MMA is in a Slump? Agree?

[dillinja]

Originally Posted by Haggis McJackass

It's the exact opposite here. Used to be absolutely nothing on TV, now on pay-TV (which everyone has) they show all the non-PPV US cards. Also two or three days a week they show "UFC Unleashed" which is just Joe Rogan introducing classic fights. Saw GSP-Penn and Jones-Shogun on there the other day.

And the PPVs in NZ are about 1/3rd the price of PPVs in the US. I split the cost three ways with two of my mates. If we go to Mickey Dee's before the fights, a Big Mac combo costs almost 50% more than a 1/3rd share of a PPV.

Tbf the channel is only 10 quid a month and it shows it live but they used to show all the ppvs the next day for free which was pretty good as ufc is on at about 3am uk time.

[Haggis McJackass]

Originally Posted by dillinja

Tbf the channel is only 10 quid a month and it shows it live but they used to show all the ppvs the next day for free which was pretty good as ufc is on at about 3am uk time.

PPVs usually kick off at about 2pm on Sunday afternoon here, with the main event on at about 4, 4:30pm. Perfect! Probably more convenient than if they showed them on Saturday nights, to be honest. Very easy to invite a couple of mates over to watch it on Sunday afternoon.

[Rattler]

Ratings go up... and they go down.

Buy rates go up... and they go down.

All this Chicken Little shit is a waste of time.

[Haggis McJackass]

Originally Posted by Rattler

Ratings go up... and they go down.

Buy rates go up... and they go down.

All this Chicken Little shit is a waste of time.

[RSBonos]

Originally Posted by boranbkk

MMA is booming in Asia.

Where is this?

Anyway, MMA will be fine. The hysterical reactions and fans losing interest (at least moaning about it online) is funny to see.

[Haggis McJackass]

Originally Posted by dillinja

my only issue is the way the sport will develop with only one main company it can start to stagnate and doesn't have the pressure of needing to improve

It's a fair call. And it's certainly a possibility.

Worth noting though that most of Zuffa's missteps have come from trying to do too much, rather than being content. And they've shown a willingness to adapt - trying different styles of coverage and presentation, different ways of marketing, shit like that.

But nobody can deny what Zuffa has done in the last decade. Which is take MMA in the West from total irrelevance - from a starting point of not even being a legitimate sport - to the mainstream.

The UFC having a shocking run of injuries and running too many PPVs in times of economic uncertainty doesn't mean that they've suddenly killed the sport. In reality, MMA is in a far better place than it has ever been before. And because of the explosion in the number of gyms and serious athletes training in the sport, it'll be healthier still five and ten years from now.

[Camaris]

When you comment on MMA as a casual fan in anything less than glowing terms, you can take it to the bank that MMA fangirls will get all emotional and cry. So let me say at the outset to them, "go fuck yourselves".

With that out the way... I think a lot of people may have followed MMA (and I mean the UFC, like most do) a little like me, which is roughly this: four or so years back I thought it was great and watched as much as I could. Three or so years back I thought it was good and watched a lot. Two or so years back I began to find some bits bored me and watched it less. Now I hardly watch it.


What changed, other than less on TV? Well, I got bored of watching people roll round on their backs working submissions. Period. It's interesting for a time, but after a few years I began to fast forward through fights to just see decent standup.

"not a fan" I hear you cry. "Unknowledgable cunt!" scream some of you. Well, go fuck yourselves. It's the fight game and it's supposed to be exciting and not a snooze-fest where everyone wears affliction T-shirts and rolls around on the floor.

Stand-up action and activity needs to be given primacy over all other aspects. Then you'd have a truly global sport on your hands. When the sport was new to a 'mainstream' fight audience, which as the poster above says is a new thing and real achievement, floor-work was new to that audience and something exciting to understand and watch. I just believe that the 'mainstream' fight audience who have historically been about their boxing have only a limited interest in that aspect of MMA as a sport. Certainly something that has waned over the last couple of years. Anecdotally, I refuse to believe many of you don't feel the same way.

[boranbkk]

Originally Posted by RSBonos

Where is this?

Anyway, MMA will be fine. The hysterical reactions and fans losing interest (at least moaning about it online) is funny to see.

Firstly, I'm not really a fan just a casual follower who respects the sport and the fighters, I'm really Muay Thai guy.

Interms of where MMA is booming; China, Singapore, Korea, Thailand, Malaysia, Hong Kong etc etc. New gyms and organisations appearing every where in Asia.

[RSBonos]

Originally Posted by boranbkk

Interms of where MMA is booming; China, Singapore, Korea, Thailand, Malaysia, Hong Kong etc etc. New gyms and organisations appearing every where in Asia.

But this isn't really true. There was one country that loved MMA in Asia and now they don't seem to care at all. A few shows here and there prove nothing.

[boranbkk]

Originally Posted by RSBonos

But this isn't really true. There was one country that loved MMA in Asia and now they don't seem to care at all. A few shows here and there prove nothing.

What? Loads of this happeneing all over Asia:

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eon3UosNa_I[/ame]


New gyms popping up allover Asia to that werent htere just a few years ago. In China MMA MT and Boxing are having shows all the time. Combat sports are booming.

[RSBonos]

A few local shows mean what exactly? There are local boxing shows in those non-boxing (excluding Thailand) countries and it means nothing also.

No local draws, it's far from booming. Sorry but that's just silly. It's like claiming that MMA is exploding in India because of the SFL.

[boranbkk]

Originally Posted by RSBonos

A few local shows mean what exactly? There are local boxing shows in those non-boxing (excluding Thailand) countries and it means nothing also.

No local draws, it's far from booming. Sorry but that's just silly. It's like claiming that MMA is exploding in India because of the SFL.

No, it is booming. There have never been so many dedicated MMA clubs opening all over Asia from China to the Philippines, more young guys and girls are going into MMA from the start rather than traditonal martial arts or boxing. Dedicated stirkers are looking to cross over early in thier careers rather than waiting to be done like in the past. The amount of combat events in China is huge all brodcast on free to air stations. Remember in Asia the home of martial arts, they have never been regarded as non mainsteram like in the west. Comabt sporst are national sports, pastimes and cutural gems.

MMA is developing in Asia especially at grass roots levels. It'll take it's time to sort itself out to become organised and for the new crop of fighters to come through, but it's happening. Asia is also crawling with young western MMA fighters looking for authenic training and maybe a wildcard at something good in the ring. The future is bright for Asian MMA, which can only be good for all MMA.

[chimba]

Originally Posted by Camaris

When you comment on MMA as a casual fan in anything less than glowing terms, you can take it to the bank that MMA fangirls will get all emotional and cry. So let me say at the outset to them, "go fuck yourselves".

With that out the way... I think a lot of people may have followed MMA (and I mean the UFC, like most do) a little like me, which is roughly this: four or so years back I thought it was great and watched as much as I could. Three or so years back I thought it was good and watched a lot. Two or so years back I began to find some bits bored me and watched it less. Now I hardly watch it.


What changed, other than less on TV? Well, I got bored of watching people roll round on their backs working submissions. Period. It's interesting for a time, but after a few years I began to fast forward through fights to just see decent standup.

"not a fan" I hear you cry. "Unknowledgable cunt!" scream some of you. Well, go fuck yourselves. It's the fight game and it's supposed to be exciting and not a snooze-fest where everyone wears affliction T-shirts and rolls around on the floor.

Stand-up action and activity needs to be given primacy over all other aspects. Then you'd have a truly global sport on your hands. When the sport was new to a 'mainstream' fight audience, which as the poster above says is a new thing and real achievement, floor-work was new to that audience and something exciting to understand and watch. I just believe that the 'mainstream' fight audience who have historically been about their boxing have only a limited interest in that aspect of MMA as a sport. Certainly something that has waned over the last couple of years. Anecdotally, I refuse to believe many of you don't feel the same way.

I understand this post and it is part of the problem (for casual fans) but for those fans who are hardcore, they appreciate a good ground battle. The problem for me are: pay is atrocious, theres no proper farm system to develop prospects . The main organization, are not MMA people, they're Casino people.

[Haggis McJackass]

Originally Posted by chimba

I understand this post and it is part of the problem (for casual fans) but for those fans who are hardcore, they appreciate a good ground battle. The problem for me are: pay is atrocious, theres no proper farm system to develop prospects . The main organization, are not MMA people, they're Casino people.

When have MMA fighters ever earned more? Fighters have more opportunity for income now than ever before. And at least they get medical coverage and such now, instead of having to pay their own doctor's bills and having to make their own way to the hospital after a fight, the way it used to be.

Is the UFC expected to snap their fingers and instantly develop this for the entire sport? Should they have developed it already, in the less than a decade that they've been around? The farm system is coming because the sport is growing. Gyms are opening up and guys are training.

Casino people who legitimately love the sport. In the '30s, '40s and '50s the main organzations in boxing weren't boxing people, they were Mafia people. And that was the case the whole way through boxing's golden days.


I think people lose track of just how young this sport is. They expect too much, too soon. The sport was basically a half-illegal circus show with no sanctioning or mainstream athletic legitimacy at all within the career span of some active fighters.

[chimba]

Originally Posted by Haggis McJackass

When have MMA fighters ever earned more? Fighters have more opportunity for income now than ever before. And at least they get medical coverage and such now, instead of having to pay their own doctor's bills and having to make their own way to the hospital after a fight, the way it used to be.

Is the UFC expected to snap their fingers and instantly develop this for the entire sport? Should they have developed it already, in the less than a decade that they've been around? The farm system is coming because the sport is growing. Gyms are opening up and guys are training.

Casino people who legitimately love the sport. In the '30s, '40s and '50s the main organzations in boxing weren't boxing people, they were Mafia people. And that was the case the whole way through boxing's golden days.


I think people lose track of just how young this sport is. They expect too much, too soon. The sport was basically a half-illegal circus show with no sanctioning or mainstream athletic legitimacy at all within the career span of some active fighters.

What is it with you? Pay sucks. Why do you argue this? No these Casino guys do not care about the sport (maybe they do when they are making money).
Dana proposed the UFC to the Fertittas during the dark ages as a buy cheap and profit later deal. The Fertittas dont even know what the fuck it is. They care enough about fighters, pay them more.