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The Apex - It's Here to Stay!


David

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1 hour ago, wandshogun09 said:

aint nobody’s arguing that the company doesn’t care and that the company makes money. But that’s nothing to do with us as spectators. We’re not sitting in on board meetings or gaining or losing a single penny from their decisions either way so why give a fuck about the financials? Seriously, that talk is even more dull than the Apex cards themselves. We can understand why they do these cards and still call a weak card a weak card when it’s a weak card. MMA is a spectator sport and a crowd can add to even a nothing fight. MMA with no fans is just jarring and joyless. I got it during the lockdown days because it’s the only way they could run shows. Now it’s just greed and laziness.

This is your worst look yet David. It was bad enough when you were saying positive things about Colby Covington. But this is the worst, this Apex shit. 

 

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15 minutes ago, David said:

Who said there was an issue with calling it a shite card?

You already knew what everyone’s opinion was on the Apex when you created this thread. From the opening paragraph of the opening post…

On 4/27/2023 at 3:14 PM, David said:

It seems every time a fight card is announced for the Apex it sends people into a right tizzy. I'm not all that sure why, really.

We’re getting into “a right tizzy” for calling these cards what they are apparently. What do you want us to say? People already know why the UFC are persisting with these cards but the boring business aspect of it and how many more dollars go into Dana’s coffers makes no difference to me when I’m sat with the remote in my hand on the Sunday morning after one of these cards. Apex cards are gonna continue to receive the contempt they deserve unless there’s actually a good one. 

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I remember posting a question about this some years ago. It struck me at the time that there would probably be a need, with all the fighters they have, to "move the scene on", i.e. generate not just content but also stats from the lower fighters, for the purpose of getting the prospects into range of the top contenders' list - however, these fights would not be of interest to anyone but the most hardcore of fans, so they'd have to occur on some low-level production. But, seeing as the UFC doesn't do "house shows", it'd have to be broadcastable as well.

IIRC, the response was that that was what Fight Nights were for. I would venture to guess, therefore, that the UFC has, several years on from that point, now got such a bloated roster, it has to generate a whole new lower level of programme below Fight Nights; I suppose these would be the equivalent of smaller hall boxing events?

The thing I do find a bit odd about it is that surely there's no real need for it? Before the Apex cards, the UFC was just content to let fighters build up their records and polish their skills on the regional/independent circuit, so what's in the way of them just releasing fighters with unimpressive records, with the understanding that they could earn their ways back into the big leagues, and limiting how many fighters they sign?

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The main issue here is the presentation. As poor as some Apex cards are, if you stuck them in small arenas in front a couple of thousand noisy fans it would just elevate them significantly in every way from a viewer standpoint.

 

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56 minutes ago, Carbomb said:

 

The thing I do find a bit odd about it is that surely there's no real need for it? Before the Apex cards, the UFC was just content to let fighters build up their records and polish their skills on the regional/independent circuit, so what's in the way of them just releasing fighters with unimpressive records, with the understanding that they could earn their ways back into the big leagues, and limiting how many fighters they sign?

They need content for TV deals and for the Fight Pass subscribers. These cards (and the Contenders series for that matter) must cost next to nothing to produce.

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On 5/3/2023 at 2:04 PM, wandshogun09 said:

You already knew what everyone’s opinion was on the Apex when you created this thread. From the opening paragraph of the opening post…

We’re getting into “a right tizzy” for calling these cards what they are apparently. What do you want us to say? People already know why the UFC are persisting with these cards but the boring business aspect of it and how many more dollars go into Dana’s coffers makes no difference to me when I’m sat with the remote in my hand on the Sunday morning after one of these cards. Apex cards are gonna continue to receive the contempt they deserve unless there’s actually a good one. 

Yes, but I'm not being critical of anyone for saying the cards for these Apex events are piss poor, because they are. I admitted that I don't watch them for the most part. What I was pointing out is the reasoning behind the Apex being used for these events.

Again, can you imagine if they'd actually went into a live arena in an American city with that card last weekend? I'm no accountant, but for me that's going down a s a big ol' loss financially.

My argument in favour of the Apex is basically that the roster is that bloated that they will have cards that are simply too lacking in known names to actually make a paying audience and the cost that comes with that worthwhile. 

The Apex cards are essentially contender style cards with a couple of mid-level guys main eventing most of the time. 

As for your last sentence about the Apex cards receiving contempt until they actually do a good one, you'll be waiting a long time then, because the Apex is specifically used for cards that aren't good enough to draw a crowd. As we've seen with half-decent fight night cards, if there's money to made from them they're in an arena.

On 5/3/2023 at 2:13 PM, Carbomb said:

The thing I do find a bit odd about it is that surely there's no real need for it? Before the Apex cards, the UFC was just content to let fighters build up their records and polish their skills on the regional/independent circuit, so what's in the way of them just releasing fighters with unimpressive records, with the understanding that they could earn their ways back into the big leagues, and limiting how many fighters they sign?

It's quite simple. A guy (or girl) who builds up a good record on the independent circuit could do one of two things.

1. Ask for more money than he would if he got a UFC contract earlier on. Early in their career they're more than happy to just be at "the show." Having a regional title and some decent names on their record can bump up their expected asking price I'd reckon.

2. Attract the attention of other fight leagues. The quicker the UFC ties them down, the less chance of Bellator etc snapping them up.

They'd rather snap up all the potential talent, and then release about 75% of it that isn't good enough, rather than waiting to see if someone is half decent before signing them. 

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On 5/3/2023 at 2:59 PM, Egg Shen said:

The main issue here is the presentation. As poor as some Apex cards are, if you stuck them in small arenas in front a couple of thousand noisy fans it would just elevate them significantly in every way from a viewer standpoint.

*sigh*

Doing that would involve renting said arena, paying the associated costs with hiring security staff, catering, licensing, fighter hotels, paying for commission involvement, flying out their own television crews and producers and so forth.

All of that before they even pay fighters.

Do you think the ticket revenue from "a couple of thousand fans" would cover those costs? Noise doesn't pay the bills. 

The Apex allows them to do it all in-house, in their home city, where they have costs kept to a minimum. 

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David, you seem to be missing what we are saying here. Why the UFC are running the Apex isn't in question, we are purely talking from the standpoint of fans of the sport who watch the events on TV, we could give two fucks about the finances it costs to run a show.

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On 5/5/2023 at 3:38 PM, Egg Shen said:

David, you seem to be missing what we are saying here. Why the UFC are running the Apex isn't in question, we are purely talking from the standpoint of fans of the sport who watch the events on TV, we could give two fucks about the finances it costs to run a show.

And the UFC couldn't give two fucks about the fans you're talking about. They care about the fans who buy the PPV shows, buy tickets to the big events and spend money on merchandise. The Fight Night stuff on ESPN is just fodder. The company is already being paid for those shows.

They'll put a show in an arena if they think it'll sell and make them a profit. If they have to fill it with no-names who are just making their way in the sport they'll stick it in the Apex to keep costs down.

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