Dai Posted March 6 Posted March 6 35 minutes ago, Carbomb said: What exactly happened with Ngannou, though? Was it him refusing matches, or did they simply not book the matches for him? Possibly both I think? Didn't Francis' one and only PFL appearance bomb massively? Think it didn't draw anything. Since that, it was probably a case of PFL not exactly dribbling at the prospect of having to pay Francis again for a show that was guaranteed to lose millions, and probably a sense that Francis has checked out of fighting after the boxing money he made. Quote
Paid Members Carbomb Posted March 6 Paid Members Posted March 6 Sounds like a bit of a lack of imagination on their part, to be frank. Their job is to promote, and come up with things to promote, for the disproportionate amounts of money they make off fighters. Not saying I'm some great promoter or anything, but the first thing that comes to mind in this age of celebrity shit-boxing is that PFL should've taken the Scott Coker approach, and maybe set up a rematch for Ngannou/AJ or Ngannou/Fury in an MMA bout. AJ in particular has had a ton of good press recently since turning Jake Paul's jaw to dust, and there are lots of women and gays thirsting over him right now; I daresay a revenge match promoted with Ngannou, just for the freakshow factor alone, might have generated interest. Or maybe they tried and it didn't come off. Quote
Dai Posted March 6 Posted March 6 Speaking of the freak shows, depending on the ratings the upcoming Ronda/Gina fight gets, maybe it will be Netflix where Francis ends up doing some freak fights. Could bring Bob Sapp out of retirement. Quote
Paid Members Carbomb Posted March 6 Paid Members Posted March 6 13 minutes ago, Dai said: Speaking of the freak shows, depending on the ratings the upcoming Ronda/Gina fight gets, maybe it will be Netflix where Francis ends up doing some freak fights. Could bring Bob Sapp out of retirement. Ah, man - I don't wanna see that. Sapp was done twenty years ago, and he seems like a good guy. But get a car-crash like Derek Chisora in, or a mentalist like Deontay Wilder, and I think they'd be cooking. Besides, boxers rarely want to go the other direction - I get that it's because the money's not as good, but for guys who are in their twilight but can still move the needle, it might be worth a punt. Not to flip-flop, but it can't just be freakshow fights; maybe get someone like Phil de Fries in to bring some legitimacy too? Quote
Paid Members wandshogun09 Posted March 6 Paid Members Posted March 6 Yeah. For all the UFC return talk, I can definitely see Francis ending up on Netflix MMA cards. Wouldn’t even rule out the possibility of him getting on that Rousey vs Carano card yet. I know May is just around the corner but it wouldn’t shock me if they fed him some old MMA name with no hope and no chin. Not Bob Sapp though please. Quote
Paid Members Egg Shen Posted March 7 Author Paid Members Posted March 7 16 hours ago, Carbomb said: PFL should've taken the Scott Coker approach, and maybe set up a rematch for Ngannou/AJ or Ngannou/Fury in an MMA bout. 🥴 Quote
Paid Members wandshogun09 Posted April 1 Paid Members Posted April 1 Given today’s date I’m pretty sure Frank’s fucking about here but with Jake Paul you never know. Quote
jimufctna24 Posted April 22 Posted April 22 (edited) Random thought. How much of the UFC's decline in recent years can be attributed to Joe Silva's retirement? Silva was the UFC's booker and fighter contract manager throughout the 2000s and much of the 2010s. It's been written by Jon Snowden and others that Silva was a walking encyclopedia of the sport, who used other gifted combat sport nerds such as Jordan Breen as sounding boards. He typically matched fighters hard, and negotiated with them and their managers even harder. Silva was also apparently responsible for creating the TUF concept, which played a key role in the company breaking the mainstream in the US. In short, Silva was probably more responsible than anyone else for the UFC product's growth in terms of profit, quality, and fame from 2001 onwards. There have been, of course, numerous other reasons for the declining quality of the UFC product. For example, low fighter pay is now clearly hindering the quality of the North American talent that enters the sport, especially in the heavier divisions where talent is sparse anyway. For example, only a month or so ago, a NCAA wrestler posted on Twitter that he and similar athletes have opted against pursuing a career in MMA due to relatively low fighter pay. However, surely losing a figure who was so pivotal to the organisation's growth and success will not have helped the quality of the UFC's product. Do the current matchmakers have the knowledge, innovation, ruthlessness and passion that Silva had? Even if they do possess these attributes, can they fully put them to use with how today's UFC is structured? Regardless, I do think the UFC lost something when the cynical yet smiley nerd, burned out after years of being overworked but by that point a very rich man, decided to retire. Edited April 22 by jimufctna24 Quote
Cousin Jim Bob Posted April 23 Posted April 23 20 hours ago, jimufctna24 said: There have been, of course, numerous other reasons for the declining quality of the UFC product. For example, low fighter pay is now clearly hindering the quality of the North American talent that enters the sport, especially in the heavier divisions where talent is sparse anyway. For example, only a month or so ago, a NCAA wrestler posted on Twitter that he and similar athletes have opted against pursuing a career in MMA due to relatively low fighter pay. That is interesting and pretty smart. I'd imagine if you were a top athlete coming out of college, then getting a regular job as a wrestling coach, or something like a personal trainer provides better job security and pay. Better than trying to fight your way into the UFC for years, then trying to fight your way up the card to get to one of the few spots making good pay. Plus your not getting your brain bashed in for a living. Quote
Paid Members Egg Shen Posted April 24 Author Paid Members Posted April 24 Yeah, there are far more lucrative way for massive athletes to make a living. That's why MMA gets left with all the fat boys. Quote
jimufctna24 Posted April 24 Posted April 24 (edited) 2 hours ago, Egg Shen said: Yeah, there are far more lucrative way for massive athletes to make a living. That's why MMA gets left with all the fat boys. Indeed, the dude with the most potential to become the best US MMA heavyweight in history is probably competing in the NBA or NFL and earning millions. Or, as Cousin Jim Bob, earning a very good living either coaching or training. And the talent pool is naturally much smaller for the higher weight classes anyway, as relatively few people have the height and frame to be heavier weight fighters, especially in the days of weight cutting where even massive fuckers can cut to 185lbs. Edited April 24 by jimufctna24 Quote
Paid Members wandshogun09 Posted April 27 Paid Members Posted April 27 (edited) According to Helwani, the UFC are currently moving towards Conor McGregor vs Max Holloway 2 headlining UFC 329 in July. And Islam Makhachev vs Ian Garry for the Welterweight title headlining UFC 330 in August. You’d be mad not to be sceptical that McGregor actually ends up fighting, and I reached the point a long time ago when I stopped giving a shit about him. But if the fight happens, Max is gonna do bad things to that rapist. 38 years old, out of the cage for five years, hasn’t won a fight in over six years, hasn’t fought since his leg imploded and has spent the last however many years ravaging himself with the finest cocaine and booze a multi-millionaire can buy. I’ve got no desire to ever see him fight again but if it happens, and it’s a big if, the positive is at least Max is getting back in the win column in a high profile fight. Happy for him at least. Ideal bounce back from that loss to Oliveira. I don’t mind Makhachev vs Garry but something about it is lacking to me. Think it’s just that Garry isn’t much fun to watch. Interesting fight though. Still not 100% sure about Makhachev at 170. He looked great against Maddalena but, with hindsight, it was a bit of a favourable style matchup because of Maddalena’s dodgy takedown defence. Garry is probably gonna be trickier. Bigger, lankier, not as easy to take down etc. Edited April 27 by wandshogun09 Quote
jimufctna24 Posted April 27 Posted April 27 (edited) I've had theory for years that Holloway was the fighter to beat McGregor at 145lbs. On paper, a rangy high-volume striker with an iron chin and great stamina would have been a dreadful match-up for McGregor, even the featherweight version, which I still rate very highly despite loathing him nowadays. In 2026, I would still pick Holloway to win, but it's not a fight that interests me. Similar to what Wand typed above, I have no interest in anything McGregor related nowadays. Edited April 27 by jimufctna24 Quote
Paid Members wandshogun09 Posted April 27 Paid Members Posted April 27 (edited) Oh yeah, meant to say, Helwani also reckons Gable Steveson’s debut and Paddy Pimblett vs Benoit Saint Denis are being lined up for that July card as well. Paddy vs BSD is one of the worst kept secrets going, both have all but confirmed it without actually confirming it. Don’t know why the UFC don’t just announce that one. Fuck me though. If Helwani’s info turns out to be correct McGregor, Paddy and Gable all being on the same card is gonna make 329 an all timer hate watch for me. Edited April 27 by wandshogun09 Quote
Paid Members Egg Shen Posted April 28 Author Paid Members Posted April 28 10 hours ago, jimufctna24 said: I've had theory for years that Holloway was the fighter to beat McGregor at 145lbs. On paper, a rangy high-volume striker with an iron chin and great stamina would have been a dreadful match-up for McGregor Well, he did have a crack at him. I know Holloway was a baby at that point, but that's a fan McGregor fans will cling too as a defining win. Quote
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.