Why isn't Japan dominating MMA?

[Jarvan]

I have always wondered why Japanese MMA suffered after the loss of PRIDE. When I think MMA, I think of 3 countries. USA, Brazil, and Japan. (You can also throw in Russia now for the current flood of Russian talent.) Japan being one of the pioneer countries of MMA and simply being involved in martial arts since ancient times, it baffles me why they are not dominating the MMA scene. A lot of people on this forum say its because they have weak wrestling, which is actually not true at all. Japan has very strong wrestling and do very well in the Olympics, for the men's lower weight classes, and even better for the women. They are taking medals home with every Olympics that come. They are also the top dogs in Judo, so you would think there would at least be better female Judo practitioners than Ronda Rousey coming in and throwing women around but not a single one attempted it. Their Jiu-Jitsu cant be questioned either since they pretty much invented the damn thing. As for kickboxing, that's pretty much what they are known for. They have everything you would ever need to become a successful fighter.

So what gives? I went and asked my friend who is Japanese and a fan of MMA. He put it this way...

Him: Have you been to Japan?
Me: No.
Him: Well if you did, you would know that Japan makes America look like a third world country. No child in Japan ever dreams of "living that American life". lol

So basically, the Japanese fighters want to live and have fame in JAPAN. They don't care about having fame in other countries. They want to be super stars of their own nation. And that the Japanese public don't care for the UFC, and the UFC don't care for the Japanese public. The UFC does not know how to market to Japan. That guys like Yushin Okami are still nobodies in Japan and that being a UFC fighter did nothing for him. To be really successful in the UFC you will have to move to America. That the constant flight from Japan to America is one of the hardest. For them to leave everything they love behind, they would have to be offered a shit ton of money which the UFC will not do because they are not marketable to the western audience. So why do this when they can just join Rizin and get paid more, still get to live in Japan, and be marketed better then the UFC ever could?

Really interesting points and it makes sense. So what do you guys think?

I personally hope we AT LEAST get to see this kid in the UFC at some point. But he just doesn't seem to have any interest in UFC.




Pretty sad really. The UFC definitely need to step up their game internationally. It was headed that way under Lorenzo. But with WME? Not a chance...

You're coming from a very naive standpoint.

I don't mean that in a bad way, you're just attempting to make sense from incomplete information.

Like you mentioned, Japanese people want Japanese fame. Asian countries are vastly different from the western world.

You would think that everyone in the world knows Katy Perry, maroon5, or AT LEAST ed sheeran. They don't. They might've heard their music, inadvertently, but they wouldn't be able to identify the artist.

With that said, being a star in your respective country first is protocol. Not really, but it's the standard approach. You can't think to make it big on the world stage without earning the respect of your country first. So for a relatively small country like Japan, winning the hearts of the Japanese comes first.

Next, comes respect. The Japanese are built on respect. The charismatic talker that gets rushed to the title... Just doesn't suit the Japanese. In fact, those types are booed and hang low on the totem pole... Which is polarizing to the UFC in its current state.

The Japanese also have their own MMA promotion and fight leagues that they are focused on.

With that said, not everything has to come around to the UFC.

 

[Gunny]

Go fuck your mother.

Continue to Hide behind your keyboard, dummy

...he says whilst hiding behind his own keyboard.

Lol, triggered.

 

[Doctor of Thuganomics]

So your japanese friend think that Japan is Tokyo... Interesting. I've never been in the USA, but I think NY is on the same level as Tokyo. I don't know how "Japan makes America look like a third world country". Honestly, I can only see it with the discipline and kindness of Japanese people, which actually makes the rest of the world look like savages.

As for the lack of Japanese success, I think it's because the Japanese, like in many disciplines (music, movies etc..) are too self-centered and can't evolve. They have this tendency of living for themselves by themselves, and resting on their habits and standards.

When they are curious about other countries, it is in order to bring some of that country back in Japan. They feel "trapped" in Japan and accept (shikatanai ne) this feeling.

I actually don’t think it’s hard to find high-quality Japanese movies or music that carry a sense of freshness, even when compared to American stuff. It won’t be making advancements in MMA, but I think Japan is one of the more interesting sources of entertainment in the world. Most of it may very well be crap, but I find that’s generally true across the board anyways.

 

[original doom]

You're coming from a very naive standpoint.

I don't mean that in a bad way, you're just attempting to make sense from incomplete information.

Like you mentioned, Japanese people want Japanese fame. Asian countries are vastly different from the western world.

You would think that everyone in the world knows Katy Perry, maroon5, or AT LEAST ed sheeran. They don't. They might've heard their music, inadvertently, but they wouldn't be able to identify the artist.

With that said, being a star in your respective country first is protocol. Not really, but it's the standard approach. You can't think to make it big on the world stage without earning the respect of your country first. So for a relatively small country like Japan, winning the hearts of the Japanese comes first.

Next, comes respect. The Japanese are built on respect. The charismatic talker that gets rushed to the title... Just doesn't suit the Japanese. In fact, those types are booed and hang low on the totem pole... Which is polarizing to the UFC in its current state.

The Japanese also have their own MMA promotion and fight leagues that they are focused on.

With that said, not everything has to come around to the UFC.

money talks hence why everything does ecentually gravitate towards the ufc.

 

[Aegon Spengler]

It is very strange that Japan doesn’t have a larger MMA scene these days. The western fighters are all gone and now would be time for a new sakaruaba to emerge.

 

[Aranha21]

It is very strange that Japan doesn’t have a larger MMA scene these days. The western fighters are all gone and now would be time for a new sakaruaba to emerge.

They're just not that into MMA at the moment. Boxing is more popular over there at the moment; Monster Inoue and Ryota Murata both get huge viewing figures(hence why GGG will probably go over there to fight Murata).

 

[Aegon Spengler]

They're just not that into MMA at the moment. Boxing is more popular over there at the moment; Monster Inoue and Ryota Murata both get huge viewing figures(hence why GGG will probably go over there to fight Murata).

That’s so strange. They just abandoned MMA.

 

[Destino2018]

That’s so strange. They just abandoned MMA.

The pro wrestling scene along with kickboxing took over for the most part.