FRAT attack:
No - It's an abysmal idea.
The piece on Sherdog main page is terrible and the OP of this thread doesn't seem to understand his own suggestion either (I hope, including saying 'its a rumor' when really it's just this post and a crap op-ed that is the source of that 'rumor').
i) First it's funny to say there should be a 'merger', like they are two equal or near equal partners.
what is really being said = no more Invicta, all its fighters to UFC.
ii) UFC basically already owns Invicta. Invicta is UFC's puppet org and they can take any of its fighters/champs whenever they want. UFC cotnracted fighters also fight in Invicta- indeed one of them is doing it on Friday because she wants more experience - and 'Invicta's biggest star', Guyborg, is actually under UFC (Zuffa) contract. Her last fight was in the UFC.
In return, Invicta gets to be featured on UFC fightpass, and Invicta athletes (though they may also be under UFC contract already - allegedly) such as Alexa Grasso get feature spots at UFC expos and big time press placements that I suspect are machinated by UFC PR (Grasso got a piece in the Daily Mail, for instance). What more is a 'merger' supposed to bring?
I don't understand the appeal of Guyborg btw - I disagree she is the 'best female fighter', she might make the lower part of my top 10 I guess. Her division is the weakest in all MMA, and you can't blame fighters at UFC 135lbs - a weight she can't make - for not wanting to get concussed at the hands of a PED freak 1-2 divisions bigger then them.
Both the org and OP think Guyborg is 'key' to developing WMMA, but she's emptied the 145 division - noone wants to fight her - she killed bigtime WMMA once by KOing Gina, and now they want Invicta sacrificed for the benefit of Guyborg too?!
iii) The most immediate effect of abolishing Invicta into the UFC that I could think of for female fighters, would be to create a desperate need for an Invicta style org - for continuing the long-term development of WMMA, promotion of its fighters, experience, intercontinental matchups and cross-org promotion, on a global platform.
So... why get rid of it when it's already right there?
(OP seems further confused by saying Invicta could be sustained as feeder org for male fighters - 'Bellator rejects', does he know what Invicta is about?)
iv) The UFC already has an unmanageably large roster. Adding a whole org of fighters including 2-3 new divisions - most of whom badly need more fight experience - is not good for it, or those fighters. They would be doing well to get 1 fight a year. UFC may 'pay more' but there are female fighters in the UFC who have said they can't afford to train- right now.
v) As it was independent, Invicta could do one of the most fun things in MMA, that is cross-promote, so you could have DEEP Jewels star Mizuki fighting KSW top draw Karolina, in a US org on a global platform. Since WMMA was still 'young' and growing this kind of thing was possible (that ZUFFA/UFC dominance killed in male MMA). This is good for the the fans and the fighters alike, and they still have some ability to do this as a semi-independent org, which would no longer be possible if it was completely eaten by UFC.
vi) lastly Invicta does a tremendous job of promoting its fighters (as is its purpose), generating interest in them as people, getting them to be able to express themselves, trying to create divisional storylines, etc. They have an excellent media team and this lets them grow a fanbase from the beginnings of their careers. Its promotion of its athletes is what got me interested in MMA again after PRIDE died. The UFC on the other hand actively supresses fighter 'uniqueness' as it prefers its own brand to dominate over them. Young women fighting in the UFC would both be (mostly) too inexperienced for the stage they would be thrust onto, and largely anonymous amongst a sea of bland no-name undercard Reebok drones.
