Has anyone else become disillusioned with MMA lately?

[wanted226]

First of all let me start by saying that this thread is not solely about Jones vs Reyes as much as it is a grievance with the UFC org in general. And while I rooted for Jon I think Reyes won but it’s not a robbery by any means. You gotta go out there and compete every round and he gave the last two to Jones making the fight much closer than it should have.

As a fan of the sport I’m disappointed with the ineptitude of fight scoring by non MMA people and it’s a shame because it’s the fighters who pay for their ignorance. On the flip side I’m somewhat glad Jones won because we don’t know how much longer we’ll have him in the sport, he’s a true martial artist and in my opinion represents the true aspects of skill MMA.

That being said I feel like the UFC is having trouble developing new stars, outside of Adesanya (who might not pan out) they have nobody of the new breed who they can market. They’re also struggling to keep their cash cows afloat by any means (Jon and Conor). If you look at the last two PPVs It’s cause massively disproportionate cards and they’re filling the roster with amateur level bouts as fillers.

So overall the product seems watered down, the scoring is inept, the match making is absurd, and the fans are paying for it. It seems like MMA is going the boxing route by neglecting the fans due to politics, doing nothing about corrupt scoring, and making PPV cards solely about the main event with amateur bums filling the rest of the card.


/End rant


Any of you bro’s losing interest in MMA? If so what?

sorry to say: agreed
I could not imagine actually PPV'ing the bum fights which is majority of PFC (PenultimateFightingChampionship). And I understand why Reyes did not win last nite, even though it did brek my heart. So I guess I dun exactly agree with your 'cash cow' opinion. And Conor is too good to worry me as one, likewise.

 

[Khaiser]

I agree with the overall sentiment but don’t agree with all of the underlying reasons why.

Far from seeing Jones as an example of a pure martial artist, I see him as a sorry drugs cheat who shouldn’t be in any conversation about who the GOAT is, for fans of this sport at least.

As well as that, cards are generally poor, the top fighters only fight once a year or so, and certain fighters are protected/favoured over others.

 

[Tylerlikesmma]

I do miss the good old days. for me, that was 07-11

 

[Glove]

Its just too much, i remembered being quite excited for an event every month, now its a card every week. Most of these events are now 'lacking" in star power due to the many ongoing events. What im hoping for are competing organizations which would give MMA a bit more parity.

 

[Justinboxing]

Ever since Conor entered the UFC, weird things started to happpen.

 

[BRASIL WAND]

Objectively the skill level of the sport has advanced to the point that going on s tear I infinitely harder. Also fun sloppy brawls dint occur as much in favor of technical striking squash matches

Not necessarily, I’d say it regressed just due to the volume of fighters on the roster now. Any random with an amateur striking background and introductory grappling class is in the UFC now, it’s embarrassing. Take every other fight on the card besides Jones/Reyes, they were amateur.

Back in the day the UFC has a thinner roster but a MUCH higher level of competition.

For instance: the UFC has STILL yet to replace the HW roster or find dominant champs like GSP, Anderson, and Jones(whos currently active and still dominating)

 

[Al Stone]

Not necessarily, I’d say it regressed just due to the volume of fighters on the roster now. Any random with an amateur striking background and introductory grappling class is in the UFC now, it’s embarrassing. Take every other fight on the card besides Jones/Reyes, they were amateur.

Back in the day the UFC has a thinner roster but a MUCH higher level of competition.

For instance: the UFC has STILL yet to replace the HW roster or find dominant champs like GSP, Anderson, and Jones(whos currently active and still dominating)

Back in the day especially with more rampant riding having strong striking pedigree would take you much further. It may be harder to build superstars because it's much easier to lose and be viewed as an average fighter

 

[NationWideNinja]

I just want more stacked cards. Stacked cards to me feel like waiting on Christmas. It makes a weekend special, especially if the headliner is an intriguing match-up.

 

[Tylerlikesmma]

2008-2009, the cards were hot. I remember being excited all month for each upcoming card

 

[Shadowthrone]

Really feminine line of thinking here, sad low energy

 

[Psychedelic]

Jon Jones haters ragequitting the sport.

#AndStill

 

[Makani]

I really hate how refs refuse to take points away unless it's a fricking punt to the nuts or a guy is still wearing someones eyeball on his pinky. The nature of 3/5 round fights is that one point basically make the offender have to win every round or close to it, and that fucks everthing up. Why not have 5 3 minute rounds or 10 3 minute rounds for title fights? Just seems like it would take a lot of the randomness out of it.

 

[Tyr XIII]

GGG vs Canelo wasnt as close as Jones vs Reyes

bro

GGG won both, and the first one convincingly

 

[Tylerlikesmma]

I just want more stacked cards. Stacked cards to me feel like waiting on Christmas. It makes a weekend special, especially if the headliner is an intriguing match-up.

I remember literally going to sleep early the night before UFC 92 because I just wanted to fast forward to the card as much as I could lol. I made a comment about it here & people likened it to a kid being excited for Christmas

 

[cws80us]

Your points are all very well taken, and there's no question that interest overall has declined based on the factors that your laid out. There is definitely a lack of star power outside of a handful of fighters. A lot of big names have either retired or at the end of their careers, and there don't seem to be any up and comers to take their place. The PPVs have lost that big event feel for the most part and have become fight card level quality outside of maybe 1 or 2 fights. A PPV main card should be reserved for title fights and top 10 contenders but there are prelim level fights on the main cards now. I would add also that the top guys outside of a few don't fight often enough. Many only fight once, maybe twice a year at the most. In the old days guys fight 3-4 times a year.

 

[Raziel82]

I live on a different continent... Already hard to follow the sports from Europe..
But yeah.. Rarely get excited about anything mma related these days.

The time when there used to be main cards where I enjoyed watching all fights, seems centuries ago.

 

[KBE6EKCTAH_CCP]

It has been a trash circus for a while now, yes.
I enjoy the entertainment aspect of it but I think it has moved away from being a legit sport competition venue.

 

[Kono dio da!]

Tbh this is probably why I’m not upset with Jones getting the nod(even though I think he lost Rounds 1-3)... to me he represents the true golden era of MMA from a skill perspective.

He’s a pedigreed grappler who perfected his craft before transitioning to MMA and fell in love with every other aspect: BJJ, Striking, etc.

These “newbreed” fighters brought in by the UFC are all strikers with fan friendly styles who’s “grapplin” solely consist of a few takedown defense training camps and some seminars. They solely bank on not being taken down but once they hit the mat they have no substance on the ground.... guys like Reyes, Gus, Adesanya, etc are all textbook examples.

Gus and israel yes. Reyes no. He can wrestle. Just chooses not to. And I am fed up with the strikers the UFC pushes. I like fights that encompass all disciplines. It's almost as if Dana discourages wrestling and doesn't sign wrestlers anymore jeez.

 

[usernamee]

stop writing in bold asshole

 

[kmeyers]

I remember when cards were so stacked I looked forward to almost every single fight. And even when I didn't know a name on the card, you knew the fighter was hungry and looking to make a name for himself.

There was none of this safe, point fighting bullshit, or take downs with no damage, just to win the round. I don't blame a fighter for doing that to protect his health, it's just boring as hell to watch, and now it's all the time. It used to be all out, leave nothing in the ring, fight like you might die, fights.

Sadly those kinds of fights are very rare now.