Is MMA About "Putting Asses In Seats" or Athletic Competition?

[Captain Herb]

The UFC is the flagship of MMA. At this point, the UFC is synonymous with MMA. Most people who follow MMA don't give a rat's ass about the other promotions.

And?

 

[Ube]

Cmon man. cm punk? It's an ass in the seats business

 

[VIPERdude]

All I hear is "putting asses in seats" "he is not a draw" "he doesn't move the needle" and blah blah.

What is this sport even about? HAHAHA

Why even have real athletes in the sport, why doesn't the UFC just get pretty boys and girls who can act with average fighting skill, and make that the sport?

Actually had this discussion with a friend at work today. In my opinion MMA is STILL OK and about real athletes competing to see who has the better fighting skill to be the best in the sport. That being said, I believe the UFC is where the problem is. They are more so concentrated on MONEY than anything else. It also doesnt help that since Conor McGregor made such a huge amount of money now every fighter wants to make more money. Also another factor is the Reebok deal which every fighter hates. They counted on sponsorship money for most of their training expenses...So Money is the focal point in the UFC alone. UFC is about butts in seats first. The know owners have a 4 billion dollar debt to pay. I wouldnt be surprised if Bellator didnt surpass the UFC in the future because fighters are more happy there. You dont hear about money fights because they are doing well with sponsorship alone that UFC fighters are not able to have. The UFC is a cluster fuck right now. I would be willing to bet Dana White will be gone in a year or two.

 

[LargeMammal]

The UFC is the flagship of MMA. At this point, the UFC is synonymous with MMA. Most people who follow MMA don't give a rat's ass about the other promotions.

You're right UFC and MMA are synonymous to the average person. In fact, a lot of people don't know what you're talking about if you mention MMA, so you have to say "you know UFC"

But whilst your point is correct it only reinforces the notion that the UFC have a huge responsibility to deal with here. They are representing an emerging sport which is yet to become properly established in mainstream consciousness. A sport often dismissed as 'freak show' and 'cock fighting'. They need to inject a healthy dose of legitimacy to the ranking and contendership process of risk losing serious credibility amongst the wider sports community altogether. Let alone piss off a whole bunch of fans who dedicate so much time & money to following the organisation.

 

[LargeMammal]

Actually had this discussion with a friend at work today. In my opinion MMA is STILL OK and about real athletes competing to see who has the better fighting skill to be the best in the sport. That being said, I believe the UFC is where the problem is. They are more so concentrated on MONEY than anything else. It also doesnt help that since Conor McGregor made such a huge amount of money now every fighter wants to make more money. Also another factor is the Reebok deal which every fighter hates. They counted on sponsorship money for most of their training expenses...So Money is the focal point in the UFC alone. I wouldnt be surprised if Bellator didnt surpass the UFC in the furture because fighters are more happy there. You dont hear about money fights because they are doing well with sponsorship that UFC fighters are not able to have.

You make a good point. The UFC essentially has a monopoly over the sport and they know this all too well. They use their position to essentially exploit fighters to a large degree and weild their so-called power very irresponsibly.

I do hope that Bellator gains enough credibility to challenge the UFC as a competitor so we can return to the good days of having different equally respectable fight orgs, but I do think Bellator need some serious re-branding before they get to that stage.

 

[VIPERdude]

You make a good point. The UFC essentially has a monopoly over the sport and they know this all too well. They use their position to essentially exploit fighters to a large degree and weild their so-called power very irresponsibly.

I do hope that Bellator gains enough credibility to challenge the UFC as a competitor so we can return to the good days of having different equally respectable fight orgs, but I do think Bellator need some serious re-branding before they get to that stage.

absolutely

 

[lefthighkick01]

The mixed martial arts fanbase is infantile, with many being crossover fans of the soap opera that is Professional Wrestling. These are not people interested in seeing the best of the best compete in legitimate athletic competition. These are kids who want the drama. They couldn't give a rats ass about "legitimate athletic competition". They aren't mixed martial arts fans...their drama fans.

100% agree! theres been more threads about Conor's latest rental and gucci mink and suits then about his actual fights...

its heading the WWE way...

 

[Juventud]

It will become a legitimate sport. I truly believe Dana White and WME/IMG are taking the sport in the wrong direction.

They should continue to invest in building the integrity of the sport, and not catering to freak show match-ups.

It's too violent to ever become a mainstream sport.

If Boxing loses its big stars then i could see it overtaking boxing long term but it wouldn't get bigger than any league sport.

 

[BJ@LW&WW]

mma is about competition and seeing what fighting and training techniques make for the most effective fighter.












putting asses in seats monetarily allows that to happen.

there has to be a balance between the two for the sport to survive. Too much paper chasing, and the competition loses meaning, and eventually loses the ability to draw viewers. too much commitment to the purity of martial art, and you risk losing viewers to a point where the infrastructure of the sport falls apart and there isn't enough monetary incentive for the up and comers to pursue mma as a career.

 

[Mixedfights]

It is now and always has been both. Same goes for Boxing.

 

[BayAreaGuy]

They put asses in seats with fights that people are interested in watching.

 

[Italian Brock]

All I hear is "putting asses in seats" "he is not a draw" "he doesn't move the needle" and blah blah.

What is this sport even about? HAHAHA

Why even have real athletes in the sport, why doesn't the UFC just get pretty boys and girls who can act with average fighting skill, and make that the sport?

Maybe you should've gone to college then you'd have an idea..

 

[JollyRants]

All I hear is "putting asses in seats" "he is not a draw" "he doesn't move the needle" and blah blah.

What is this sport even about? HAHAHA

Why even have real athletes in the sport, why doesn't the UFC just get pretty boys and girls who can act with average fighting skill, and make that the sport?

They tried

 

[Quietus]

its not a legit competition because the refs are instructed to take actions to make it more exciting for viewers: telling people to stand up if they're not active enough, pulling people off the cage and breaking them up, saying "WORK!", and rewarding people $50k bonuses for KOs which incentivizes fighters to ignore technique and headhunt to create more highlights.

Why would any of that happen if it was a pure athletic competition? Stalling could be part of someone's strategy to gas the other person.

 

[Which Doctor]

its not a legit competition because the refs are instructed to take actions to make it more exciting for viewers: telling people to stand up if they're not active enough, pulling people off the cage and breaking them up, saying "WORK!", and rewarding people $50k bonuses for KOs which incentivizes fighters to ignore technique and headhunt to create more highlights.

Why would any of that happen if it was a pure athletic competition? Stalling could be part of someone's strategy to gas the other person.

 

[Stained Class]

The ONLY correct answer is...

ALL SPORTS are about the competition. It's the business side, and our love of watching sports, that fucked it all.

Once the baseball owners realized that they could draw bigger crowds. Simply by installing some lights. Thereby, seriously increasing revenue. It's gone down the shitter ever since.

The UFC is not a sport. It's a company. And the moves they made to secure money for themselves ( Reebok ). At the expense of the athletes making them the money. It's been a little hard to take.

MMA is about the sport. The UFC is about putting asses in the seats. Not, just that, though. Putting asses in the seats strictly to their benefit, first, and foremost.

 

[shinobimusashi]

You can't have one without the other. Go all the way back to Pride 1, all those fucking people packed into the Tokyo Dome to see the pro wrestler, Nobuhiko Takada, a guy who couldn't even fight. All of the shows after that Takada was what drew the money that built the company, he was even doing worked matches. There was no Pride without Takada, there was no Takada without worked matches. The attraction was what financed Pride, so that Fedor could fight at such a huge stage in front of 50,000 people and make real money doing it. Fighters and fans don't understand where the money comes from. People don't just give you money to do MMA, you have to draw every single penny by somehow convincing people to get up on a Saturday night, take off work, find a babysitter, make the trip and pull out their wallets to buy a ticket with their hard earned money.

 

[Irishwhiskey119]

It's supposed to be a sport and about winning..

It turns into asses in seats because people are fucking greedy and want to make everything and anything a business.

If the sport doesn't exist with zero people watching than it shouldn't exist imo. It should be about the competition and being the best and i get you gotta make money but it should be secondary.

 

[Mikey Palangio]

its not a legit competition because the refs are instructed to take actions to make it more exciting for viewers: telling people to stand up if they're not active enough, pulling people off the cage and breaking them up, saying "WORK!", and rewarding people $50k bonuses for KOs which incentivizes fighters to ignore technique and headhunt to create more highlights.

Why would any of that happen if it was a pure athletic competition? Stalling could be part of someone's strategy to gas the other person.

You make good points.

 

[Mikey Palangio]

It's supposed to be a sport and about winning..

It turns into asses in seats because people are fucking greedy and want to make everything and anything a business.

If the sport doesn't exist with zero people watching than it shouldn't exist imo. It should be about the competition and being the best and i get you gotta make money but it should be secondary.

You make good points.

But there is a way of doing both. I think at the beginning of every endeavor, it is important to establish reputation and integrity. All the profits should be used to invest in the growth of the sport, in terms of paying the athletes, improving training and marketing the sport.

The UFC as the leader of the sport seem to want to make a quick profit and compete with other sports that have a longer history.

It can take a sport 50 or more years to blow up. This is not time to be thinking about profits. It is time to establish the sport as a legitimate athletic competition.

It is time to be establishing the competitive framework of the sport. For example, how do fighters get title shot? What is the responsibility of the champion when it comes to title defense? What are the rules of fighter rankings? and etc

These things need to written down on paper and strictly adhere to.