what does the ufc need to do?

[jiujitsuforever]

Pretty much a lot of what i hear is people complaining about the UFC about things such as fighter pay, dana being crazy, the scoring system, watered down cards, etc. So what do you think needs to happen for the UFC to not only improve, but to also add in more fans, ppv buys, etc. Personally i feel they need more advertising and marketing on more than just one or two channels and they need to market fighters much better also and since in my opinion they are losing the draw they had around 2009 in the United States, they need to try and find a way to gain more US interest (especially with their superstars gone).

So what do you guys/gals think they should do, or should do anything at all?

 

[Bogeyman]

They could always start promoting boxing and kickboxing fights. Have a mixed card like Dream used to do. They wouldn't be willing to pay that boxing money though so I doubt it'll happen.

 

[jiujitsuforever]

They could always start promoting boxing and kickboxing fights. Have a mixed card like Dream used to do. They wouldn't be willing to pay that boxing money though so I doubt it'll happen.

if a card had a ufc title fight, multiple top ten fights, and also had kickboxers like gokhon saki, sponge, or buakaw banchamek i would buy it like crazy lol

 

[jwikked]

UFC needs to listen to Sherdog more.

 

[mma2013]

if a card had a ufc title fight, multiple top ten fights, and also had kickboxers like gokhon saki, sponge, or buakaw banchamek i would buy it like crazy lol

i'm with you on this one. i would buy if buakaw is on it. it would be awesome to see buakaw on a ufc promoted fight card.

 

[monster zero]

Resign Andy Wang for the Just Bleeders.

 

[jiujitsuforever]

Resign Andy Wang for the Just Bleeders.

i cant tell if your andy wang, or if you will not be satisfied until his name is on every thread lol

 

[Actualized174]

I'm clearly no expert on business (like most of Sherdog) but I think the UFC needs to cut down on the number of events they're having every single month (and that's coming from someone who actually enjoys watching weekly UFC events) because there is definitely a sense of over-saturation and that's not including WSOF or Bellator weekends.

Upcoming events:
UFC 173 - May 24
UFC Fight Night: May 31 (Germany)
TUF Brazil Finale: May 31 (Brazil)

I mean in the final two weeks of May we have a total of 3 UFC events, two that take place in the SAME day, so of course people will start to prioritize events drastically different and completely miss one that they wouldn't have a few years ago due to the difference in scheduling events. With that level of over-production it's easy for casual and even hardcore fans to lose track of upcoming talents/prospects because there are so many events and fighters to look through that half of the cards now contain names that are hard to recognize even for the most craziest fan.

K done lol

 

[Spindrift0036]

They should focus on promoting better the smaller weight classes in general.

Dana needs to stop over-promoting some people , and he needs to stop talking shit about the fighters that made / make him who he is today.

Lower the PPV prices

 

[Exemplar]

Here are a few ideas from a fan and non-business guru...
* Keep hard at getting the UFC brand in front of the public's eye; with a new emphasis to go beyond the white, 20-30 age demographic.
* Push harder in the eastern European and southwest Asian markets
* Restore PrideFC to conquer the eastern euro/asian market (whereas UFC has the western world market). It should should be run as separate company under Zuffa. Zuffa should let 49% of the investing be done by regional owners (just keep final say authority).
- hire a President of PrideFC to be a legitimate peer to Dana; individual should be a counter to Dana, a professional from the region
- invest and grow the PrideFC with a 3-5 year plan
- ultimate goal: UFC vs PrideFC unification bouts once per year, similar to a Superbowl/World Series NFC vs AFC, American League vs National League. This would be intriguing to the US/Can audience for this reason.
* Get NYC done. I know it is a political deal, involving the unions and the Fertitas, but this is a must.
* Work with Putin. Politics aside, the guy is a news magnet, manly-man and a friend of martial arts. Any endorsement on his part can explode MMA/UFC in eastern europe.
* Consider placing more big names per fight card and stop with the watered-down one big name cards.
* Not to be insensitive to the fighters, but too many long layoffs with big name/champs. Find a way to keep the tempo going and stop injuries from hampering business.

 

[Silas1222]

I would personally love to see exhibition fights like other orgs use to do. No reason why
Chris Wideman couldnt wrestle vs. Cormier
Maia couldnt have a Gi bjj match v. Jacare
Kabib couldnt have a sport sambo match vs. Kaliblov

Ronda couldnt have a judo match vs. Lombard (lol, maybe not)

keep it playful, 1 round or something. Would be entertaining

 

[Francis Rossi]

Bringing Pride back ain't happening. Zuffa allegedly got run out of Japan by the dudes with missing fingers.

And boxing money? The UFC pays more than most boxers get. Only the very top boxers get the multi-millions. They'd only get journeymen at any rate.

 

[jiujitsuforever]

Bringing Pride back ain't happening. Zuffa allegedly got run out of Japan by the dudes with missing fingers.

And boxing money? The UFC pays more than most boxers get. Only the very top boxers get the multi-millions. They'd only get journeymen at any rate.

rematch of aoki vs fedor

 

[Maxwell44]

Here are a few ideas from a fan and non-business guru...
* Keep hard at getting the UFC brand in front of the public's eye; with a new emphasis to go beyond the white, 20-30 age demographic.
* Push harder in the eastern European and southwest Asian markets
* Restore PrideFC to conquer the eastern euro/asian market (whereas UFC has the western world market). It should should be run as separate company under Zuffa. Zuffa should let 49% of the investing be done by regional owners (just keep final say authority).
- hire a President of PrideFC to be a legitimate peer to Dana; individual should be a counter to Dana, a professional from the region
- invest and grow the PrideFC with a 3-5 year plan
- ultimate goal: UFC vs PrideFC unification bouts once per year, similar to a Superbowl/World Series NFC vs AFC, American League vs National League. This would be intriguing to the US/Can audience for this reason.
* Get NYC done. I know it is a political deal, involving the unions and the Fertitas, but this is a must.
* Work with Putin. Politics aside, the guy is a news magnet, manly-man and a friend of martial arts. Any endorsement on his part can explode MMA/UFC in eastern europe.
* Consider placing more big names per fight card and stop with the watered-down one big name cards.
* Not to be insensitive to the fighters, but too many long layoffs with big name/champs. Find a way to keep the tempo going and stop injuries from hampering business.

Awesome suggestions.

 

[DezWalker]

1) Having fights be consistently on the same network at the same times. Weekly shows aren't a bad thing if fans consistently know when they're going to be on. Honestly, weekly would be better than stretches like 2 shows in 4 weeks and then 8 shows in 36 days (check out the schedule between May 31 and July 6). If people know that every Saturday at 9 o'clock there's going to be a UFC show, that's a way to grow.

2) Run some tournaments and advertise them as such. The FOX shows would be perfect for this since the way they space out makes it almost perfect to have either annual 8 fighter tourneys or even 2 4-fighter tourneys a year. Winner of the tournament gets a title shot. 2.5-4 million people get familiar with the fighter on the FOX show and then they got a title shot on PPV. Seems like a natural way to build interest for their PPV shows.

3) Stop putting fights that have a ton of interest on the Fight Pass cards. They want to make Conor McGregor a star and he's headlining a show that only hardcores are going to see. That should be on FS 1. Same with Roy Nelson and Big Nog last month. That fight should've been the co-main event of one of the other shows that was on around that time. I get that they need to sell tickets for the live gate but they need to look at the bigger long-term picture. Guys like Nelson and Big Nog only have so many fights left and you don't want to shut out people from seeing them.

 

[Unbreakabull]

miocic maldonado should be 8 rounds and lawler ellenburger only one round. Other than that, everything is perfect the way it is...

 

[Jocke]

Rebrand as a premier Colosseum fighting place where men fight wild animals. We've all grown tired of this man vs man shit. Don't you want to see Jon Jones fight a wild tiger? Or Kebab Nurmaguhdovodhuydo fight his long time nemesis, the bear cub, now in full size?

I think this is the only way.

 

[Bigj383]

They could always start promoting boxing and kickboxing fights. Have a mixed card like Dream used to do. They wouldn't be willing to pay that boxing money though so I doubt it'll happen.

Got to love Sherdog... What should the most successful MMA org in the world do to gain fans and increase revenue and interest...

Sherdog answers. .. Hey you remember that org that had terrible business practices that could never generate interest and went out of business... UFC should do what they do...

 

[justblaze717]

Have the PPV mean something, they should all be stacked. Maybe downsize to 6-8 PPV a year and have the rest of the content free. Each PPV should have 2 Championship fights and fights people feel they get their moneys worth paying for. Keep the prospects and WMMA on FS1 and have the contenders on the FOX cards.

 

[jiujitsuforever]

Have the PPV mean something, they should all be stacked. Maybe downsize to 6-8 PPV a year and have the rest of the content free. Each PPV should have 2 Championship fights and fights people feel they get their moneys worth paying for. Keep the prospects and WMMA on FS1 and have the contenders on the FOX cards.

exactly.