what does the ufc need to do?

[jjjjjjjjjjohnny]

Tournaments. it makes people interested in fights that typically may not. if a guy goes through a tourney,people will tune into watch. PRIDE BABY!

 

[jwikked]

And yet you got Marquardt vs Te Huna headlining a fight in New Zealand. That's a fight Americans will want to see.

Then watch that fight. I'm pointing it out because people constantly bitch and moan about the regional fight cards, yet there's a reason why they're stacked with fighters that no ones heard of.

 

[TheGOD]

Then watch that fight. I'm pointing it out because people constantly bitch and moan about the regional fight cards, yet there's a reason why they're stacked with fighters that no ones heard of.

And I will, which is fine for me, but kind of misses the entire point of this thread. I only watch the fights that intrigue me now, of which there are only 2 or 3 per card. If the UFC is happy with their fans losing interest in the sport, then I guess they shouldn't really change anything at all. The UFC is squandering an opportunity to make Te Huna or Marquardt more recognizable to US fans in favor of making them recognizable to non-PPV purchasing audiences.

 

[Bigj383]

I'm sure bigj33, CC27, and kflo will be in to tell me how this isn't feasible for the growth of the UFC, like I give a damn if Dana and Lorenzo make $5 million less next year.

Why would you assume that? You didn't say anything outlandish or unrealistic or just flat out stupid. It may be the eventual future if their TV deal gets good enough. I don't buy every PPV the UFC puts on. At least this year every PPV has been headlined by a title fight so far something that didn't happen in the past. I won't buy a non-title fight PPV.

I think UFC needs to keep the fighters they have as active as possible. They need to get prospect co-main and main eventing fight nights. They need to get ot where guys contending for titles have had 7-8 wins straight and have main evented and co main evented multiple cards

Even if UFC had double title PPV you would still se the same complaints about watered down cards.

 

[The Crocodile]

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

Very well put, 100% agree with you .. I think once you start getting a lot of something it doesn't become as interesting especially, I remember back in 2008 and 2009 my friends and I would wait to see a PPV once a month and when that PPV came around EVERYONE was talking about it but now since there are 3 or more events in a month its not as exciting, I don't know that's just me I guess.

 

[jiujitsuforever]

Very well put, 100% agree with you .. I think once you start getting a lot of something it doesn't become as interesting especially, I remember back in 2008 and 2009 my friends and I would wait to see a PPV once a month and when that PPV came around EVERYONE was talking about it but now since there are 3 or more events in a month its not as exciting, I don't know that's just me I guess.

over saturation is a big reason people seem to have lost interest

 

[CerebralKnievel]

Overeem vs. Miguel Torres

This alone will save us all.

 

[pclanadmin2]

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.

good post.

 

[Jermei]

Bring back the PrideFC brand and have two orgs under Zuffa, one representing N America and the other representig Asia/Brazil/Europe etc. Keep the Champions apart until the end of the year and have each weighclass champion fight at an event leading up to New Years with the respective HW champs going at it.

 

[trane]

over saturation is a big reason people seem to have lost interest

this, the talent gets spread too thin, the cards are too watered down

Oversaturarion is one of the major problems right now

 

[Hard Charger]

cockfight prelims

 

[krelianx]

I see the PPV model being either dramatically reworked or assimilated to television altogether. I sincerely hope for the former, since the watering of cards will only become worse if the latter. With that said, a reworked PPV schema would produce ideally 5-8 shows a year with very stacked talent. It would be more like glorified special events for the fans and for big scale fights that everyone wants to see.

Other than that, they really need to find a way to get people familiar with the fighters; the format is too monotonous, and there's far too many events and fights to even track the divisions anymore. We need some sense of narrative to weave the divisions and progress of fighters together, to build contenders correctly in a way that make people care for what they're about to see.

Nobody gives a damn about Dillashaw, Barao, MM, Teixeira, Werdum, etc... I'm sorry, but it's the truth. They have lost many of their major big stars and the biggest ones now, Ronda, Chael and Jones, are not enough to drive the sport forward. They need new stars, and fighters whose attitude corresponds to what the audience wants from a fighter: someone talented, exciting, unruly, with a sense of hunger and personality... not guys who walk in there to do their job and win at the cost of any form of excitement.

We need a better sense of contendership buildup, particularly now that the saturation is so high, so that the attention of the audience doesn't get diluted. I have been a fan for almost 15 years now, and I find the current state of the divisions disorienting. I couldn't cite you the top 5 anything below WW, and that is a huge problem. It is not that I don't care or that the fights are bad. It's that these are newer faces that emerged recently, and are just not familiar for their trajectory. Since everyone does everything well, and there's just so many damn fighters at this point, one needs help to help you remember faces, trajectories and skills.

I think the product has become too sedentary, streamlined, monotonous, and that fighters have learned to exploit the rule system to all too often produce very safe point fighting exemplars, so my interest has waned considerably (I've watched 1 in the past 5 or 6 shows). I thought 172 was the best card I had seen in a long time, but these are becoming fewer and farther inbetween.

 

[trane]

I see the PPV model being either dramatically reworked or assimilated to television altogether. I sincerely hope for the former, since the watering of cards will only become worse if the latter. With that said, a reworked PPV schema would produce ideally 5-8 shows a year with very stacked talent.

Other than that, they really need to find a way to get people familiar with the fighters; the format is too monotonous, and there's far too many events and fights to even track the divisions anymore. We need some sense of narrative to weave the divisions and progress of fighters together, to build contenders correctly in a way that make people care for what they're about to see.

Nobody gives a damn about Dillashaw, Barao, MM, Teixeira, Werdum, etc...

We need a better sense of contendership buildup, particularly now that the saturation is so high, so that the attention of the audience doesn't get diluted. I have been a fan for almost 15 years now, and I find the current state of the divisions disorienting. I couldn't cite you the top 5 anything below WW, and that is a huge problem. It is not that I don't care or that the fights are bad. It's that these are newer faces that emerged recently, and are just not familiar for their trajectory.

I think the product has become too sloppy, streamlined, monotonous, and that fighters have learned to exploit the rule system to all too often produce very safe point fighting exemplars, so my interest has waned considerably (I've watched 1 in the past 5 or 6 shows).

agreed 100%.

 

[unfinishable]

IMO the ufc is expanding too fast. Instead of using all this money to expand, use it to better pay the fighters that will also attract new future fighters. After hearing so many complaints about pay, I'm sure many wouldn't want to take the ufc road.

 

[Shaddows]

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?

IMO this is simple.
1) Keep the best fighters. No matter if they are deemed boring or not.
If you want to be the best, you gotta keep the best talent.

2) Change Dana
He is great. But lacks "breaks".
Put someone that won't drop F-Bombs or throw fighters under the bus.
note: Dana remains president and doing what he is doing. He would just ADD someone to be the mouthpiece of Zuffa in fron of the cameras.

3) Decrease the number of PPV's.
Make them count.
Have more free fights on Fox. You made millions off this deal. You do not need to rely that much on PPV's.
Put weekly (or bi-weekly) cards on free TV.
Then make BIG PPV cards.

4) Treat MMA priorities first, Business last!
Yes, I get it.
Zuffa is a business. But MMA is your product.
Treat MMA right, and it will grow and bring you more money. You don't need to capitalize all now!
Long term, if they do it right, they will have huge revenues just by catering to MMA.
Quit with the antics, the shortcuts and things that HURT the sport of MMA for some short term gain.