Losing interest in current UFC, after 12 years following MMA

[Sean Ryan]

The main issue that everyone is aware of I'd inflating the roster for all these events.
The amount of regional level fighters in the UFC is astonishing.
They advertise as the best of the best but its more like some of the best, some great fighters and a load of hopeful fighters we barely care about

 

[Dana's Moonface]

I have been a fan for years, but was historically a bigger boxing fan until the last decade or so
Now I find that I am becoming a bigger boxing fan again

Few in MMA interest me as much as Inoue, Fury, Usyk, Canelo, Bivol, Loma, GGG etc and there are many more rising star like Haney, Stephenson

The UFC still obviously put on better cards

 

[sss133]

I've been on Sherdog ever since Randy Couture left the UFC to get a fight with some Russian guy named... 'Fedor?'

So yeah, I remember back when 155ers were the runts of the sport.

LW was like the Wild West. You’d have huge LWs then BW that wanted to be in the UFC.

Just saw your name…Nice

 

[Hellowhosthat]

That wouldn't help you know who the fighters are though would it?

Just watch ACA or something then which has a show once a month and has the same fighters on them fighting multiple times a year.

 

[Area809]

Too many cards and watered down cards. Also, the older you get, the more important shit you have to do with your life. At this point, the only sport I follow religiously is the NFL. I totally gave up the NBA and MLB. Now, I’m slowly losing steadily in mma.

 

[usfbrah]

I quit watching ufc after overeem lost to stipe lol

 

[Kyd Blake]

So the fighters suck but the ufc has all the best fighters. Lol. Fighters are too poor. Quality was better in the old days when they were more poor.

I don't think your picking up what I'm putting down:

1- I never stated that all UFC fighters suck. I said that the roster is top heavy and the lower tiers of fighters aren't very good. My personal favorite fighters have all either retired, on their way out, or keep drawing bad matchups and/or shit the bed. Plus if the UFC would have a monopoly on MMA, wouldn't that automatically mean they have best talent available??

2- Even if you're correct (you're not) in saying fighters were poorer back then, hasn't the costs of training, diet, and overall day to day life risen excessively since then? I highly doubt the pay for the average UFC fighter has risen accordingly. On top of that how do you know for a fact that fighters were poorer back then, GSP has been on record saying he negotiated millions from the UFC, Pride veterans like Overeem, Hunt, and Rampage got 6 figure contracted pay due to name value and experience. Also, I highly doubt the Zuffa sale of the UFC to WME increased fighter pay and may have had the opposite effect. Most of what i just said are documented facts you can look up on the web.


Are you sure you know what you're talking about?

I've been losing interest for the past 4 years or so... it's not the same. Just like with everything once corporate greed (the mindset of corporate greed) you can expect all your favorite things to become shit. It's just the nature of business owners to become greedy and water things down... so many new restaurants start off really good, fresh food, cooked perfectly etc... then after a few months you notice that lobster isn't as as fresh as it used to be... it's cutting corners. Maybe not buying lobster as often etc.. then they charge you full fuckin price for that old lobster like it's fresh. That's where the world is heading now, this kind of sketchy BS is everywhere. Business is all about who you can take advantage of. There is very little love and care put into things any more.

This is exactly what the UFC is suffering from and will forever continue to be. It's not changing any time soon unless they decide to sell again.

Precisely. The Zuffa era had it's issues but it at least has a little consistency and respect for the sport, even with Dana around. Now? It's like Dana has full reign to fuck over fighters, play favorites in vain attempts to get ratings, and pay fighters the barest of minimums to keep all the revenue for him and his executives. It wasn't even this bad under the Fertittas. At this point, I just hope they get it together or stop existing altogether.

Do you remember 2010 and earlier and LW was jokingly called midgets and little guys? If you had have made a post in 2010 that the two biggest stars of the decade would be a featherweight and a woman they’d have laughed at you and mods would have banned you

This is 100% true. It's hilarious. But very true...

 

[Uncertainly Principled]

fixed schedule culminating in a "champion", and then resetting and doing it again isn't a season. got it.


lol. nice try. you're arguing that in a tournament, a "belt" has any meaning?


it's such a clear merit based system that each sanctioning body has wildly different rankings (of course, also dependent on which ones you pay to rank you).

what was the "merit" based system that got kell brook a title shot at WW against crawford when his last 3 fights were at light mw, hadn't won a fight at ww in 4.5 years, and wasn't ranked in the division? and of course, that's not a unique situation.


you said they didn't have tournaments to keep payouts down. lol.


lol. tournaments or bust!

(does pfl have seasons?)

Hi Mark

I'm not engaging in a nitpicking back and forth with you (I literally inb4d you & you couldn't help yourself <45>); I've read enough of your arguments to know I'm slamming my head against a brick wall here. I'll address your incorrect interpretation of my post, probably touch upon your incorrect interpretation of reality, then you can respond and feel like a winner. Congratulations you!

Within the status quo you're defending ALL UFC fights are currently meaningless because it is ENTIRELY the whims of the matchmakers that determine fights. You're pretending to know about boxing, so I don't need to explain the differences, because you're so knowledgable innit. I imagine the word "mandatory" may require you to google, but you'll get there; I believe in you!

Spoiler

Also Kell Brook's title shot was definitely less merited than Lewis' most recent at HW which he got by virtue of the event being held in his hometown........ <Lmaoo>

Something I believe is that a tournament with fixed prizes is anaethema to the UFC's business model. You disagree but produce no cogent argument against my stated belief so I don't care. Perhaps you believed Dana when he said the UFC don't disclose pay so the fighters aren't hassled by their social circles? What other reason could they have to not disclose payments? Definitely nothing to do with keeping those payments down, making fighters negotiate in the dark in relation to their peers, etc. Definitely none of that, right?

Spoiler

Can't wait for your reply Mark! These long, lonely winter nights are made so much more bearable by your intelligent discourse

 

[Bubzeh]

Things will begin to improve once there is a better ratio between male and female fights on cards. Until that hits 50:50, we just have to sit patiently and wait.

 

[kflo]

I don't think your picking up what I'm putting down:

1- I never stated that all UFC fighters suck. I said that the roster is top heavy and the lower tiers of fighters aren't very good. My personal favorite fighters have all either retired, on their way out, or keep drawing bad matchups and/or shit the bed. Plus if the UFC would have a monopoly on MMA, wouldn't that automatically mean they have best talent available??

2- Even if you're correct (you're not) in saying fighters were poorer back then, hasn't the costs of training, diet, and overall day to day life risen excessively since then? I highly doubt the pay for the average UFC fighter has risen accordingly. On top of that how do you know for a fact that fighters were poorer back then, GSP has been on record saying he negotiated millions from the UFC, Pride veterans like Overeem, Hunt, and Rampage got 6 figure contracted pay due to name value and experience. Also, I highly doubt the Zuffa sale of the UFC to WME increased fighter pay and may have had the opposite effect. Most of what i just said are documented facts you can look up on the web.


Are you sure you know what you're talking about?



Precisely. The Zuffa era had it's issues but it at least has a little consistency and respect for the sport, even with Dana around. Now? It's like Dana has full reign to fuck over fighters, play favorites in vain attempts to get ratings, and pay fighters the barest of minimums to keep all the revenue for him and his executives. It wasn't even this bad under the Fertittas. At this point, I just hope they get it together or stop existing altogether.


This is 100% true. It's hilarious. But very true...

Frank Mir made 45/45 winning the belt against nog. The same card rashad made 65/65 winning the lhw belt. Colby got 500k for his first title shot against usman……

It’s little different than it was under the fertittas.

 

[Greg House]

Things will begin to improve once there is a better ratio between male and female fights on cards. Until that hits 50:50, we just have to sit patiently and wait.

 

[Gamer2k4]

There is a big lack of stars, I feel there are many reasons, there are lots of reasons.. 1 reason I want to point at is back in the day there was not many events, for instance we would get a UFC PPV every 2 months, and no fight nights or anything else.. so everyone came off as a star, even the prelim fighters you knew who they all were and you knew everything about them

The main reason for this was that the roster was smaller and events were more spread apart, so you'd see fighters' names a lot more often. From UFC 34 to UFC 68, for example, Matt Hughes fought 15 times. That's an appearance almost every other card, and sometimes in consecutive ones (UFC 45 and UFC 46). Compare that to the current WW champ, Usman, who is a modestly active fighter (averaging about two fights a year). Yet he only shows up every seven PPVs or so, and that's not even counting all the "on ESPNs" and "Fight Nights" in between.

And reading back, I get that this was kind of the point you were making. I just wanted to put something concrete out there to add to it.

 

[kflo]

Hi Mark

I'm not engaging in a nitpicking back and forth with you (I literally inb4d you & you couldn't help yourself <45>); I've read enough of your arguments to know I'm slamming my head against a brick wall here. I'll address your incorrect interpretation of my post, probably touch upon your incorrect interpretation of reality, then you can respond and feel like a winner. Congratulations you!

Within the status quo you're defending ALL UFC fights are currently meaningless because it is ENTIRELY the whims of the matchmakers that determine fights. You're pretending to know about boxing, so I don't need to explain the differences, because you're so knowledgable innit. I imagine the word "mandatory" may require you to google, but you'll get there; I believe in you!

All fights are meaningless? Lol. What does that even mean? That’s obviously not true.

Oh, so some boxing title fights are meritocracy, some are not. Right. But of course, the actual merit is different for each sanctioning body, dependent on who pays them, and with different criteria that isn’t transparent at all.

Spoiler

Also Kell Brook's title shot was definitely less merited than Lewis' most recent at HW which he got by virtue of the event being held in his hometown........ <Lmaoo>

Lewis was ranked #2 in his division and had just knocked dead the then #2 hw. So yeah, you’re very wrong.

Something I believe is that a tournament with fixed prizes is anaethema to the UFC's business model. You disagree but produce no cogent argument against my stated belief so I don't care.

I never said a tournament isn’t anathema to their business model. It clearly doesn’t fit their business model. YOU suggested they do this just to keep pay down.

Perhaps you believed Dana when he said the UFC don't disclose pay so the fighters aren't hassled by their social circles? What other reason could they have to not disclose payments? Definitely nothing to do with keeping those payments down, making fighters negotiate in the dark in relation to their peers, etc. Definitely none of that, right?

Spoiler

Most professional, non-union jobs don’t disclose pay. Obviously the ufc wants to keep pay lower and fighters want higher pay.

Can't wait for your reply Mark! These long, lonely winter nights are made so much more bearable by your intelligent discourse

Oh, wow. You’re calling me a mark! So hurtful.

You’re not interested in a discussion. Clearly.

 

[Uncertainly Principled]

You’re not interested in a discussion. Clearly.

Certainly not with you Mark

 

[kflo]

Certainly not with you Mark

anyone who doesn't support tournaments is a mark bro!

but yeah, better for you to call names and just walk away.........since substance doesn't seem to be a strong suit of yours.

 

[Hellowhosthat]

I
Precisely. The Zuffa era had it's issues but it at least has a little consistency and respect for the sport, even with Dana around. Now? It's like Dana has full reign to fuck over fighters, play favorites in vain attempts to get ratings, and pay fighters the barest of minimums to keep all the revenue for him and his executives. It wasn't even this bad under the Fertittas. At this point, I just hope they get it together or stop existing altogether.

This isn't really true. You had some fighters making $3k to show under Zuffa ownership.

 

[Burisma]

It’s hard to have interest in a watered down product. Just think of your favorite beverage, now try that in a glass that is 2/3 water, it won’t be the same, then add in fucking WMMA, and you’d spit it out

 

[Uncertainly Principled]

anyone who doesn't support tournaments is a mark bro!

but yeah, better for you to call names and just walk away.........since substance doesn't seem to be a strong suit of yours.

Anyone who supports the status quo in MMA is a mark, Mark.

You've provided 0 substance (apart from referencing a Brook title shot), so forgive me for not thinking you an authority on substance, Mark.

This is your shtick Mark; missing points, nitpicking arguments, and presenting a perspective that gets you called "shill" repeatedly. I don't think you're a shill, because who tf would pay for your posts? <Lmaoo> I'm sorry, that was mean of me, Mark. Reply again, take your perceived W. Well played, I now have no choice but to believe all the same things you believe

 

[HI SCOTT NEWMAN]

The main reason for this was that the roster was smaller and events were more spread apart, so you'd see fighters' names a lot more often. From UFC 34 to UFC 68, for example, Matt Hughes fought 15 times. That's an appearance almost every other card, and sometimes in consecutive ones (UFC 45 and UFC 46). Compare that to the current WW champ, Usman, who is a modestly active fighter (averaging about two fights a year). Yet he only shows up every seven PPVs or so, and that's not even counting all the "on ESPNs" and "Fight Nights" in between.

And reading back, I get that this was kind of the point you were making. I just wanted to put something concrete out there to add to it.

Totally agree brother, well said, agreed.

One of the main factors for me was the cards being more spread apart, so it gave time for UFC to build it all up and for us to get excited, it wasn't "run of the mill", the anticipation grew and by time it was saturday everyone was so hyped up and excited. But with UFC card every week it has lost this anticipation factor and of course there are just so many fighters now, most of whom you would see in King of the Cage before, but because UFC has so much events they just sign these people. Way too much going on that nothing stands out.

Its funny because Romanov just was recently booked to fight Tybura, and I was thinking I hadn't seen Tybura in a while since he fought Ben Rothwell, its a good test for Romanov because Tybura has lots of experience, but anyways I went to fight finder and I was shocked that Tybura has fought 4 times in UFC since the Rothwell fight, but there is just so much going on that it gets lost, its all lost, I feel like I can vaguely remember only one of those fights which was Volkov

 

[kflo]

Anyone who supports the status quo in MMA is a mark, Mark.

You've provided 0 substance (apart from referencing a Brook title shot), so forgive me for not thinking you an authority on substance, Mark.

This is your shtick Mark; missing points, nitpicking arguments, and presenting a perspective that gets you called "shill" repeatedly. I don't think you're a shill, because who tf would pay for your posts? <Lmaoo> I'm sorry, that was mean of me, Mark. Reply again, take your perceived W. Well played, I now have no choice but to believe all the same things you believe

Rage on bro.

Again, you’re not interested in addressing points so just move on.