Maybe it's just me, but there doesn't seem to be enough new talent to keep things going at the level it had been at.
It's been getting more and more over-saturated by the year..... Between women's MMA, the freakshows, injuries and controversies that have sidelined indefinitely as well as retiring of many stars - The whole thing has suffered for a while.
I think the novelty of the sport among casuals has worn off. It's no secret that average PPV numbers have been in the tank for several years. It also doesn't help that a pervasive culture of entitlement has been instilled in these younger generation of fighters who think they can just talk crap to get a title shot. There aren't many true warriors left in this sport, mostly sissy primadonnas looking for internet fame.
Yup the Fertittas looking smarter by the day selling while companys worth was at its highest. Action looks to be picking up tho with some big fights in next couple of months hopefully makes up for slow start to year
I kind of dip in and out of UFC / MMA, so I'm still in the process of learning who a lot of the current fighters are; but when I read the sentence in your above post, which I highlighted, I immediately fought of Mike Perry. I know he hasn't had a title shot yet and has lost his last two fights, but the guy just comes across as such a tool due to some of the things he says, and seems to be one of those guys who says cringy or offensive stuff just to create buzz around himself which he hopes will see him manoeuvred into title fights or high-profile fights (like when he called out Robbie Lawler a while back).
They definitely wanted him to succeed as well. But he got exposed even before they could push him efficiently, I knew Jouban was all wrong for him and would take him to school. All you need is basic boxing - kickboxing and some range control and he's incredibly easy to deal with. The guy will never be a top 15 fighter fortunately and with the way he fights won't last long in the UFC.
Is this a widespread problem within UFC, that they match some people too tough too soon? Or is it sometimes the case that they try and build a guy who is making waves and getting lots of media attention, and that fighter's push just doesn't materialise as planned? (The way you worded that sentence suggests UFC had big plans for Perry moving forward, maybe even that Lawler fight, but he wasn't up to it). It does seem to me that fighters who aren't necessarily ready (or indeed able) to take that step up and compete with a top 10 or top 15 in their division all too often end up being matched in these types of fights way too soon in their UFC development, and wind up being chewed up and spat out down the line. I read about one guy (I think it was Yair Rodriguez) who had a string of wins, a few highlight-reel KO's, was building a good following off the back of his performances and highlight reels, and then got a big fight way too soon (against a fighter who was all wrong for him, from what I've read and gleaned), lost that fight, and was cut apparently for turning down a proposed fight. I get that fighters need to be given realistic steps up and 50-50 tests as they develop, and that you can't really have a Deontay Wilder-like situation in UFC whereby people just cherry-pick their way to 20-0 without fighting anyone in the top 15 of their division; but at the same time, it doesn't seem good from a business standpoint to match fighters overly tough too, before they get that fight seasoning / experience and before they can be allowed to organically grow their fanbase and be efficiently fashioned into fighters who will eventually draw money for the UFC.
Yeah they really have no clue on how to BUILD talent, although they do allow it with some fighters that they're pushing like Sage Northcutt. Rodriguez definitely got treated a bit unfairly, he got pushed too fast by being fed to Edgar and then wanted to take a step down for a while as they tried to put him in with top guys again. Mike Perry just wasn't very good.
That sucks that some are allowed more time to develop, whereas others just get thrown in deep too soon and are expected to float. How does the matchmaking process operate in UFC? (Presumably as a standalone promotional company, they have their in-house matchmakers). Is it a case like with Yair Rodriguez, whereby guys are told who they'll be fighting and when, and because those fighters are under contract to UFC they are just expected to be cool with it?
In most cases the matchmaker probably decides, but if they're trying to push someone there's probably a little more to the process I'd imagine. Sage Northcutt was exposed badly in two separate fights and they're letting him develop. I don't know what they see in this kid..... His good surfer looks? He's a good athlete but he's simply not cut out to be a fighter at any real level.
