazilians or Russians they can hire... And they probably try to sign and push American talents since the US is the biggest market

I have a feeling that if they didn't care about diversity, Americans will be overshadowed quickly

I would also assume they are very keen to have a good spread of international fighters as this helps their viewership overseas. Having some national fighters you can follow helps generate interest in the sport. They are clearly viewing themselves as an international force and are constantly trying to grow non-US markets.

 

[Only Here for Attachments]

It goes in order of importance China, US, Brazil, Russia, everyone else

 

[Hellowhosthat]

Yes. They definitely do have a maximum quota for Brazilians and Russians. Many great fighters in ACA/RCC/OFC (Russian regional circuit) that could and/or should've been fighting in UFC, but are most likely passed over due to this factor.

This, there's easily 100 Russians who aren't in the UFC that have the ability to be, probably more.

 

[Iroh]

They do in fact they have roster quotas and demographic goals. It’s all by design

50% of the foster spaces are reserved for American fighters. 50% of the roster is for international fighters

This also reflects where they have shows (back when they traveled). 50% Domestic shows and 50% international

1/6 of the roster is female

They have 90 Brazilian fighters on the roster. This is because— outside of the US—Brazil is their biggest market.


They have plans to have 70 Chinese fighters on the roster sometime in the near future. Hence the UFC Academy they built in Shanghai. This because China is the number one growth market in the whole when it comes to sports

They also have plans to have 30-50 Mexican fighters on the roster in the near future. Hence the UFC Academy they are planning to build in Mexico City. Because they want to capitalize on the huge boxing fandom already present on this country and the fact that it is the largest Spanish speaking country in the world.

Where do you get these numbers for their plans from?

 

[Hellowhosthat]

Where do you get these numbers for their plans from?

The information is all out there from various sources. They definitely have a cap on Russian fighters too, the managers of Russian MMA fighters have talked about it before.

That's why it's so frustrating when a Russian slot pops up and they sign someone like Grigorii Popov who's not very good.

 

[Iroh]

The information is all out there from various sources. They definitely have a cap on Russian fighters too, the managers of Russian MMA fighters have talked about it before.

That's why it's so frustrating when a Russian slot pops up and they sign someone like Grigorii Popov who's not very good.

Oh, I'm sure there are caps. I'm just wondering where he, or all the various sources you speak of, get their numbers for their plans for Chinese and Mexican fighters from? Has the UFC released these numbers officially?

 

[Hellowhosthat]

Oh, I'm sure there are caps. I'm just wondering where he, or all the various sources you speak of, get their numbers for their plans for Chinese and Mexican fighters from? Has the UFC released these numbers officially?

There's not one official source they've written down but it's based on stuff they've said in press conferences etc. I've heard Dana say the Chinese fighter number, I'm not sure where the Mexican number is from.

 

[Iroh]

We'll never know the true answer to this since America is over represented compared to other countries

A big reason why kickboxing and Glory in specific hasn't been able to be successful in the US is that they don't have enough competitive elite Murican kickboxers. You need fighters from the place you are holding the events for it to be really successful. That's why they stack cards with European fighters when they are in Europe and Brazilian fighters when in Brazil, etc. So if they didn't have many Muricans on the roster, they'd eventually be better off not having events in the US. Would you prefer that?

 

[Iroh]

There's not one official source they've written down but it's based on stuff they've said in press conferences etc. I've heard Dana say the Chinese fighter number, I'm not sure where the Mexican number is from.

Now you say it, I think I remember Dana saying 70 for China. Thanks, bud!

 

[notsojollyroger]

They do in fact they have roster quotas and demographic goals. It’s all by design

50% of the foster spaces are reserved for American fighters. 50% of the roster is for international fighters

This also reflects where they have shows (back when they traveled). 50% Domestic shows and 50% international

1/6 of the roster is female

They have 90 Brazilian fighters on the roster. This is because— outside of the US—Brazil is their biggest market.


They have plans to have 70 Chinese fighters on the roster sometime in the near future. Hence the UFC Academy they built in Shanghai. This because China is the number one growth market in the whole when it comes to sports

They also have plans to have 30-50 Mexican fighters on the roster in the near future. Hence the UFC Academy they are planning to build in Mexico City. Because they want to capitalize on the huge boxing fandom already present on this country and the fact that it is the largest Spanish speaking country in the world.

Sounds legit but where are you getting this info?

 

[Evangelion]

No? I admitted no such thing. I said we'll never know just good America is at MMA if they are over represnted at the expnse of the rest of the world.

Signs indicate that it won't excell... Most champs and top ten fighters are foreigners despite having equal % to Americans

So you dont believe the Us has excellent athletes? Are we in bizarro world?

Do you watch other sports? Do you understand how they work?

 

[Evangelion]

A big reason why kickboxing and Glory in specific hasn't been able to be successful in the US is that they don't have enough competitive elite Murican kickboxers. You need fighters from the place you are holding the events for it to be really successful. That's why they stack cards with European fighters when they are in Europe and Brazilian fighters when in Brazil, etc. So if they didn't have many Muricans on the roster, they'd eventually be better off not having events in the US. Would you prefer that?

No one gives a shit about kickboxing anywhere. The fighters make terrible money. Theres a reason most of the top fighters are going to mma.

It wouldnt matter if every great kickboxer were American no one would still care.

 

[Hellowhosthat]

So you dont believe the Us has excellent athletes? Are we in bizarro world?

Do you watch other sports? Do you understand how they work?

If I use my own personal rankings as an example of what I think then take LW, I have 32 Americans in the top 100 at the moment (maybe 31, not sure if Al is officially retired or not), so still very well represented but not as high as 50%