I am a boxing fan at heart. But i have respect for the mma game. But there is one thing that worries me about the sport. His name is Dana White. I know UFC fans probably get this all the time but this guy is a joke. He picks fights with all sorts of people EA sports, Kimbo Slice( a person he discovered he could make money off of), and nameless others. He is outspoken and speaks his mind which is usually a quality I like but he seems to do it with a big head. With competing companies coming in like Strikeforce taking names like Fedor ,the supposedly best heavyweight out there, the UFC has legitimate competition now. But if Dana would have put ego's aside and would of co promoted with Fedor's company they could of had him and give UFC fans what they want. The best vs. the best. To sum this up Dana needs to realise he doesnt have a stranglehold on mma in America anymore. If he doesnt then im afraid bad decisions will come and will plague another good fighting sport. Corruption kills all.
Co-promoting with anyone makes absolutely no sense for the UFC business wise. That's the simple fact. If I were in Dana’s position I wouldn’t have done it either.
Thats the point im making. MMA fans talk of boxing corruption. But this is how it starts. When its business WAY before actually setting up fights people want to see.
The ones who own Fedor are more corrupt than some people in Boxing. The UFC stood there ground in that one and it was the best for the company. I'm probaly only afew of MMA fans who like Dana White. He just voices his opinions and answers questions the media ask him. Personally, I thought he was spot on about everything he said about Fedor and his tea,.
Boxing can do it. Why cant Dana? Of course if it doenst make economic sense then fair enough. But Dana and the UFC POINT BLANK refuse to work with ANYONE. And that includes other sanctioning bodies like WAMMA. Dana only allows Affliction marketing now that Affliction no longer hold events. While they were holding show's no fighter was allowed to wear Affliction clothing in the UFC. He done the same with EA. He refused to work with any of the other organisations like the WFA IFL PRIDE EliteXC but was more than happy to fight over their leftovers. Thats not a man interested in the health of MMA. Thats a man interested in his own product at ANY cost.
The problem is you are in a huge minority in this respect. UFC is years ahead of the other organizations in terms of marketability and fan exposure. I'd love to see someone give White and the UFC a run for their money. Competition is healthy and improves the product. I just don't see any other organization having the legs to do it right now.
The trouble is that's like saying McDonalds isn't interested in the health of the fast food industry because they don't promote and encourage Burger King's success. Right now, MMA organizations are entirely separate entities, and there is no interest for the UFC to act any different than any other private enterprise in promoting it's product, and attempting to crush the opposition. There's no doubt White loves MMA, but only if it feeds his success. And since UFC is so much more successful than these other organizations, he feels no urge to dilute the name of his product by associating it with anyone else like M-1. It's purely a capitalist decision.
Of that im more than aware. But if capitalism is pursued at the expense and health of the sport then his intentions are hardly noble other than to line his own pocket. For that alone he has no place berating Fedor when Fedor has done economically what is best for himself.
White's mindset is entirely different though. He thinks he deserves a monopoly on MMA because he resurrected the UFC from the brink of folding to being the premier organization in the sport. Let's face it, where would MMA be as a sport if White didn't turn the UFC around and make it the incredibly successful product that it is. To White, the UFC is MMA. He believes that by maintaining a monopoly, he is doing what's best for the sport.
MMA would be at the same place it is now around the world without the UFC. America just wouldnt be on board.
So you seriously think there would be some other organization making the amount of PPV dollars that the UFC generates?
