K-1 sold??!?!?!

I really don't think it can in the short term. This is a much bigger story than just MMA - pro-wrestling has likewise retreated to a niche audience and is a shadow of its former self and even boxing has had disappointing numbers for what would have been surefire hits like fights involving the Kameda brothers.

The problem is that Japanese combat sports are going through what happened in the UK and America in the nineties, where what had been a mainstream attraction becomes a niche form of entertainment. In both the rise of pay-TV and pay per view allowed for some form of high-level combat sports to be run profitably even though the audiences were far smaller than before. Japan unfortunately does not have widespread takeup of cable television and so the future for combat sports is bleak as they rarely draw ratings that justify them being on network television. Instead they're relegated to small-scale satellite stations that are in few homes. Because the audiences are so small they can't create the new stars that could captivate a new generation of fans. Never say never but until Japan's television market changes I struggle to see combat sports making a comeback.

 

They are/were still relying on Sakuraba and Sapp to draw the punters in. And Aoki isnt well like by the Japanese audience I understand, and Mousasi and Reem seem to be concentrating on the States.

Imagine if the UFC had old timers like Randy and Coleman headline a......oh wait.

 

Heh...it is again important to stress that audience-level wise MMA is still bigger in Japan than in the USA. You look at the recent Dynamite show and that did a number far beyond the wildest dreams of the UFC and yet it was a record low number. But whereas the UFC can spin 1.3 into a multi-million dollar contract, FEG got cold shouldered for failing to deliver ratings in excessive of 10.0. And of course crowd gates and pay per view buys are far bigger in the states than anything a Japanese promotion could ever dream of. It no-ones fault, just the way it breaks.

 

I honestly believe the UFC is chronically misusing their older stars. They may be washed up and in no position to headline pay per views but the likes of Couture, Cro Cop, Ortiz (before his win against Bader), Hughes and Wanderlei are perfect for getting eyeballs on a television special. Imagine how better the UFC's television ratings would be if they did Couture-Machida or Ortiz-Bader, both storyline heavy matches (Randy's retirement and Tito needed to save his job) as television headliners. I mean would anybody complain if UFC 138 was headlined by Leben-Wanderlei - the first and last chance for UK fans to see the legendary Wanderlei Silva in person. Instead they throw these fights out third or even fourth from the top of pay per views where they contribute nothing to the health of the business. Stupid.

 

:yep

 

The Randy thing was just a joke, but that's a very good point. TUF guys are just mid carders at best, and apart from Jones and maybe Cain, nobody looks to be able to reach the level of the guys you've mentioned either

But these guys (Cain/Jones ect) are a bit to 'media friendly' for my liking and I miss the clash of personalities of the old days that added an extra dimension and drama, Tito v Ken being the perfect example

 

On the television headliner point and the stars point. You look at the group's first two or three years on Spike and Leben, Koshceck and Bonnar are almost ever present. What was great about that was for the UFC they drawing great ratings because people wanted to see these guys on television but knew that as these guys were green they weren't given up any money on ppv because nobody was dumb enough to pay to see a rookie Leben or Koscheck fight in a featured ppv match.

With the decline of TUF they no longer have that group of guys who are great television headliners but not yet ready for big pay per view matches. With the exception of TUF10 its very difficult to remember any contestant really getting over on TUF since Nate Diaz being wacky way back in TUF5. That has meant less eyeballs watching the television and so made it harder to get people over as stars. Jones should be a bigger star than he already is - particularly with the unique way he got given the title shot. But so few people saw those great performances against Hamill or Mattyuschenko (sic) that he didn't get the heat off them you'd expect.

So instead the UFC is becoming more like boxing where guys become stars as they grow into their championship reign. Anderson Silva was probably the first example of this - somebody who most UFC fans did not know or have a strong opinion of when he got the championship. That's a world a way from someone like Evans, Griffin or Penn who were stars before they won their first world title. Now Silva's excellent run of numbers shows that eventually you will get there but it takes longer and leads to a lot of lulls in the drawing power of your championships.

If the UFC want to get more fighters over before they challenge they need to get more eyeballs watching their television. That paradoxically means putting less unproven fighters in television main eventers - it may be nice to put a Gray Maynard in a main event but if nobody's watching it doesn't actually help him. A classic example is this autumn - Jake Ellenburger-Jake Shields is a Spike main event whereas Roy Nelson-Mirko Crop is at best fourth from the top at UFC 137. I mean seriously - what the ****?

 

I think what has happened mainly is when we were all waiting for the ''next generation'' of fighters in the vein of Cro Cop and Wanderlei to emerge, one thing that was overlooked is how successful wrestling is as a base in MMA, and how abundant the talent pool is in the US, and the lack of professional options for wrestlers leads to better opportunities in MMA. And the strikers are mainly having to tune their game to deal with these guys. Even GSP has changed his skill set to suit adopt this style, and the entertainment factor of his fights has gone with it

 

Wasn't the UFC reinvented by casino owners?

 

Came from a combat sports background though

 

I don't think that's that big an issue. I mean when the UFC made it big in 2005 it wasn't like wrestling wasn't the predominant style...hell pretty much since Shamrock-Gracie II that's been the state of the US Sport.

In many ways too much is placed on fighters delivering exciting fights increasing business. While a reputation for delivering exciting fights may be an important part of a creating the right aura on the way up, in reality things like momentum, timing and charisma are more important. Look at the current landscape - the biggest draw in German combat sports are the Klitschko brothers, in the UK its David Haye and in America its Floyd Mayweather.

Now I'm a fan of three out of four of those guys but seriously - when was the last great fight any of them was involved in? But the force of their personality makes even a dull fight entertaining. I mean take July 2nd for example. Yes Cruz vs Faber was a superb fight - the type of contest that you show people to explain why you love combat sports. But I've got to be honest I enjoyed watching Wladimir Klitschko humiliate David Haye far, far, far more. Not because I thought it was a better fight but because I was so emotionally invested in wanting to see Klitschko win. I mean...How many times have we sat back and said - "if it was anybody other than Randy Couture in that fight the fans would turn on it"?