Has UFC/MMA lost its luster for you too

[overeem chin]

I used to have to watch every event up until about a year ago. Now I just have the Ill catch it if I can attitude. Or just even catch the highlights.

I believe a combination of things resulted in the decline of interest for me. Maybe some will agree but..

1) All the old stars have faded away or retired (Silva, JDS, Tate, Cain, Machida, Jones, Diazs etc)
2) Too many shows with no names (Makes it easy to skip over & lose track of whats going on)
3) UFC is now more focused on becoming more professional (Bland commentary, Reebok, presentation, stale)

I could go on but if they just

I'd like to see more focus on promoting the best fighters and trimming the shows in half. Make it must see tv again.

 

[Darric]

I think everything you have under 3) is the best example of the wrong direction the promotion is being taken in. I hope Bellator keeps improving and pushes the envelope.

 

[Geo_Mac]

It's when they decide to promote Punk/Jackson over legit fighters in a pathetic attempt to make more casuals tune in so they can make more money, that's what is making me loose interest in the UFC.

 

[Yetian]

Same. Am a martial artist. I knew every fighter. 6 years and I never missed a second.

But sometime last year it went sour. For reasons you listed, but also because of poor matchups, stalled divisions and ridiculous title shots. Integrity was thrown out for favoritism and cash grabs.

But what really chews deep is Reebok. By making everyone look like corporate cutouts, like branded cattle, the UFC invaded the unique space that each fighter had in the infinite universe and forced them down to planet Reebok, in chains. Individuality was sanitized.

 

[magicmarker]

Yes.

I still love mma but the current state of affairs is a major turn-off.

Everything that's been listed is true on some level for me. I would also add in that wmma ain't helping the situation either.

 

[Thisisme2]

Man do I miss pride......

 

[leatherf4ce]

Same. Am a martial artist. I knew every fighter. 6 years and I never missed a second.

But sometime last year it went sour. For reasons you listed, but also because of poor matchups, stalled divisions and ridiculous title shots. Integrity was thrown out for favoritism and cash grabs.

But what really chews deep is Reebok. By making everyone look like corporate cutouts, like branded cattle, the UFC invaded the unique space that each fighter had in the infinite universe and forced them down to planet Reebok, in chains. Individuality was sanitized.

Exactly this for me. I hate that every weight class has 6 champion belts in it. Every fight is marketed as a title fight. I saw myself caring less and less about it one WME took over, focusing on making their money back over Zuffa's direction.

The Reebok deal does suck, because part of the fun was seeing people in their sponsorship gear, showing up to fights and interviews with their personality and style. Just took out the individuality of everyone. Everyone looks the same now, everyone's trying to be loud and obnoxious to get a title fight, and the company's just so damn money-hungry.

I can't believe I'm saying this, but doesn't seen like Dana's really happy either. Seems like he's just doing what his bosses say and misses the Fertitta's. Dana doesn't even seem that happy to screw people over like he used to. It's like he's stressed and bugged all the time.

Hope Bellator takes advantage of all this.

 

[Breaking]

What did it for me is the obvious fact that THEY don’t care if the sport is legitimate—so long as the money keeps rolling in...




Also, they do their damnedest to make sure that the championship belts are absolutely meaningless.

 

[TatooNU]

Their biggest stars don't fight. Conor, Jones, GSP, Diaz brothers. Washed out main events, Tony Ferguson/Khabib was a joke.

 

[magicmarker]

Man do I miss pride......

I miss pre-WME UFC as well. There's something to be said for an owner at the top who is also a fan of the sport, not just a conglomerate of businesses/investors looking at numbers on pieces of paper.

Because a fan wants a stacked card from top to bottom. We just do. I don't think there's anything wrong with wanting the best they can do for one night. There's so many pullouts and missed weights and commission interruptions. Shit will inevitably happen. So plan for it ahead by stacking the entire card top to bottom. Then charge us the current rate without another sudden increase ($64.99 usd). Give us fans a card that's good enough to mention to someone else we know in a way that doesn't start with "You're never going to believe what just happened..". Let us grow the sport but you have to meet us half way and stop making it amateur hour coming to a city near you.

 

[KONG-D'SNT-TAP]

ID take 2008-2012 any day of the fucking week.

The fighters were cool. These guys today are dorks and lame shit talkers

 

[Jawth]

Its because trash like WMMA and CM Punk.

Last PPVs I bought were 218 ,214, and 211. Was going to buy Frankie vs. Holloway but it fell apart. Will probably buy 226.

I only buy a few cards a year now.

 

[Boy God]

When Pride ended

 

[andmcq]

It just seems like it's very scripted these days. Not that the actual fights are scripted, but that the match ups are. It's just... artificial.

 

[jjdowns]

Completely. I use to order almost all the fights. Now I only order the big July Vegas fight week fight, or I hate to admit this, McGregor fights.

None of the rankings or belts mean anything anymore. It’s turned into a popularity contest. Yes, I know it’s ironic that a McGregor fan would say that. But the ufc is too deluded now.

 

[overeem chin]

Cant make threads I see. I will just bump this

I stand by my original statement. Havent been here in a while . Just came across a Youtube feed of Weidman getting knocked out by Reyes who I never heard of.

Makes me miss the good ol days when UFC was on top and so addictive to watch. In my original post I was spot on and its starting to show more and more.

UFC/Dana claimed they would never be like boxing but they did and its the reason they are failing so hard. Should not be so damn cheap with the star fighters. Shouldnt have put on 20 shows a month and shouldn't have did the whole reebok crap.

Its like when someone finally makes it big and start letting their ego get to em.

 

[Deleted member 510653]

Has since the move to ESPN with no more ppvs on tv.. That's just UFC tho

 

[overeem chin]

Has since the move to ESPN with no more ppvs on tv.. That's just UFC tho

I think they started to F things up with the FOX deal. They were so damn excited about being on ''Big Fox''. They lost track of what got them so popular. SpikeTV was there home. It was pretty much their network.

 

[JoeyJoeJoeJr]

I probably watch about 5-10 events per year now. The cards have become incredibly bad, I dont understand why they dont hire someone who knows what theyre doing

 

[TommyAlivee]

For me personally, it lost its luster for me because of the frequency of UFC events and saturation of fighters with what seems like no push or excitement behind them. I remember how excited I used to get for each and every card — whether it was a PPV or a Fight Night card — and would always save that day to watch the entirety of that card with my buddies. I was initially happy when I noticed that MMA was becoming more mainstream, but didn't realize how much things would get watered down as a result of it.