What stage do you believe UFC is at?

[World eater]

I don’t know, very hard to tell. However, the mma we have today is a meek, dialed-back version of what it was. It was a brutal thing when it started. Now it is sort of polished, but neutered, focused on brand recognition, views and entertainment. I am skeptical tbh.

 

[flektarn]

If they could actually get more of the mexican, chinese, and hopefully someday japanese markets it could get wild.
As it is now they're the one competent organization in a sea of retards.

 

[BangBang]

Nobody watches NBA

I watch Caitlyn Clark lol

 

[ForeverYoung]

UFC is still booming. The sport has more views now than ever. The people crying about watered down cards are just that crying. If the low level Journeyman DWCS guys were Japanese pro wrestlers who couldn't fight at all they'd be eating it up but because they're actual athletes and dont have a gimmick weebs don't enjoy it as much.

 

[filthybliss]

Well I almost answered this question in the other thread, but refrained since I don't know too much basketball in detail. But my impression is this

Was like the "Jordan" era, and we're in a slight lull but we will get crazy fighters (again) soon. Maybe it'll look something like the golden era again. Ruleset and policy changes I think will be necessary to facilitate it though

Jordan Era was certainly not the “hottest era”. So if you are going for that with the metaphor, it ain’t the right one.

 

[filthybliss]

UFC is still booming. The sport has more views now than ever. The people crying about watered down cards are just that crying. If the low level Journeyman DWCS guys were Japanese pro wrestlers who couldn't fight at all they'd be eating it up but because they're actual athletes and dont have a gimmick weebs don't enjoy it as much.

Don’t disrespect the old school legends like Suzuki…. They are the only reason that we have the ufc today.

 

[Otto!]

UFC is on the downward stage. It’s losing popularity, losing fans, and losing fighters with any appeal. It’s actually become even more of a fringe sport with watered down cards and unlikeable athletes. It’s the sports version of disco. I enjoy disco music but most people hate it with a passion just like the UFC.

Disco will never die!

 

[TheMadHatter]

I feel that it is fairly mainstream. There were tons of people in connecticut to see Poatan the other night. It was a small town and people had driven there from states away. pretty cool because sooner rather than later fans will not be able to interact with their favorite fighters like this if the sport continues to grow.

 

[Hdfi]

UFC is on the downward stage. It’s losing popularity, losing fans, and losing fighters with any appeal. It’s actually become even more of a fringe sport with watered down cards and unlikeable athletes. It’s the sports version of disco. I enjoy disco music but most people hate it with a passion just like the UFC.

they are making record profits recently and mma is more global now than ever before.

 

[Rubios]

Granted you have more shooters now, and teams are deeper in the NBA. Nonetheless, that does not mean that individual players weren't just as good or better from that day. A lot of them (Larry Bird anyone?) would have adjusted well to the 3-point game, certainly Jordan would have.

The statistics of the 3 dominant centers from 3 eras declined as their competition increased- Shaq/Hakeem, Kareem, Wilt. No one could average 24 rebounds for a career like Wilt against modern competition, but that doesn't mean Wilt would not be a star in today's game. He just wouldn't have the same stats and level of dominance. Their stats would not have declined with each era if competition hadn't increased.

I've been a huge NBA fan since the 90s.
And yep, sure, huge talents like Jordan or Magic would shine at any era. If they were born in this generation, yes, they will most likely become huge stars as well.

But if they "time traveled" directly into a current top contender team... they would barely play at all. Because they wouldn't "get" today's game right away.

HC would constantly yell to them "nope, you're not shooting from here", "you're not getting the ball there", "don't do this extra pass ever again"... every single training session.

The same way if Curry travelled back in time to the 80s. He will eat bench.

I wonder how different from today fights and athletes will be.
The Pistons from the late 80s played a whole different sport.

 

[DapperDave]

Same stage as the last 15 years: the making-bank-and-picking-up-a-massive-and-constant-stream-of-new-viewers stage.

It triggers the shit out of people who don't have anything better to do than post shit on the internet all day.

Except me of course.

Do as I say, not as I do.

 

[ferrisjso]

The problem with UFC opposed to these other sports is these other sports have franchises competing to win trophys and that kind of keeps the ball rolling. While team sports are a for profit entity there are other incentives there. The UFC is more of a pure business. Is there any reason for Dana or his bosses to give af about the quality of the UFCs roster when people already equate UFC with MMA?

 

[DapperDave]

UFC is on the downward stage. It’s losing popularity, losing fans, and losing fighters with any appeal. It’s actually become even more of a fringe sport with watered down cards and unlikeable athletes. It’s the sports version of disco. I enjoy disco music but most people hate it with a passion just like the UFC.

Sour old fuck, constantly triggered by anything and everything good, whining about cheese on a cheese forum.

For fucks sake.

 

[Rubios]

The problem with UFC opposed to these other sports is these other sports have franchises competing to win trophys and that kind of keeps the ball rolling. While team sports are a for profit entity there are other incentives there. The UFC is more of a pure business. Is there any reason for Dana or his bosses to give af about the quality of the UFCs roster when people already equate UFC with MMA?

Dana pays really bad, yes. Ridiculously bad.
But being an UFC star (I'm not talking champion, maybe not even top 5) means making huge money or at least having the potential to do so.

 

[joy2day]

I've been a huge NBA fan since the 90s.
And yep, sure, huge talents like Jordan or Magic would shine at any era. If they were born in this generation, yes, they will most likely become huge stars as well.

But if they "time traveled" directly into a current top contender team... they would barely play at all. Because they wouldn't "get" today's game right away.

HC would constantly yell to them "nope, you're not shooting from here", "you're not getting the ball there", "don't do this extra pass ever again"... every single training session.

The same way if Curry travelled back in time to the 80s. He will eat bench.

I wonder how different from today fights and athletes will be.
The Pistons from the late 80s played a whole different sport.

I think saying they would "barely play at all" is overstating the case, but your larger point that they would have to adjust to the game is well taken. I don't think it would take guys like Jordan and Magic a long time. Bird was the best 3-point shooter back in the day (winner of the shootout for several years in a row), so it might take him even less time to adjust.

While training methods have become more uniform in terms of new people getting into MMA (making training more efficient in terms of learning the MMA game), what they are doing is pretty much the same as it has always been post-90s- training a combination of BJJ, wrestling, Muy Thai, boxing, etc. I think we could see someone utilize these skills in novel ways in the future, but I don't know that it will ever change out of this combination though; a lot of these techniques have literally been around for hundreds or even thousands of years.

 

[Bork Neslar]

MMA is still young and it will continue for a long time. The UFC won't last that long, though.

 

[AmericanUppercut]

Best Fight Promotion.
Bella-deadnow.
PFLoL.
There are no others.

 

[ferrisjso]

Dana pays really bad, yes. Ridiculously bad.
But being an UFC star (I'm not talking champion, maybe not even top 5) means making huge money or at least having the potential to do so.

Tbh the person getting burned the most in UFC is not the worst fighters. They're doing okay because the worst fighters are the leverage to cost control expensive fighters. This is the basis for all of Danas arguments about how the UFC treats fighters better than boxing.

The most oppressed class of UFC fighter is top 5-10 guys who aren't champ and likely never will be but will get a title shot or two.

 

[CC27]

its in its dying stage.

You just have to ignore the record revenue, record gates every event, new tv deal tripling its current one etc. Just listen to Sherdog who knows best.

UFC is toast, actually what are we even talking about the UFC's been dead since 2011 according to Sherdog.

 

[Eric Silva 2.0]

I made another thread two or three days ago that quickly became lol'ed because of bad takes, so...

The thing is: NBA, NFL, football (I'm from Spain, so I mean soccer I guess)... have evolved a huge leap once advanced stats/data analysis set in.

NBA is 75+ years old, most popular sports competition in the world from the early 90s (I was a Jordan's witness, man I'm old...) and still, no coach back then could foresee a team playing like the Warriors or the current Celtics.
No coach could ask for a player like Curry, Jokic or Luka. They would never "happened", the game just wasn't there yet.

"MMA on a cage" is very, very young and still niche even if the martial arts involved stand for centuries: they were not crafted or teached for this means.

Do you believe UFC will evolve as it keeps growing, producing not "better" athletes per se, but athletes that will approach fights in ways we may feel counterintuitive but will prove effective?

TL;DR Will the UFC undergo some pivotal landmark due to advanced stats, like D'Antoni's Suns or GSW? Will it guide fighters towards a whole different fight game, as if we compared the way Kareem and Jokic play?

No, because the business interests lead the sport at the expense of talent. More contender series, more Apex events etc...