Let's face it, the UFC cannot put together PPV worthy cards anymore

[DetachedOrchid]

Dana has cashed out, he doesn't care anymore

He doesn't have as much control anymore. He's just an employee now.

 

[Gilday]

Just growing pains. USADA was bound to impact the sport.

The truth is the UFC has higher mainstream exposure than ever before.

One day we’ll have a row of champs like this again:

Man there was a time I thought Aldo/GSP/Silva/Jones would never lose

I miss those times

 

[93confirmed]

I agree 1000%. I was just looking through the last 5 PPVs and next 5 PPVs and there isn't a single one I'm excited about. The dozen or so fights I care the most about are spread out so thin. Their model is weak. They either need to adopt a WWE type PPV subscription model (using Fight Pass) or cut the number of PPVs in half and stack the hell out of them.

 

[93confirmed]

Just growing pains. USADA was bound to impact the sport.

The truth is the UFC has higher mainstream exposure than ever before.

One day we’ll have a row of champs like this again:

That's the GOAT champ lineup. Will never be topped.

 

[Aegon Spengler]

That's the GOAT champ lineup. Will never be topped.

I think Cain was HW champ at that time too

 

[omawho402]

The problem is that the UFC is catering to casuals. Us hardcore fans would be damn near equally stoked on if not more on Darren Elkins vs Brian Ortega than we would Lesnar vs Ngannou. Star power vs quality, I'll always pick a quality fight.

 

[Gambit MMA]

Just growing pains. USADA was bound to impact the sport.

The truth is the UFC has higher mainstream exposure than ever before.

One day we’ll have a row of champs like this again:

include cain and you have the super 7

 

[Senzo Tanaka]

That's why UFC desperately wants a 400 million dollar TV deal. It's also the same reason WWE left PPV. The didn't have any stars left and they couldn't get enough people to buy their PPVs. With a big TV deal and a network streaming service, they don't have to worry about PPV.

If UFC can get 400 million, they are on step closer to not having to worry about PPV.

 

[Benjamin Burton]

Dana used to be able to throw money under the table at fighters. He has no reason to do that anymore.

 

[PokerMage]

Look its on the fighters to make it to the fight.

the UFC can book whatever the fuck they want but if the fighters dont make it there, the show must go on.

dont get me wrong i think its the way there contracts and how prizefighting is set up that is a major issue leading to guys pushing it far and hard and pulling out of fights for injury or weight cutting.

idk there is no easy fix but at the end of the day. man you have to make it to the fight.

 

[VulcanNervPinch]

Let's face it, the UFC cannot put together PPV worthy cards anymore

They can - but not with the TV contracts (that they agreed to and want) that call for too many cards a year.

 

[Danespina]

They can put them together, just can't keep them together.

 

[mangokush]

The UFC should just lobby for PEDs for recovery to be legal so fighters can stop getting injured and recover quicker.

 

[acannxr]

Their genuine starpower is over the hill or on the sidelines (Lesnar, GSP, Jones, Conor, Rousey etc)

Injuries ruin at least 30 percent of planned cards

With what's left, the fightcards are getting weaker and weaker

The PPV cost should be going down not up

As the UFC has increased their number of events, quality and median PPV revenue has gone down.

12 PPVs, 12 Fox cards, 10 fights per card, and if they have extra fighters on the roster, cut em; though this strategy would take time to work due to all the over-saturation and damage they did to the UFC name value.

 

[Dessyboy]

WWE network is a stroke of genius. Say what you like , if your a wrestling fan, it's good value. The amount of back catalog stuff you have access to is impressive

UFC do need to do something similar and forget the PPV model

 

[nintey]

The injury thing is really strange how frequenti t got over the past few 3-4 years. I don't know if it's weight cutting, over training or what but it's bad.

However the UFC also messed up by putting all of their eggs into one basket with Conor. They made him larger than life and diminished the rest of their stars in the process, especially in terms of mainstream appeal

 

[boyer]

Conor ruined the ufc by being the organization's model fighter. Rankings, belts and even weight classes have become meaningless. Talking shit and twitter became more important than winning fights. Most of these fighters just arent very witty and press conferences, which have been good for selling fights, have become cringe fests. Of course dana has a part in the downfall too.

 

[Cat Biscuits]

So UFC is......... dying?

They're certainly not doing as well as they could. PPV numbers down a lot. Make the joke if you want, but UFC isn't all that great right now. Many of my friends have stopped watching entirely, and I don't buy any PPV's anymore.

 

[savemgs]

Just growing pains. USADA was bound to impact the sport.

The truth is the UFC has higher mainstream exposure than ever before.

One day we’ll have a row of champs like this again:

So get rid of that stupid drug testing and let's go back to the good old days.

 

[Which Doctor]

Main Card
Weight class Method Round Time Notes
Heavyweight Ricco Rodriguez def. Randy Couture Submission (elbow) 5 3:04 [a]
Heavyweight Tim Sylvia def. Wesley Correira TKO (corner stoppage) 2 1:43
Lightweight B.J. Penn def. Matt Serra Decision (unanimous) 3 5:00 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UFC_39#cite_note-2
Lightweight Caol Uno def. Din Thomas Decision (unanimous) 3 5:00
Heavyweight Gan McGee def. Pedro Rizzo TKO (corner stoppage) 1 5:00 [c]
Middleweight Phil Baroni def. Dave Menne KO (punches) 1 0:18
Preliminary card
Middleweight Matt Lindland def. Ivan Salaverry Decision (unanimous) 3 5:00
Welterweight Sean Sherk def. Benji Radach TKO (doctor stoppage) 1 4:16