Have we reached Peak MMA?

When was peak MMA?

  • Total voters
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No one knows yet. WME & Dana ( as long as his face remains logo/ forefront) dictates where this sport goes.
 
Yep, cm punk vs mike Jackson was it, it’s all downhill from here.



Seriously, I guess it depends on how you look at it. Superstars will come and go, breaking previous records and gaining more attention than before. On the other hand they will probably end up banning the ground game because people’s attention spans are disappearing and they’ll need to protect the money makers, at which point is it really mma anymore?
 
I really think it's going through a transitional period that will see it come out the other side looking quite different.

I see it as currently in a "breaking it down" phase which will be followed by a "building it back up" period.

IMO, the future of MMA includes much more control and rationale behind rankings and a more structured path for fighters to ascend to title shots.

Along with that will be better pay but more structured pay that is directly tied to success/failure but also with supplemental funds for training and also some form of medical insurance, pension, etc.

Probably still 5 to 10 years away, but I think it's headed this way now that they have corporate owners and corporate partners along with mainstream TV deals.
 
MMA popularity has already peaked IMO. Sports in general are becoming less popular, particularly combat sports. I recently watched Chuck and Randy's second fight, and you can just see that MMA doesn't have that type of buzz in the air anymore at the big events. A lot of my friends that used to be super into it, don't even follow it anymore really.

As far as the athletes go, they will continue to get better until the sport is banned or completely neutered.
 
You can never be at peak, its always in the future
 
JohnMangala said:
In terms of technique, athletes, or media. Some argue peak MMA was in the past (2005) with Fedor, Cro Cop, and Big Nog. Others argue MMA hit it’s peak now with Conor, and Ronda in terms of money. Or it is the future with the arrival of more A level athletes?
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Money wise it was with Conor and Ronda. Technique and athletes I would say the best is yet to come.
 
People who say MMA popularity has peaked are looking at it from an American/Brazilian perspective. The sport is still growing in UK, Europe, Russia, Australia, Mexico... There are still huge untapped potential markets and talent pools like France and China, maybe even Nigeria in the future.

A lot depends on future world economy tho
 
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DeathStroke said:
Someone post that picture of Prime cain, Jones, prime andy, GSP, Frankie, Aldo, and cruz. I'd pick every single one of those guys over current champs with the exception of frankie.

Edit: Gonna try this from my phone. Not sure it worked.
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Aldo literally lost to the current FW champ. Old ass Anderson* did too. *MASSIVE asterisks
 
Striking still has a long way to go imo. Though I feel fighters who are elite in one particular area will generally have more success.
 
We are far from peak in terms of athletes and techniques. We still have too many athletes who can't even perform for more than 2 rounds.

In terms of technique, there are still way too many striking techniques not being utilized because athletes are afraid to be taken down, and laid-and-prayed on.

Also, the current athletes don't have the talent and skill to execute a lot of striking techniques. For example, in almost every fight, I see an opening for a spinning back kick i.e. Barboza vs Etim, and the athletes don't take it, because they don't have the skill and talent.

Also, the current rules are limiting the sport. For example, the favoritism towards takedowns is limiting striking to a few safer strikes like 1-2-punch-leg kick combos. Moreover, the uniform the athletes wear has rendered Judo (one of the most very effective grappling martial arts) almost obsolete in UFC MMA.

UFC MMA is not even close to the peak. Not even halfway up the mountain. We are still in the infant stages of the sport.
 
Pfft -- Peak MMA was when Harold Howard went ape shit Roland Payne and displayed his world class Ju Jitsu. NHB has gone downhill since. "If you're coming on, COME ON!!!"
 
Evolving athleticism is the biggest factor for change. Most techniques you see have been in their respective arts for decades and even centuries.
 
When you have the saturation in regular society that baseball or football has. Where kids are doing this "safely" from very early ages. Where there are school activities, widespread youth recreational leagues, and coaching seminars attracting youth sports leader and leading athletes.

That's when you'll see MMA start to "peak" from the 'human athletic potential' aspect. But there's so much mental strength to fighting, much more than non-combat sports IMO, that we haven't even scratched the surface of mental health in regards to high-performance in a combat situation.

What I'm saying is that there is no "peak", this shit is practically limitless.
 
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