Man I can actually see UFC dying soon..

[Rockman14]

The hardcores are slowly starting to care less and less about the sport as they get older and the UFC and mma in general has failed to attract the following everyone thought it would be, instead of continuing to grow it seems like interest is starting to wain and it will become a cult sport that will have its fanbase but will never become the likes of nfl, soccer, nba..

 

[Dozer .]

Dana is running the UFC into the ground without the Fertittas.

 

[KYS]

The hardcores are slowly starting to care less and less about the sport as they get older and the UFC and mma in general has failed to attract the following everyone thought it would be, instead of continuing to grow it seems like interest is starting to wain and it will become a cult sport that will have its fanbase but will never become the likes of nfl, soccer, nba..

Soccer?

3.5 billion people watched the World Cup.

 

[maxi diablo]

The sport is too brutal to try and become a fighter. Not worth it.

 

[LLD2008]

It is always dying

 

[SimonNova]

A UFC is dying thread. Original.

Ok I think I am going to go start a thread about Shane Carwin.

 

[Arm Barbarian]

There will always be a core group of fans that watch MMA. It won't die out, even if the audiences aren't what they once were.

 

[Gabe]

It looks like absolute shot now. 225 tanking was a big sign. What was the last card that did any good? 217 and 214.

 

[in the liver]

i was on here as usual all last week and somehow was unaware that jds, chad mendes, and cat zingano were all gonna be fighting that weekend. ufc is dead as fuck, they arent even trying

 

[Erocthadon]

It was supposed to be dieded for years now.

 

[Paolo Delutis]

Yea ...the new management isnt helping either..they seem to focused on recooping the money they spent to buy the UFC then to develop the brand further or even really care about the sport or fighters...

Fertittas sold the company to probably the worst people with the deepest pockets they could...

 

[Kryptt]

 

[LouisBolanos]

 

[Alxair]

It's not dying but it's not a mainstream sport and swings in popularity will be very noticeable.

 

[eon001]

I've always thought there was a ceiling for MMA. I compared it to skate boardings popularity. The top skaters can earn millions and be well known in there bubble, but I couldn't tell you who the current number 1 skater is. The average person on the street isn't going to know who Daniel Cormier is either.

Bellator and the UFC are doing a shit job promoting there fighters. Dana is going as far as publicly trashing fighters. How can you expect the public to get into your product if you don't like it yourself?

 

[Shadowthrone]

 

[WaylonMercy5150]

You're right if Shevchenko and Montano headline UFC 228

 

[georgekillian]

Fuck are you stupid. Never had been and never will be like any major league. Why would it be? Its people beating the shit out of each other for peanuts in a cage. Its very nature makes it a limited audience product. It has and always will be a cult sport that has hiccups of mainstream success/coverage.

 

[BBMN]

The purchase has been a fiasco. It was sold for at least double it's worth. WME will have a long long road ahead to ever make a penny and you're not wrong, that's a bad for business.

Basically the UFC made itself too big for it's own good. It's model (cards every week or so) does not appear to be sustainable. They don't have enough time to hype up more than a couple cards a year, leaving the majority of the cards lacking the "must see" element that built the PPV model to begin with. Bonus - Half the time they have a huge card, at least one guy pulls out and they don't appear to have a solid backup plan.... despite obviously needing one at the most critical moment.

Then they shot themselves in the foot with the Mayweather vs Conor money grab. They essentially allowed they're biggest current star to become independent of them. They need him for than he needs them, and that's bad. He literally doesn't need to fight ever again, so we get the cluster fuck that has been 145 and 155 for literally two years.

Plus the purchase came at a time when USADA was getting into the mix, so we end up with lots of big names getting popped and suspended. They lost a lot of time and PPV caliber fights just between Lesnar and Jones, and then you gotta toss in guys like Machida, JDS, Romero, and Mendes.

And they keep doing moves that show they don't understand what to do other than make money-grab -fights. GSP coming back? Great? Fighting a champion above his class, taking the belt and dropping the belt? Not great. Getting Cyborg? Great? But having literally three possible women to face here in an entire division? Not great. Lesnar returns to the cage? Great. Shows up in a scripted interview, that has him apparently as the #1 contender despite having a losing record over the past few fights? Not great.

They're fucked and it shows.

Sadly if the Fertitta's had just sold it for less, the new owners wouldn't be in this position. Ironically the two guys that built the UFC from the ground up, into a billion dollar industry, may have signed the UFC into eventual bankruptcy.

 

[sss133]

The main issue at the moment is the way they’re trying to make stars. All these guys are trying to be the next Conor. You’ve got all these obnoxious attempts at trash talking or guys throwing flying scissors kicks and management is all over them.

Problem is Conor’s trash talk was generally far more entertaining and while he could do all the flashy stuff. His best weapons are fundamental techniques.

So people invest in these guys then they choke or get exposed.

What I find funny is most of the best fights in the last year or so have come from pretty tame build ups