MMA is a fad, somewhat

[mma midwest fan]

Let me start by saying that MMA is here to stay, and has enough of a hardcore fan base to support it and employ some fighters.

That said, the casual fans have spoken and said that they are not interested. It was an edgy new thing at one point, and the era from Tito to Lesnar brought a lot of people on board. But now that people have seen it, many have left after getting bored with ground fighting, point fighting and a too many fighters to keep track of. Favorite fighters lose a few times, and suddenly the interest dies.

It's a niche sport. Five to ten years from now, people will talk about when MMA was the big thing, and how Fox used to even broadcast events on network TV. There will still be MMA, but it will be like pro wrestling is today...it exists, but is relegated to cable and still slightly outside the mainstream.

 

[JWtheKarateKid]

Let me start by saying that MMA is here to stay, and has enough of a hardcore fan base to support it and employ some fighters.

That said, the casual fans have spoken and said that they are not interested. It was an edgy new thing at one point, and the era from Tito to Lesnar brought a lot of people on board. But now that people have seen it, many have left after getting bored with ground fighting, point fighting and a too many fighters to keep track of. Favorite fighters lose a few times, and suddenly the interest dies.

It's a niche sport. Five to ten years from now, people will talk about when MMA was the big thing, and how Fox used to even broadcast events on network TV. There will still be MMA, but it will be like pro wrestling is today...it exists, but is relegated to cable and still slightly outside the mainstream.

do you have any idea how insanely popular professional wrestling is?

 

[wellsdj1]

I'm ok with it being a fad. It's not going anywhere that being said. I would be ok with it going back to how it was when the UFC was on spike, and one ppv a month.

 

[DanMMAleague]

IMO, It's not that it's a fad it just has a ephemeral fan base.

The majority of fans are 15 year old kids not doing very well in school, people can only stay like that for so long before they grow out but after that there is a new crop of 15 year old kids not doing very well in school.

 

[ib313]

http://www.mnn.com/earth-matters/wi...ays-the-world-as-we-know-it-could-end/road-to

 

[heavyarms21]

do you have any idea how insanely popular professional wrestling is?

As entertainment , not as a sport though

The UFC tried to go the Mainstream sports route and so far I don't think it's as successful in that attempt as Dana would hope , and their PPV have been sagging so much . The signing of Punk strikes me as a knee Jerk reaction to generate buzz in different circles , like they are leaning on spectacle more than sport .

MMA is here to stay but I won't think it will reach the profile of a major sports league the way that Dana envisioned

 

[Still Holdin]

Pow

 

[Senzo Tanaka]

It's not a fad, it's a niche sport but with world wide appeal.

With most team sports, you have to learn the rules, plays, etc. With fighting, everyone in the world knows what a fight is and what one looks like. MMA can be successful anywhere in the world but it's still going to have limited appeal.

MMA/UFC may seem like a fad in the States because of how popular it once was years ago. That's because it was new and fresh. Now there's so much fighting on TV that it's no longer special. In a lot of ways, that's actually a good thing for the sport because instead of it being a spectacle and people debating if it's a good or bad thing, it's just accepted now.

You had a brutal fight like JDS/Miocic in prime time on free TV and I didn't see any complaints at all from the mainstream media. If that fight happened just a few years ago, there would be outrage.

The popularity may have died down in the USA but it is has grown world wide and the sport is more accepted than ever. Fair trade.

 

[U.S. Soldier]

Of course its a niche sport. It will always be a niche sport. It has reached its peak and i don't see it going any higher. But compared to it 10 years ago, it has grown so much.

 

[mma midwest fan]

do you have any idea how insanely popular professional wrestling is?

So popular that network TV wants nothing to do with it. I know they are making money, and they have a lot of teenage boys and low income people interested in it. Yes, I realize that doesn't describe ALL of their fans, but that is the lion's share of it. It's a niche market.

 

[DeformedGravy]

If the UFC can transition completely out of PPV to TV we'll have a legit sport and it'll grow exponentially.

This hybrid business plan between free cards on Fox/$60 PPVs/$10 a month for Fight Pass cards is making it hard for casuals to follow. If they can consolidate it'll be better, they're too spread out right now.

People can't see the whole picture. If you look at the fights of the last month and put all the big ones on one card... what. Throw em on Fox and boom, its a combat sport cornucopia.

 

[eiyuu]

:shrugs:

I was watching MMA when it was called NHB.

I was watching MMA when it was kicked off of cable PPV and the only way to get it was through satellite.

I was watching MMA when 3 different fight promotions were fighting for the most viewers in Japan on NYE.

I was watching MMA when UFC 100 got 1.5 million PPVs.

I'll be watching MMA well after casual fans lose interest.

 

[Bones245n4847]

I feel you, I remember a decade or so ago WWE was the chit. Most guys I knew watched it when it came on. Then as years passed people just kept dropping off to the point where no one I know keeps up with it anymore. The Rock, Cena, Lesnar, HHH, Stone Cold, Undertaker, Kane era. They all got older and it was too difficult to invest in new wrestlers. MMA might be seeing the same thing. When MMA was hot, everyone told me Fedor, Nog, Spider, GSP, Chuck and Tito were the dudes. I came over with the Brock invasion of 08. I think MMA flourished during the Brock years as many people who came with Brock got to know all these other fighters. Now with Fedor, GSP, Chuck gone and Nog, Spider and Tito no longer competitive. It is getting harder to invest in the new names Jones, Cormier, Cain, Weidman. Other than Jones, MMA doesn't have that kid we can follow from the time he was a rookie/prospect age 18-22 all the way to the belt and reign.

 

[EndlessCritic]

It's not a fad, it's a niche sport but with world wide appeal.

With most team sports, you have to learn the rules, plays, etc. With fighting, everyone in the world knows what a fight is and what one looks like. MMA can be successful anywhere in the world but it's still going to have limited appeal.

MMA/UFC may seem like a fad in the States because of how popular it once was years ago. That's because it was new and fresh. Now there's so much fighting on TV that it's no longer special. In a lot of ways, that's actually a good thing for the sport because instead of it being a spectacle and people debating if it's a good or bad thing, it's just accepted now.

You had a brutal fight like JDS/Miocic in prime time on free TV and I didn't see any complaints at all from the mainstream media. If that fight happened just a few years ago, there would be outrage.

The popularity may have died down in the USA but it is has grown world wide and the sport is more accepted than ever. Fair trade.

master tanaka is correct.

 

[Concrete]

It's a combat sport, not a fad. Boxing also has its ups and downs. They are heavily reliant on individual fighters, rather than club loyalties being passed from parent to child.

 

[filthynumber1]

I would tend to the agree with the TS

 

[Bearknuckle]

I think its a generation thing. Mma needa a few morw generations of dads watching mma with their kids, and their kids kids. The hardcore fanbase will have kids who will continue to spread it.

 

[GordoBarraBJJ]

cm punk coming in to the ufc with no actual fight experience makes it seem so...

 

[MuffinGod11]

If it is as popular as pro-wrestling fuck it, as long as the fights are real I don't give a shit.

Bring me some Genki Sudo into my life.

 

[bobgeese]

Like most efforts in advertising, the idea is to get 18-30 males to watch. Then when they have kids, the kids will be brought up around the sport, increasing it's popularity.