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I'm not talking TUF, which is a quasi-farm league / feeder system as it really only produces 2, maybe 3 quality fighters per season that can stick around and have quality fights for a few years. Aside from picking up the best fighters from the other organizations, there is no real talent pool to choose or develop talent.
Think about it this way - UFC will eventually have one event per week (FX, Fuel, FOX, PPV's, TUF finales) - the UFC should have the depth needed to create a developmental league. Not everyone in Strike Force will be able to compete as we saw that not everyone who was absorbed from the WEC was able to compete.
DFW claims that it is getting an international recognition as soccer (uhm..) so why not take a note from the other professional leagues? While MMA is not a team sport (except in the IFL, which I thought was a cool idea for a bit), Zuffa needs to look at what the other pro leagues do. The NHL has juniors / colleges to pull from, the NBA has the D-League / colleges, the NFL has college / USFL (which doesn't really count) and the MLB has like 18 various minor leagues.
There's no reason the Zuffa couldn't create a developmental league, similar to what Strike Force did with their challenger league. At worst, you could still fill the Facebook / Fuel & FX undercards and prelims with the rising guys. At best, you could make an entire card as a Fuel or FX show. There wouldn't be as much backlash from injuries causing big cards to tank, you'll catch more casual fans, and satisfy the diehards with young, hungry fighters looking to make a name. Instead of needing mid-tiered names to carry the FX cards, you could just stack PPV's like how they used to be.
So after that rambling, what do you think Sherdoggers?
Think about it this way - UFC will eventually have one event per week (FX, Fuel, FOX, PPV's, TUF finales) - the UFC should have the depth needed to create a developmental league. Not everyone in Strike Force will be able to compete as we saw that not everyone who was absorbed from the WEC was able to compete.
DFW claims that it is getting an international recognition as soccer (uhm..) so why not take a note from the other professional leagues? While MMA is not a team sport (except in the IFL, which I thought was a cool idea for a bit), Zuffa needs to look at what the other pro leagues do. The NHL has juniors / colleges to pull from, the NBA has the D-League / colleges, the NFL has college / USFL (which doesn't really count) and the MLB has like 18 various minor leagues.
There's no reason the Zuffa couldn't create a developmental league, similar to what Strike Force did with their challenger league. At worst, you could still fill the Facebook / Fuel & FX undercards and prelims with the rising guys. At best, you could make an entire card as a Fuel or FX show. There wouldn't be as much backlash from injuries causing big cards to tank, you'll catch more casual fans, and satisfy the diehards with young, hungry fighters looking to make a name. Instead of needing mid-tiered names to carry the FX cards, you could just stack PPV's like how they used to be.
So after that rambling, what do you think Sherdoggers?