I feel MMA needs a massive change!

It's good to romanticise about Pride. But Pride paid big salaries to make the best fights in a spectacle of fighting. There will never be another organization like Pride again because the Pride extravagansa was unsustainable. Most MMA organizations are businesses now and they will continue to try and make money and entertain fans.
However, more and more guys are doing MMA at gyms and this will lead to more amateur competitions and small events. MMA will then slowly become a more structured martial art and less focused on making money.

 

We see the world in a similar light. :good

 

The future is bleak. When you have a sport where when you reach the "BIGTIME" means youd get paid $10k and your survival would depend on "No Fear" sponsoring you, there is no future.

You say its for the "love". Thats good and dandy much like Water Polo. It should be an Olympic sport then to at least give these athletes who push their bodies to the limit some chance at glory.

 

:good

The fact that more guys than ever before are training in the sport, and from younger ages, can only be a good thing for the long-range health of the sport. And young guys who are really ****ing good at wrestling or grappling can see MMA as a legitimate professional athletic career, with serious money to be made at the top levels of the sport.

How many talented 16, 17 year old kids are out there right now, training and dreaming and working towards being the next GSP or Anderson or Bones? More than were training and wanting to be the next Ken Shamrock or Chuck Liddell. And they're training for every aspect of the sport, right from the start. They won't need to learn how to transition and adapt their moves for the cage. :smoke

:hat

 

What?

How many college football guys are competing for a spot on an NFL roster? :blood

You reach the "BIGTIME" and get a spot as a starter instead of on the practice team, and there's good money on hand. For a half-dozen years maybe. But if you're not the elite of the elite, nobody gives a **** about you and you better hope you don't get a season-ending injury because your team will move on in two seconds. :good

:hat

 

Theres a minimum salary in the NFL. They have a great Union. There is the CFL while not as prestigious still pays well for 5 months work. And also a chance to showcase their skills to get back to the main dance. These College recruits probably gets more money and "gifts" than these $5k prelim fighters.

Again the point is if you do get to the big dance, you will get paid and there are more millionaires in one NFL team than in all of MMA. Not to mention that there is a developmental program in Football that is well organized and a true stepping stone for players who continues to pursue it.

The point is there is no comparison. Even ****ing Golf has a Nationwide tour, European Tour, Asian Tour where thousands of players compete and they still take home good money.

Also, the way this sport is so high impact, dont count on these 16 year olds to be injury free all the way. You may be able to name five sure fire prospects that are teenagers right now but I sure cant.

The problem is that the UFC is a pryramid scheme, a monopoly that does not have their "products" best interest at heart. What they want is to get as much money as possible (30 PPVs a year) and when the SHTF, who the **** cares? Sure aint Dana.

 

How rich do you get if you're not the elite of the elite and you get to play in the CFL for 5 months a year? :blood

If you get to the big dance in MMA you'll get paid as well. Lyoto Machida is a millionaire. Matt Serra is a millionaire. Joe Lauzon earns damned good money. You just gotta be one of the best at your craft. :good

How long have golf majors been played for? :blood

MMA was all but illegal in the Western world a decade ago. It's still in its infancy. Why would you expect it to be on equal footing with these sports that have been well established for generations?

I can't name five teenage prospects in any sport.

But there are plenty of Rory MacDonalds on the way. :good

You can say that, but the reality is that the UFC has made tremendous efforts to grow the sport internationally. More so than any other MMA company before it. Rather than stay in Las Vegas or even America for every event, they regularly incur huge costs to travel all around the world, bringing the sport to new countries and continents. How many Australian guys are training MMA in gyms right now? More than were ever training before the UFC started putting on regular shows in Sydney, I'll tell you that much. :good

:hat