With the recent fighters the UFC has acquired do you think that it is time to do a weekly show similar to Strikeforce Challenger series? Smaller venues 5,000 or less with mid level guys as the main events. Up and comers for the rest of the card. It would be a great way to test NEW markets It could look like this Week One; UFC on FX card Week Two; Fight Night Card similar to Strikeforce Challenger series Week Three; UFC on Fuel Week Four; PPV Card Once a quarter have a UFC on FOX card Obviously you could change the order for each month (Example the Super Saturday Card) Also maybe Fuel TV will fully transform into UFC TV Some one will say this will saturate the fight cards even more. To them I say Fighters need to fight to get paid
Its saturation of the market, not the cards that would be the concern. If people know they can watch MMA pretty much whenever they want, it becomes less of a priority- especially if they are casual fans who don't know many fighters. The hardcore fan would be all over this idea, because he/she would watch every event someway somehow. But hardcore fans aren't enough to carry ratings.
There are already too many UFC cards and too many fighters in UFC. I watch MMA weekly but I don't want it to be UFC every God damn time.
If it's free on TV every week I would never miss it. I actually like this idea of one card per week, like Pride Bushido events it would really help with momentum of building fights and knowing what's going on... the only catch is I think this plan would have to build towards something like a Wrestlemania / Superbowl / Pride Shockwave type event, maybe twice per year like New Years and mid July, that was the UFC would have more control over their business peaks and valleys in terms of fan interest...
How would you do it then? Fighters only get paid when they fight. I have several friends from my old gym( Pit Elevated) that are currently in the UFC that train year round and always complain that they don't get to fight enough
Way too many cards as it is! Spread them out more. As someone stated, the talent pool is spread too thin. And tuf on fridays is silly. Aint nobody got time for that.
That is one thing that is give or take in this situation. Fighters don't get paid/get to fight enough, but by putting more cards than it is now will lose fans as they will feel as though the events won't mean as much. Its a sort of an impasse.
TS, I wouldn't mind seeing more free MMA on network television, but with your current plan, the PPV card would be very weak because each of the other cards would need a solid fight as a headliner. If the PPV price went down accordingly, this could work, but I doubt they ever will.
2012 showed that the UFC is already stretched. Yes, they have more options with the end of Strikeforce but I don't think it is enough to go weekly.
But you'd rather see a card a week with only one/a couple real fights that contribute to the bigger picture? I'm not going to pass up free MMA, but still, it would be a bit too many.
I agree with others, if some are free then it might get enough ratings where just advertising and live ticket sales cover it.
If there were weekly events for free, they would be filled with undercard type fighters, which would presumably mean the PPV event each month would be stacked with superstars
If the UFC wants to keep growing a weekly fight night must happen but it has to be done with more stability then suggest in the OP. One small venue that doesn't move, with 2 fights on the card, hour long program. I would even put it on during the week so it wouldn't compete with weekend programming, but Friday would work to. The UFC roster is so bloated that you can make these fights from all the lesser guys who just take up place on facebook fights. You'll never use a PPV draw or even a guy that could head an FX card, just the lesser guys. TUF is dead in the water and the fighters already complain that they can't get enough fights a year, this would allow that.
