The Cuts: Sound Strategy or Potential to Backfire?

[brackis1]

This corporation is what gives us the best fights in the world!! Without them, MMA wouldn't even a sport. Even if it existed, it would be like boxing: champs every 3 lbs, and 5 champs for every weight class. Show some respect to the company!

I'm gonna stop replying, but best of luck with your P3-eating life my dude.

 

[podsox]

i highly doubt we see a ton of big names released. once the pandemic calms down, they need names to fill arenas

 

[TempleoftheDog]

Says a dude who has never accomplished a single thing in their meaningless little life and will spend eternity as a forgotten spec of carbon.

Thanks for proving my point this is purely about demographic casting-couch decisionmaking and not sport.

You're really wound up and upset about this aren't you. What possible reasons could you have for acting like that? All the while insulting anybody that isn't a mindless sycophant. I'm almost feeling sorry for you at this point.

 

[bambammccoy]

Wait what is bad about losing to Jacare? Dude is arguably top10 all time.

In terms of not being competitive it was bad is what I meant. Jacare is def not top 10 all time but not a shameful loss. Not what I was trying to insinuate.

 

[bambammccoy]

Okami was done in his last UFC run. He was 1-2 during that run and lost twice after he left to some no names. Willis still hasn't fought since Blaydes. And no Pearson was always a below average fighter

He was like 32 and could have stayed top 10 in the world easily for several more years.

You're right he hasn't I was just giving you a freindly fyi mr. Defensive.

Pearson was like top 15 in 2 very deep divisions. An average fighter can't compete in the UFC.

 

[Shido4.20]

The product has become watered down. There isn’t enough talent to put on a card every week. They need to separate into a feeder league and a PPV company

 

[Shoguns Prodigy**]

sounded like he just wanting to scare guys.. im sure Romero pushed for his release himself

That is my thought, Romero himself pushed for his release cuz he don’t see himself ever getting another crack at the belt and Dana got to save face by saying he is releasing him which ultimately is one sided decision by ufc.

 

[Robbie b]

Do they? Maybe that is the case. I don' recall a Top 10 star like Yoel being cut mid contract last year or 60 fighters being cut in a month as is being proposed this year. I think the biggest star cut last year was Lineker. I could very well be misremembering though.

In this thread I am specifically referring to the strategy of incrementally replacing a large portion of the UFC roster with DWCS and PI guys working for minimum in a brand over performer system.

I remember in 2013 the cut Yushin Okami who was ranked pretty high at the time. I remember Sherdog overall being pretty butt hurt at the time. From time to time they do these higher rank cuts unexpectedly. Pro lab ly because they are not quite good enough to get the title but good enough to knock off most of the contenders trying to get there.

 

[kflo]

Like it or not, mma is a global entity and there is more out there than the ufc.

The ufc is a business and sometimes they make business decisions that people don’t like.

Yoel will have options and we’ll get to see him fight, if we want to.

I know the rabid anti-ufc, anti-business posters will rally behind this and that’s fine. Be angry.

I don’t like when stuff like this hits and the business side becomes front and center for the moment. But I can also understand the perspective the org takes, and that mma as a whole will move on and the ufc and whoever gets Yoel will as well. The show goes on. There are good fighters outside the ufc, and it will always be that way, and you’ll have inflow and outflow. Yoel’s age is obviously part of it and I wouldn’t expect a lot of top fighters to just be let go.

 

[TR1]

I don't even try anymore. I simply trust him/ the UFC. They're way smarter than me.
.

Sums up the average UFC fan

 

[TheHermit]

long and short of it is that UFC will survive. this is a standard process that they've been doing and fans are watching nevertheless.

fans will throw useless tantrums but UFC keeps rolling anyway.

60 fighters are projected to be cut from the UFC in the coming months. The firing of Yoel, and Dana's subsequent comments regarding other "name" fighters, indicates that many of these will be high profile guys.

This coincides with unprecedented signings off the Contender Series. It seems that the UFC's strategy is to flood the company with hungry young fighters working for the minimum while dumping what they see to be inflated veteran contracts. This could be a sound financial strategy.

Could it also backfire? A guy like Yoel still has a lot of cache in my eyes. If the UFC cuts many more Romero level guys all at once (the Cowboys and Aldos of the world for example) could this provide enough juice for competitors to finally gain widespread attention? Does a Bellator or ONE even have the capital to take advantage of a huge influx of name value fighters onto the market? Because these fighters will all be entering free agency at once, I could see many of them being lost in the shuffle unfortunately.

The team element of MMA should also be considered. Those 60 fighters will have close ties to innumerable other fighters and camps. Will that further damage fighter perception of UFC? Could we see a Masvidal type guy follow his best friend to another company when his contract is up?

Like Vince McMahon, Dana White believes in brand over performer. Ultimately, the UFC itself is his biggest star. Dana's goal, it seems, would be to churn out future stars from scratch at performance institutes across the globe. He would have a star for each geographical region, they would all be homegrown in the UFC, loyal, and replaceable.

If this is the strategy, is it viable? Will the upcoming cuts prove a good move or a blunder for the UFC?

 

[Mike]

Cuts like this really aren't anything new. Outside of superstars they sell the brand over specific fighters. Especially in recent years.

 

[Minnja]

I think most of the guys getting cut that are "names" are guys who are on the decline or in a position in their division where it's highly unlikely they will contend again for the belt. I'm not saying I like to see these guys cut, but I don't think it's all that weird for the UFC to do it nor do I think it's necessarily a bad idea. Yoel is in a weird spot because he's only really fought the best guys and some of his losses could have gone either way. That said, we have seen his guys his age (and much younger) go on sudden declines even after good performances.

Also, people are always whining about "X should retire, X is way past their prime, why is X still fighting on the main card", if you are one of those people and complaining about former top fighters on declines getting cut then you really have no room to complain.

 

[rex kramer]

I've been saying for years the UFC needs to cut about half it's roster. And to start actually building up and marketing several stars at a time. The way Pride used to do it, and also the way the UFC used to do it when Pride was still around.

Having so many fighters on the roster is just not good. For anybody.

1. the fighters get lost in the combine when they're coming up, having to fight other top tier fighters repeatedly. Some fighters that could be stand out stars never rose above that.

2. the fans, even hardcores, can't possibly keep up with everything going on with 500 plus fighters at the same time. Back in the day, hardcores knew just about every fighter in the sport. These days you're lucky if you know more than 4 fighters on most UFC cards. That doesn't mean the fights will suck. But fans want to know a fighter and root for or against them. That brings in more money for everybody.

3. UFC has had for years now several fighters that could be superstars, but they weren't marketed properly and they weren't given an opportunity to build up their skills and showcase what they can do, before they were fed into that combine and lost in the shuffle. Maybe this move will help rebalance all that.



But tbh I doubt Dana is thinking about any of that. They're probably just looking for ways to save money.

 

[Macaque]

Do they? Maybe that is the case. I don' recall a Top 10 star like Yoel being cut mid contract last year

Formiga got cut too, and he’s a top 5 guy.

 

[Willy Knuckles]

He was like 32 and could have stayed top 10 in the world easily for several more years.

You're right he hasn't I was just giving you a freindly fyi mr. Defensive.

Pearson was like top 15 in 2 very deep divisions. An average fighter can't compete in the UFC.

Okami was 37 in his last UFC fight

 

[pankrat]

He was like 32 and could have stayed top 10 in the world easily for several more years.

You're right he hasn't I was just giving you a freindly fyi mr. Defensive.

Pearson was like top 15 in 2 very deep divisions. An average fighter can't compete in the UFC.

Okami was 37 in his last UFC fight

Obviouisly that guy is tlaking about the first Okami cut, back in 2013 when he was ranked #6

 

[TeenageMutantLesnarTurtle]

I support the cuts. A significant chunk of the roster are there purely because theres a shit ton of cards and weight classes that require filler. The standards are nowhere near what they once were.

 

[bambammccoy]

Okami was 37 in his last UFC fight

I was referring to when he got cut at 32. I didnt hear anybody make a fuss about his second release so obviously wasn't talking about that instance. Lol?

 

[Willy Knuckles]

I was referring to when he got cut at 32. I didnt hear anybody make a fuss about his second release so obviously wasn't talking about that instance. Lol?

That list was people cut in 2019. We were comparing potential cuts vs cuts from last year. Idk what you're talking about