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The Natural

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15 hours ago, lambyUK said:

I completely agree. Diaz getting a title shot with his record is insane, but i think we need it sadly.

This year has been pretty fucking dire so far and we need a huge fight asap. 

I've seen a good few decent fights this year mate, not sure why you'd think they'd been dire?

We've seen Woodley vs Thompson, DC vs Rumble, Stipe vs JDS, DC vs Jones, and those are just the title fights.

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Quality-wise, it's been a good year, overall. The start of the year was a bit ropey, fair enough, but that's because they blew through all available top matches on super loaded cards last year and injuries/retirements/boxing etc.

Dire, in terms of PPV drawing, sure, but that's not really something that hurts my enjoyment of the product.

Lawler and GSP returned this year. I can't be hating that.

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14 minutes ago, ColinBollocks said:

Quality-wise, it's been a good year, overall. The start of the year was a bit ropey, fair enough, but that's because they blew through all available top matches on super loaded cards last year and injuries/retirements/boxing etc.

Dire, in terms of PPV drawing, sure, but that's not really something that hurts my enjoyment of the product.

Lawler and GSP returned this year. I can't be hating that.

I think that's what confuses me when it comes to some fans of MMA. Why does it matter how much money that the company and Dana White pocket from big fights? A lot of the time I see the sport discussed as though we were shareholders or something, rather than fans who are supposed to want to see good fights, and to see the best guys fight for the titles.

It's like the Diaz/McGregor thing, where someone will react negatively to it only to be informed that it's all about getting those PPV buys, or Conor making even more fucking money than he already has.

Well, not to me it isn't. I couldn't give a fuck if a group of wealthy white men can afford yet another Rolls Royce or private jet. I don't care if Conor adds another million to his already ridiculous bank account.

I'm a fan, and I want to see the champions (who are supposed to be the best fighters in the division) face the most worthy challengers. The time when we take that out of the equation and make the belts nothing more than props for top draws to use as they see fit is the day the UFC essentially becomes WWE.

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What's happening with the Superboy? He was meant to fight on 214 but pulled out injured but I've heard nothing about him since. Shame because, despite losing, he was riding some momentum after that scorcher against Cub Swanson last year. Same with Zombie actually. Came back from a massive layoff and crushed a top 145er in Bermudez inside a round, then he's back on the bench. The Koreans have no luck in MMA. 

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24 minutes ago, David said:

I think that's what confuses me when it comes to some fans of MMA. Why does it matter how much money that the company and Dana White pocket from big fights? A lot of the time I see the sport discussed as though we were shareholders or something, rather than fans who are supposed to want to see good fights, and to see the best guys fight for the titles.

It's like the Diaz/McGregor thing, where someone will react negatively to it only to be informed that it's all about getting those PPV buys, or Conor making even more fucking money than he already has.

Well, not to me it isn't. I couldn't give a fuck if a group of wealthy white men can afford yet another Rolls Royce or private jet. I don't care if Conor adds another million to his already ridiculous bank account.

I'm a fan, and I want to see the champions (who are supposed to be the best fighters in the division) face the most worthy challengers. The time when we take that out of the equation and make the belts nothing more than props for top draws to use as they see fit is the day the UFC essentially becomes WWE.

I guess, for some, if you're a bit of a casual fan, you're really only into the big fights with the big personalities? From that POV, those fans have definitely been underwhelmed, hence the lower PPV buys and ratings.

Personally, I want the big fights too (and I'm into the idea of my favourite fighters getting big money - yo, Bisping/GSP), but Tony Ferguson v Kevin Lee makes me just as hard, even if it does less than 250k.

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45 minutes ago, David said:

I think that's what confuses me when it comes to some fans of MMA. Why does it matter how much money that the company and Dana White pocket from big fights? A lot of the time I see the sport discussed as though we were shareholders or something, rather than fans who are supposed to want to see good fights, and to see the best guys fight for the titles.

 

Is it to do with this being a wrestling board?  Ratings and buys are a big part of that world and primarily, this forum is based upon wrestling.  I wonder if say a football forum has an MMA section, would buys and ratings feature in the conversation there?

It's the classic difference between sport and sports entertainment, for wrestling fans, those lines seem to blur sometimes.

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8 minutes ago, Keith Houchen said:

Is it to do with this being a wrestling board?  Ratings and buys are a big part of that world and primarily, this forum is based upon wrestling.  I wonder if say a football forum has an MMA section, would buys and ratings feature in the conversation there?

It's the classic difference between sport and sports entertainment, for wrestling fans, those lines seem to blur sometimes.

You could be right I guess. 

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It's also worth noting, while one is legit and the other not, the UFC business model isn't/wasn't too different from WWE's - so maybe it's why it's the case also. The UFC still rely heavily on drawing PPV buys, so if you have more than a fleeting interest in the sport, it's an interesting side story seeing how well they are doing. This year and onwards is particularly interesting and important because of the repayments by the new owners and their sketchy match making to pay it.

Also, if you watch something like The MMA Hour or MMA Beat, Helwani is forever bringing it up. Basically, it's not just one thing.

Although, as discussed, I don't get why it would hamper a good year of fights, like this.

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To me, the casual fan range is someone who calls the sport UFC to someone who'll watch another promotion if it's on, I remember practically everyone I've worked with who said they watch the UFC had/have no idea who Helwani is.  They watch the shows and don't give a toss about the business side of things.

To go back to the wrestling fan perspective of MMA, and this is just an opinion,  there are those wrestling fans who like to be "Smart" and never want to be "Worked", so part and parcel of the fandom of wrestling is to think they're wise to the business and how the business works.  You know, telling Vince where he is going wrong and how their booking is better etc. That element seems to crossover to MMA/UFC

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6 hours ago, David said:

I've seen a good few decent fights this year mate, not sure why you'd think they'd been dire?

We've seen Woodley vs Thompson, DC vs Rumble, Stipe vs JDS, DC vs Jones, and those are just the title fights.

I dont mean in terms of quality fights, but from a business perspective for the ufc its been terrible.

We've had Mcgregor out the entire year, relentless main event drop outs, Jones fucking up again big style, Rousey basically retiring, divisions in limbo (middleweight, lightweight, heavyweight with Miocic's contract issues, Bantamweight on hold the drop out of the original Cody/TJ, A womans featherweight big style fuck up with that first title fight etc etc).

I just feel like we've had a stagnant year when it comes both blockbuster fights but also from the perspective of each division successfully evolving. 

To answer your question regarding being interested in buy rates etc, its an easy one for me. If the sport isnt making money then that could have a long term impact on the sport. The more money thats generated the more it safeguards the future of the sport.

God knows what the future holds for the ufc if it continues the way this year has been from a business perspective. The new owners have an ungodly amount of debt to pay and the ufc needs to be making big sums of cash year in year out.

 

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48 minutes ago, lambyUK said:

To answer your question regarding being interested in buy rates etc, its an easy one for me. If the sport isnt making money then that could have a long term impact on the sport. The more money thats generated the more it safeguards the future of the sport.

 

It safeguards a company, not a sport.  MMA will continue if UFC go under.  If/when the football money bubble bursts, football will still carry on.

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I completely get Lamby's point in the quoted bit there. It's logical if you're a fan of MMA that you might take an interest in the business of it. But it's when people act like cards are shit and stuff if they haven't got fights that are going to be money spinners that I don't get. I understand someone going 'I think Fighter A vs Fighter B might be next because it's going to draw big'. That's just understanding how the UFC operates. But it baffles me when you see comments like 'I want Fighter A vs Fighter B next because it'll draw'. Makes no sense. McGregor vs Diaz 3 for example, I'd like to see it at some point because it'll no doubt be another great fight and will settle the trilogy. The fact it'll rake in money for the UFC is great for them but it makes zero odds to me wanting to see the fight. I just want to see those two fight. A bit of the who draws and buyrates stuff is interesting enough and I keep tabs on all that to an extent. But sometimes it seems like people get overly fixated on that stuff to the point it seems to have become the focal point and they'd be happier to just watch the two fighters get in the cage, show their payslip to the camera then fuck off again. 

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