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

[knock_you_out]

The UFC is all about $$$$$$.

 

[Lemmy Caution]

D-level in terms of popularity/notoriety yes you're right. D-level in terms of the quality of competition? No. Totally wrong. Fighting is the ultimate form of competition, moreso than any other sport or athletic competition on this planet. And MMA is the purest form of real fighting short of an unsanctioned street fight. Yes MMA is down on the list for the casual sports fan, but it is easily the purest form of sanctioned sports competition that exists in the world.

In what other sport can you train a few years and be competitive against the elite?

Fighting is not the ultimate form of competition. If close to no rules makes something purer, than (nearly) no-rules soccer would be purer than a game with well-defined rules.

And if close to no-rules is better, then no-rules must be the ultimate. If a fight is sanctioned or not is a matter of politics, not fighting. So why not get the impurity, in this case politics, out of the sport?

 

[tenniswhiz]

It's a compromise.

If they changed the rules/judging, the two ideals could converge better than they do now.
Owners will always want return on their investment though.

 

[Killhippies]

Honestly, if the UFC wants to go the route of being "Ultimate Fighting Entertainment" instead of a legitimate sport like in recent times, they should just get on with it.

Remove rankings, ditch the lower weight divisions, place emphasis on a fighter's "mic work" if they want a title shot. Skilled but "boring" fighters get cut. Make it WWE because that is literally what they want out of the fighters. Gone is it where being the best matters, freak shows and marketability reign king now.

Top tier fighters will go to another organization and I will gladly watch that instead.

 

[phd]

All combat sports is about entertainment/putting-butts-in-seats (to include boxing). The "purity" of athletic competition has always been secondary.

MM isn't the only technically great fighter who is paid way less than lesser-skilled, bigger named fighters. Lomachenko and GGG are two of the top fighters in boxing, yet they constantly fight on free HBO instead of PPVs. Why? They don't have big names. Why did Chavez Jr. get that HUGE payday against Canelo? Name...not skill. Why could/would Conor get to get into the ring with an all-timer like Floyd? Name.

This is how the fight business has always worked.

 

[LargeMammal]

In what other sport can you train a few years and be competitive against the elite?

Fighting is not the ultimate form of competition. If close to no rules makes something purer, than (nearly) no-rules soccer would be purer than a game with well-defined rules.

And if close to no-rules is better, then no-rules must be the ultimate. If a fight is sanctioned or not is a matter of politics, not fighting. So why not get the impurity, in this case politics, out of the sport?

I get where you're coming from, but still disagree. Look, if you can train a few years and be competitive against the "elite" then that's down to one of 2 reasons... either it exposes the shallow nature of the sport in it's current stage, or it just shows that people who are natural fighters/warriors with natural power and toughness/aggression maybe it just comes naturally to them... I'm more inclined to believe in the former but there is some truth to the latter let's be honest.

How is fighting not the ultimate form of competition? It's one man against one man, no weapons, no balls, no props, just man against man - who beats the other physically & mentally wins. How is that not a pure form of competition? If you look at sports in general, then take away the arbitrary/made-up rules that involve balls, nets, lines, whether you can kick the ball or pick it up... you take away all the arbitrary pointless rules.. all you have left is one man trying to beat another.

I think Joe Rogan said "If you're standing at a crossroads anywhere in the world; on one corner there's a soccer match, on the other corner there's a baseball match, on the third corner there's a basketball match, then on the fourth corner there's a fight... you're gonna watch the fight." If someone says to you, "I can dunk a ball in a hoop better than you", then you turn around and say "Ok that's cool but I can beat you up", Who has the more respect? Fighting is the purest form of competition hands down.

 

[AnotherOldGuy]

I get where you're coming from, but still disagree. Look, if you can train a few years and be competitive against the "elite" then that's down to one of 2 reasons... either it exposes the shallow nature of the sport in it's current stage, or it just shows that people who are natural fighters/warriors with natural power and toughness/aggression maybe it just comes naturally to them... I'm more inclined to believe in the former but there is some truth to the latter let's be honest.

How is fighting not the ultimate form of competition? It's one man against one man, no weapons, no balls, no props, just man against man - who beats the other physically & mentally wins. How is that not a pure form of competition? If you look at sports in general, then take away the arbitrary/made-up rules that involve balls, nets, lines, whether you can kick the ball or pick it up... you take away all the arbitrary pointless rules.. all you have left is one man trying to beat another.

I think Joe Rogan said "If you're standing at a crossroads anywhere in the world; on one corner there's a soccer match, on the other corner there's a baseball match, on the third corner there's a basketball match, then on the fourth corner there's a fight... you're gonna watch the fight." If someone says to you, "I can dunk a ball in a hoop better than you", then you turn around and say "Ok that's cool but I can beat you up", Who has the more respect? Fighting is the purest form of competition hands down.

That's the theory, but it doesn't seem to work out that way when you look at actual numbers. All the major team sports have far more fans than any combat sport.

Maybe part of the problem is that humans aren't primarily unarmed fighters - we evolved, and survived, by fighting with weapons. Without weapons we'd all be tiger and bear kibble - unarmed fighting is very artificial for humans, and most people know it. Tell people you can beat them up and they're as likely as not to say "try it and I'll shoot you".

The ultimate form of competition for humans is war, and there is an absolutely huge amount of money and prestige in it. But its not done unarmed. Unarmed combat sport is pretty far down the list of watched sports - even sports like tennis and golf have far more viewers than it. Not sure why that's true, but it definitely is.

Maybe if we had some gladiator combat, where people fought the way people really fight (with weapons) it'd be more popular. Interestingly enough, if weapons were allowed you wouldn't need weight divisions - size isn't so important with guns and grenades.

 

[Jack Reacheround]

It's a balancing act for the promotion. Their goal is to put asses in seats. Many fans are only interested in the competition aspect, although Brock Lesnar, and the TUF 1 finale before that, brought in a bunch of just bleed fans who want to see entertainment more than competition.