Has the UFC self destructed?

[Thy]

Seems somewhat the same as it always has been. If anything the internet has. Ai evolving, humans devolving. Skynet is here.

 

[Orochimaru 大蛇丸]

That's their business strategy now. Promote the brand, promote the vibes, the actual fighters in the cage are just background scenery.

The de-evolution

People have said this for a long time, and it’s certainly true to an extent, but in the past I have thought people exaggerate it…

If they really believe they can make it without stars, on name brand alone, they’re in for a rude awakening… surely they aren’t that stupid

 

[mmacrisis]

The UFC has a weight cutting problem it has just gotten worse. This can be fixed but they won't do it. It also doesn't help that they have a weekly event, there just isn't enough interest in that volume of events. I won't buy them anymore because there aren't enough good fights on a single card to warrant the money like it was 10 years ago.

There are plenty of active flighters just wait hang on someone wants to go up or down in weight to go at another belt then not fight again at that weight.

 

[Foghorn Leghorn]

I'm sure you are right on both counts, it's just a feeling of malaise I feel. I have been a fan a long time and the energy, the "need" to watch is gone. My entire friend group has stopped watching, no more watch parties, no more fights at the bar(I did stop drinking). It feels like when I watched boxing's decline.

This is not a knock on the fighters skill, heart or style. It's not a knock on the production, commentary, or even the media(I hate).
More a feeling on match making, perceived bad judging, the take what we give you and like it, because we are the UFC! attitude.

I feel the same thing about the malaise, though I personally am more invested in the sport now than I was at one point. Have gone through a few different phases of viewing.

Same thing about the friend group, but personally I know that was at least partially tied to our age at the time. Enough of us cared about the sport to be able to force it on our other friends, so to speak. People get older, stop caring about social get togethers. I assume the younger fans are still doing these kinds of things?

I wasn't a huge fan of watching out at the bar (too many distractions), but did it a few times and it would usually be busy, and perhaps more importantly, advertised in a lot of different places. Not so much anymore. I'm sure part of that is how costly it is nowadays to go out to eat, let alone sit there for hours.

Can't say I watched boxing, but I've gone through it as an on again, off again WWE fan for much of my life. It's hard to draw exact parallels, but it feels like we're in the midst of a lull, a transitional period.

Your point about the fighters, production, commentary and media; completely agree. The talent is there, maybe there personalities are there and the UFC isn't doing enough on their end, I don't know. I don't get that feeling though, despite accepting that they want to push the brand.

It does feel like they are struggling to make the big fights and are smug with the brand. I think part of the fight issue is on the fighters and part of it is on the company.

Worth noting, a lot of people are talking about this topic. It's not that the UFC IS DYING but from a viewing perspective, yeah, we're in a bit of a tough time.

@Orochimaru 大蛇丸 , this is what I suspect as well

If they really believe they can make it without stars, on name brand alone, they’re in for a rude awakening… surely they aren’t that stupid

 

[ricc505]

I feel the same thing about the malaise, though I personally am more invested in the sport now than I was at one point. Have gone through a few different phases of viewing.

Same thing about the friend group, but personally I know that was at least partially tied to our age at the time. Enough of us cared about the sport to be able to force it on our other friends, so to speak. People get older, stop caring about social get togethers. I assume the younger fans are still doing these kinds of things?

I wasn't a huge fan of watching out at the bar (too many distractions), but did it a few times and it would usually be busy, and perhaps more importantly, advertised in a lot of different places. Not so much anymore. I'm sure part of that is how costly it is nowadays to go out to eat, let alone sit there for hours.

Can't say I watched boxing, but I've gone through it as an on again, off again WWE fan for much of my life. It's hard to draw exact parallels, but it feels like we're in the midst of a lull, a transitional period.

Your point about the fighters, production, commentary and media; completely agree. The talent is there, maybe there personalities are there and the UFC isn't doing enough on their end, I don't know. I don't get that feeling though, despite accepting that they want to push the brand.

It does feel like they are struggling to make the big fights and are smug with the brand. I think part of the fight issue is on the fighters and part of it is on the company.

Worth noting, a lot of people are talking about this topic. It's not that the UFC IS DYING but from a viewing perspective, yeah, we're in a bit of a tough time.

@Orochimaru 大蛇丸 , this is what I suspect as well

we seem to be in agreement and no one that matters is listening to us anyways, so I'll leave it at I hope we will see a lasting return to excitement in MMA

 

[ricc505]

I feel the same thing about the malaise, though I personally am more invested in the sport now than I was at one point. Have gone through a few different phases of viewing.

Same thing about the friend group, but personally I know that was at least partially tied to our age at the time. Enough of us cared about the sport to be able to force it on our other friends, so to speak. People get older, stop caring about social get togethers. I assume the younger fans are still doing these kinds of things?

I wasn't a huge fan of watching out at the bar (too many distractions), but did it a few times and it would usually be busy, and perhaps more importantly, advertised in a lot of different places. Not so much anymore. I'm sure part of that is how costly it is nowadays to go out to eat, let alone sit there for hours.

Can't say I watched boxing, but I've gone through it as an on again, off again WWE fan for much of my life. It's hard to draw exact parallels, but it feels like we're in the midst of a lull, a transitional period.

Your point about the fighters, production, commentary and media; completely agree. The talent is there, maybe there personalities are there and the UFC isn't doing enough on their end, I don't know. I don't get that feeling though, despite accepting that they want to push the brand.

It does feel like they are struggling to make the big fights and are smug with the brand. I think part of the fight issue is on the fighters and part of it is on the company.

Worth noting, a lot of people are talking about this topic. It's not that the UFC IS DYING but from a viewing perspective, yeah, we're in a bit of a tough time.

@Orochimaru 大蛇丸 , this is what I suspect as well

I slept on this thought. I lurked here for a while and I came to sherdog in search of differing mma news and discourse. MMA discussions are a very overwhelmingly negative environment and maybe it's is spreading the negativity to us fans and running the enjoyment? Maybe the near instant access to MMA personalities and then the spewing of bile that follows each post is souring the MMA experience?

Why do I care about fighter pay? Why do I care about ratings? Broadcasting deals? Cars, boats, watches, clothes, who's cheating on whom?

 

[biscuitsbrah]

This is the new era of the UFC now

Already halfway there....

View attachment 1094203

Fuck that’s so good lmao

 

[Tito Tapped]

The NBA is having many of the same problems the UFC is, and they've both done it to themselves.

Over-saturation, lack of star power, poor marketing, fan disconnect, accessibility/streaming issues, decline in quality and poor legacy building.

Meanwhile the NFL went though a disastrous branding problem and in just a few years put 200,000 people in butt-fuck nowhere to watch their draft.

 

[chinarice]

The majority of UFC cards are so bad. UFC peaked about a little over a decade ago. It definitely did not get better since.

 

[Pharenheit]

Seems somewhat the same as it always has been. If anything the internet has. Ai evolving, humans devolving. Skynet is here.

Robots fighting to the death in an octagon sounds pretty compelling over some of the UFC product being put out lately.

 

[MetaIIica]

The majority of UFC cards are so bad. UFC peaked about a little over a decade ago. It definitely did not get better since.

Bro I’m tired of going out to watch fights and we gotta sit through a 15-25 minute WMMA main card fight that goes to decision. It’s horrible , torture.

 

[Hellowhosthat]

It began self destruction in November 1993 and it's going to finish any day now.

 

[IDGETKTFO]

No he posted it and then the UFC made him save face View attachment 1094189

Kinda looks like uncle creepy without hair.

 

[leto1776]

Nah. Making the company public has degraded the quality of fights and value of the sport.

I would say it’s less a direct result of going public, and more a result of the decisions made in boardrooms once companies go public. Taking less risk, keep things steady, and start milking everything you can out of the company. WME and TKO are using the UFC as collateral on loans for other projects and for their bonuses. This makes them less likely to rock the boat.

I'm sure you are right on both counts, it's just a feeling of malaise I feel. I have been a fan a long time and the energy, the "need" to watch is gone. My entire friend group has stopped watching, no more watch parties, no more fights at the bar(I did stop drinking). It feels like when I watched boxing's decline.

This is not a knock on the fighters skill, heart or style. It's not a knock on the production, commentary, or even the media(I hate).
More a feeling on match making, perceived bad judging, the take what we give you and like it, because we are the UFC! attitude.

It’s all of those things combined. Yes, it’s on fighters skill and style. The championshipcaliber fighters are getting better, particularly defensively. This makes fights boring, because the fighters take less risk.

At the bottom, they’re just signing everybody who wins on DWCS, draining the regional promotions of any talent, which means that next year’s crop will be of lesser caliber, and worse the next year. UFC doesn’t care, as they’re signing fighters for bottom dollar prices, keeping overall fighter pay at a minimum, the stated goal on their investment packet.

Having events on 40 out of 52 weeks a year takes away from any event feeling special. “Oh, a ppv? Well, last week’s was free, and next week’s is free. Why pay for this one? A title fight? Nah, not worth it”

Nothing will change as long as the money keeps flowing. Ticket prices k going up, but people keep buying them and they keep selling out. It will take a major dent on income for anything to change, and that doesn’t seem likely any time soon.

Why do I care about fighter pay?

You want to watch the best athletes and best fighters possible. Poor fighter pay leaves athletes looking for better options.

 

[TriangleMonkey]

Like all life on earth

It starts the dying process the day it is born

 

[ricc505]

You want to watch the best athletes and best fighters possible. Poor fighter pay leaves athletes looking for better options.

I agree here too. My phrasing was a bit flippant, I want them paid for the effort. Flights should pay more then social media. I was suggesting we here on sherdog spend an a awful lot of time arguing about money and contracts. In reality we don't enough to form a cogent argument because we don't see the actual contacts and earnings. I like talking about flights, fighters, skills, and attributes more then fangurling over financials.