UFC's rejection of signing top talent and lowball offers 2023-2024

[markg171]

Not sure how I feel about this but I need the comforting words of a TKO PR poster to tell me how I should think

@markg171 please take a break from posting on Conor/Jones/slandering all who question the corporate talking points threads and tell me how to feel about this one. On the 1st page if you can: you know it is statistically the most viewed page so it counts for the most.

If you aren't free please tap @kflo in. Someone here is talking bad about daddy and it is upsetting me.

For the 1000th time I'm not going to have sex with you

 

[Ludwig von Mises]

In reality, the UFC doesn't need them. The UFC's biggest star is Dana, and all their money will come from media rights fees, sponsorship deals and live gates which their name sells alone. I too prefer they would pay up to sign these guys, but it isn't their MO to do so and hasn't been for a while. They're very particular about which guys they'll sign. The UFC may have the highest concentration of top guys, and will for a long time, but they don't have all of them, by their own choosing.

This is why the talent has suffered so much. The brand has been built up to astronomical heights but the most important divisions: HW, LHW and MW are weaker than they were a decade ago even though one of the biggest UFC talking points is "evolution"

The reality is that the brand is so big now all they need is a few stars, some cheap prospects and some bums who come and get knocked out by them for 30k a fight to keep things exciting.

Anyone who avoids signing a U FIGHT CHEAP peanuts deal is accused of "ducking" and not wanting to "fight the best" or signing to the "B leagues" for better pay. The UFC owned lapdog journalists add fuel to the fire by regurgitating such view points and casual fans form similar shitty opinions on the sport.

The fighter who signs with another promotion eventually loses and Dana White gets to say "he was never that good" or gets to lowball them once again.

Disgusting model which spawns low iq, low expectation, fickle fans and results in a massive decline in talent in the long term but the brand power is so strong the moron at home thinks he's watching the best of the best fighting eachother 3x a year because the biggest UFC star Dana Scumbag White says so.

UFC has all the time in the world while the fighters get older and more injured each day and are just one loss away from being worth less.

An unstoppable and disgusting machine.

 

[blaseblase]

I know for a fact several guys on this list weren't demanding too much money. But beyond that, I mean, if an elite talent like Parnasse is offered 250k a fight, to fight for KSW...is it really "too much" for UFC to match? Arguably the best French MMA fighter in MMA right now, super young, super accomplished...appeals to a huge booming region. UFC is what, a 10-12Billion dollar company and they share like 13% of revenue with their athletes and you're asking if it's maybe the elite talent asking for too much fucking money? I find that ridiculous.

Fight Matrix has Parnasse as the 36th ranked lightweight in the world. Most of their ranked guys aren't making 250k.

 

[Hellowhosthat]

I can sort of see it with Soldic and Parnasse. Soldic is on $750k a fight in ONE although it now seems they can't actually afford to book him but no way they were matching that. Parnasse is on $600k now in KSW, again they were never going to match that kind of figure.

I don't think they actually can bring Horiguchi back at the moment because I think he's still under contract with PFLator as well as RIZIN so that complicates things.

Vartanyan no excuses as he doesn't even want that much. Tumenov was another baffling one when he was basically begging to come back.

 

[Hellowhosthat]

This is why the talent has suffered so much. The brand has been built up to astronomical heights but the most important divisions: HW, LHW and MW are weaker than they were a decade ago even though one of the biggest UFC talking points is "evolution"

The reality is that the brand is so big now all they need is a few stars, some cheap prospects and some bums who come and get knocked out by them for 30k a fight to keep things exciting.

Anyone who avoids signing a U FIGHT CHEAP peanuts deal is accused of "ducking" and not wanting to "fight the best" or signing to the "B leagues" for better pay. The UFC owned lapdog journalists add fuel to the fire by regurgitating such view points and casual fans form similar shitty opinions on the sport.

The fighter who signs with another promotion and eventually loses and Dana White gets to say "he was never that good" or gets to lowball them one again.

Disgusting machine and disgusting model which spawns low iq, low expectation, fickle fand and results in a massive decline in talent but the brand power is so strong the moron at home thinks he's watching the best of the best fighting eachother 3x a year.

They have all the time in the world while the fighters get older and more injured each day and are just one loss away from being worth less.

An unstoppable and disgusting machine.

I don't think you can really blame the fan at home. They just watch whatever is most easily available.

I used to be a pro 'wrasslin fan and people used to watch WWE rather than All Japan despite AJPW having far superior in ring workers but it is what it is.

 

[Ludwig von Mises]

I don't think you can really blame the fan at home. They just watch whatever is most easily available.

I used to be a pro 'wrasslin fan and people used to watch WWE rather than All Japan despite AJPW having far superior in ring workers but it is what it is.

UFC has the dumbest fans out of any sport ever.

 

[Hellowhosthat]

I think the other major problem is that the main competition is PFL which as a promotion is run like a fucking burger van or something. Just grossly incompetent.

 

[Hellowhosthat]

UFC has the dumbest fans out of any sport ever.

Most people don't want to watch more than one MMA event a week, I can't really find fault with that. The ones who shout online about how shitty other promotions are without watching them sure, but that's a minority. I doubt the vast majority of people who watch UFC could name any other promotions.

 

[mudrubble]

I think everyone should be pointing out their business practises, tbh.

I have no problem with that. I note their business practices too. I guess I'm more talking to the ppl who are surprised they aren't running the company like a reputable sports league. They aren't one, will never be one, and don't want to be one - they want to be perceived as one without actually being one and on that score, they're pretty successful.

But I have no problem with ppl pointing out their practices. Just feel bad for fans expecting them to act like a league.

 

[mudrubble]

What period of time has the business model that you're describing, EVER worked for the UFC? When has that even been put into practice until very recently?? The UFCs profits have always been built on having stars and top talent. Dana White and the executives at the UFC have recently deluded themselves into the type of thinking that you're describing, but there is no period of time that they can point to as an example of when that has worked.

The last few years are allegedly record profitable years. They could be fudging the nubmers but it appears they've found the lowest common denominator - random guys who bang and slap "fights".

They claim to be doing record numbers with this - as in better than with trying to sign top talent. Maybe they're lying - I don't know.

 

[Young Calf Kick]

It won't ever be challenged.

Casuals literally call the sport of MMA UFC. Like "do you train that UFC stuff?"

When you have people mistaking your organisation for the entire sport, you aren't ever going to be caught as the industry leader.

Every empire will eventually be toppled

such is the way of life

 

[mudrubble]

Yeah, no. I think there's value in spreading light in this issue. Obviously the UFC doesn't value talent as much as filling slots and realizes fans are literal morons that will eat whatever narratives they're fed like Raul Rosa Jr being some PPV main card spot because they're trying to sell him as the next Jon Jones. Or if Dana goes "how do we know if they're good if they haven't been in the UFC?" Mouth breathers actually buy that shit. It's cool to see other promotions offering fighters such sums, but it's important for fans to know, even if they don't like it, a kid like Parnasse is better than most of the top 15 at 145lbs in the UFC. If more fans cared about talent, they would sign these guys. And if they don't, it's good for more fans to care about great talent outside the UFC.

To me it's not a lack of understanding, but rather making a point of discussion on this topic every so often being important.

I can dig it. I am jaded, but I can dig it. Nothing wrong with turning "fans" (viewers, really, most of the time) on to talent. Fair point.

 

[Siver!]

In reality, the UFC doesn't need them. The UFC's biggest star is Dana, and all their money will come from media rights fees, sponsorship deals and live gates which their name sells alone. I too prefer they would pay up to sign these guys, but it isn't their MO to do so and hasn't been for a while. They're very particular about which guys they'll sign. The UFC may have the highest concentration of top guys, and will for a long time, but they don't have all of them, by their own choosing.

TKO has even spoken about possibly getting out of the PPV business and selling it to a provider if the money is good enough. I'm very curious how much money they're going to get in their next deal as both Amazon and Netflix are getting into live sports content, and WBD's sports portfolio is lacking if they lose the NBA.

It's also been very useful to the UFC throughout history to have other promotions make marketable stars.

Then when a guy like Mike Chandler moves over, it's a big deal. Or Justin Gaethje. The many PRIDE guys. The WEC guys. Jiri Prochazka. Back in the day, Eddie Alvarez, Gilbert Melendez, a bunch of Strikeforce guys.

If a guy can come in from outside and slot in at the top of the division, it means 2 things: UFC fans haven't necessarily seen all their fights (fresh), and they haven't already beaten a bunch of guys on their way up.

It would be shit business to harvest every 'top' fighter in the world, they simply have to exist outside the UFC, and not just Russians, Americans, too, every nationality out there. Though in places like England with only one decent promotion, you're best off harvesting them at a certain level.

 

[Only Here for Attachments]

yes, famously, all UFC pay per views have about the same buy rate regardless of who is on the card.

ESPN pays them a flat rate

 

[duke_droese]

For Euro guys, PFL makes the most sense nowadays. Even Oktagon.

The Irish guy Paul Hughes has sold out shows, so it's moving backwards if he accepts 10k/10k or whatever. Being experienced and in your late 20s, that's an insult.

 

[Khaosan]

They should be paying the Pink Goof for the OPPORTUNITY.

 

[Neck&Neck]

PFLellator will overtake UFC and sign all the top talent
Any day now

 

[Hellowhosthat]

For Euro guys, PFL makes the most sense nowadays. Even Oktagon.

The Irish guy Paul Hughes has sold out shows, so it's moving backwards if he accepts 10k/10k or whatever. Being experienced and in your late 20s, that's an insult.

Only problem with PFL is that unless you're on the French cards they're usually half full and have a terrible atmosphere.

 

[blackheart]

ESPN pays them a flat rate

right, but that wasnt his claim. his claim was people will tune in regardless of who is fighting, or "where the top talent ends up". That obviously isn't true. Buy rates fluctuate wildly depending on the fighters on the card, obviously.

 

[Hellowhosthat]

ESPN pays them a flat rate

Even so the value of the next TV deal has to be somewhat tied into how many viewers they're getting.