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With both Penn & Cro Cop retiring, am I the only one becoming a bit concerned with the UFC losing a lot of its star power? Couture, Hughes, Liddell, Cro Cop, Penn and I think it's likely to see Big Nog, Franklin, Ortiz & Wanderlei Silva retiring soon too...

Recent buyrates kind of prove that guys like Aldo & Edgar don't have the power to draw big crowds yet, so it's all about Lesnar, Anderson Silva & GSP now... (who all three have a current big and interesting opponent lined up). But that's only 3 guys with Jones & Velasquez potentially becoming big stars too. Still, I think we could see more Leben vs Munoz kind of main-events if this continues...

The Leben Munoz main event is only because its a free tv show and abroad, therefore they are not going to throw away money bouts on free tv. That said, it has the potential to be a massive slug fest.

Also, the drawing power fo the likes of Hughes and Cro Cop has not been the same for years, the UFC will survive and pick up the odd huge buy rate, but generally, they will maintain their steady 300K for the time being. That being said there is the possibility of some stars building up. Diaz and Cerrone are both fighters with intrigue who can build reputations, there are still the likes of Phil Davis and a whole bunch of featherweight/lightweight fighters on the cusp of something big, there are also still fighters like Bisping and Miller. With a fairly stacked Light Heavyweight division (Rua, Machida, Rashad, et al) and some decent names at welterweight (Kos and Fitch) there are still plenty of money fights out there, plus time to build up some other guys, Mitrione and Barry have got a level of interest and they came out of no where. Still plenty of time before all the big draws disappear, and it only takes a fighter 2/3 fights in a year to catch fans imagination.

I wouldn't worry too much, given UFC global expansion that appears to be gaining even more speed.

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Cerrone versus Nate Diaz for 141 co-main event, Mendes versus Aldo for the next Brazil trip had apparently been booked.

Cerrone versus Diaz is gonna' be fucking awesome. Can't wait for 141.

Jesus, after Cerrones performance against Charles Olieveria and Dennis Siver and Diaz' win over Takanori Gomi, this fight is going to be crazy.

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I was a bit apprenhensive of him first, only seen a few fights of his in the WEC and, honestly, his first two UFC fights were a bit lackluster but it seems he is going on a roll now. Although I was a bit sad when he KO'ed my boy Dennis Siver. :( I so badly want to see more spinning liver kick KO's in the UFC.

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I was a bit apprenhensive of him first, only seen a few fights of his in the WEC and, honestly, his first two UFC fights were a bit lackluster but it seems he is going on a roll now. Although I was a bit sad when he KO'ed my boy Dennis Siver. :( I so badly want to see more spinning liver kick KO's in the UFC.

Then you will love the Cung Le fight coming up..

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Guest mr. potato head

Vitor Belfort vs. Anthony Johnson also apparently on the Brazil show.

And UFC buyrates being down is more because of way too many shows (and possibly piracy depending how much credibility you give that theory), not because of guys who haven't moved the buyrate needle in years retiring.

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A lot of people are blaming the 9pm start times for dropping buyrates too. There were a couple bars around me who stopped showing PPVs because they interfered with the dinner/family crowd and as a result less people were going out to those locations to watch UFC. I can only imagine how awkward it must have been on the west coast with a 6pm start time.

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I was a bit apprenhensive of him first, only seen a few fights of his in the WEC and, honestly, his first two UFC fights were a bit lackluster but it seems he is going on a roll now. Although I was a bit sad when he KO'ed my boy Dennis Siver. :( I so badly want to see more spinning liver kick KO's in the UFC.

Then you will love the Cung Le fight coming up..

I've seen plenty of Cung Le to know that he isn't worth much these days. Then again, he is facing old-man Silva so it might make for a fun, all-out nostalgia fight. Besides that, neither man are really good for much else nowadays.

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I think Nate will lose. I like him a great deal and for a long time preferred him to Nick, but he reminds me of someone who is emulating someone else's style when it doesn't work as successfully for them. 155 is the right weight class for Nate, but I think Cerrone is the wrong fighter.

The build up should be immense as both have a mouth on them the size of the grand canyon. But I think Nate will fight Cerrone's game rather than vice versa and will end up paying for it.

I don't know what the go is with falling buy-rates. My guess would be it's likely due to overexposure though. I can see Dana utilising Fox more to draw in potential viewers by using guys who can't main event a PPV, building them up and then having them on PPV. Basically a PPV under-card headlined by a relevant fight.

I'd consider myself a big MMA fan. I watch every UFC PPV and watch TUF at the end of each series (I like to marathon them). But I forget the names of the lower guys, then when they are walking out suddenly think, 'oh that guy, I love that guy' I then promptly forget their name. The UFC is arguably too deep. Previously there were like 2-3 guys fighting for the belt and 2-3 below them fighting to get to that level and 2-3 guys starting their push. Now it's 4-5 guys on top, 7-8 guys below and 10 just starting out.

It's hard to get them all on the show and it's hard for fans to remember who the fuck they all are. I'm even forgetting fights that have happened and were relevant because it all starts to bleed together.

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I have it the exact same way. Although I can't stay away from TUF for a whole season to marathon it. :shifty:

But yeah, the UFC is very deep at the moment but I don't think that is a drawback. As previously said, many of the bigger stars are on the verge of retiring or just don't have the same drawing power as they once had and then UFC needs something else to draw fans in with, and that is that they are THE biggest MMA company in the world. Plus, with a deeper roster comes the potential for building up many fighters at once and, as I see it, that is what they are doing now.

But yeah, even though I've seen a whole bunch of MMA over the years (M-1, BAMMA, Cage Warriors, DREAM, Shark Fights and a whole bunch of Strikeforce), I still can't get around all the names and whatnot.

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I have it the exact same way. Although I can't stay away from TUF for a whole season to marathon it. :shifty:

But yeah, the UFC is very deep at the moment but I don't think that is a drawback. As previously said, many of the bigger stars are on the verge of retiring or just don't have the same drawing power as they once had and then UFC needs something else to draw fans in with, and that is that they are THE biggest MMA company in the world. Plus, with a deeper roster comes the potential for building up many fighters at once and, as I see it, that is what they are doing now.

But yeah, even though I've seen a whole bunch of MMA over the years (M-1, BAMMA, Cage Warriors, DREAM, Shark Fights and a whole bunch of Strikeforce), I still can't get around all the names and whatnot.

There are definitely some small name fighters out there to look out for. Top of my list are Jordan Mein in Strikeforce, Rory MacDonald in the welterweight division, Charles Oliveira in the Lightweight, and Renan Barao in the bantamweight. The latter is coincidently in the Co-Main Event this weekend at UFC 138 (where Gazz and I will be), he will be facing Brad Pickett in what I think is going to be an absolutely brilliant fight.

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Uh, Rory MacDonald is awesome. I was so rooting for him against Carlos Condit.

Also, on the note of Condit, with him stepping aside to allow the Nick Diaz vs GSP fight to happen, he is likely to have a match on the undercard which will set him up for the next fight, I have heard rumour of him vs Jake Ellenberger in a number one contendership fight. Now that makes a hell of a fight and I am definitely feeling that the winner will deserve a shot at who ever is the champion at 170.

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A lot of people are blaming the 9pm start times for dropping buyrates too. There were a couple bars around me who stopped showing PPVs because they interfered with the dinner/family crowd and as a result less people were going out to those locations to watch UFC. I can only imagine how awkward it must have been on the west coast with a 6pm start time.

Luckily for you, UFC are going back to 10pm ET, starting with I believe UFC 140.

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A lot of people are blaming the 9pm start times for dropping buyrates too. There were a couple bars around me who stopped showing PPVs because they interfered with the dinner/family crowd and as a result less people were going out to those locations to watch UFC. I can only imagine how awkward it must have been on the west coast with a 6pm start time.

Luckily for you, UFC are going back to 10pm ET, starting with I believe UFC 140.

UFC 141, the Lesnar/Overeem card.

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A lot of people are blaming the 9pm start times for dropping buyrates too. There were a couple bars around me who stopped showing PPVs because they interfered with the dinner/family crowd and as a result less people were going out to those locations to watch UFC. I can only imagine how awkward it must have been on the west coast with a 6pm start time.

Luckily for you, UFC are going back to 10pm ET, starting with I believe UFC 140.

I knew this. And yes, it's 141.

We'll know how valid this opinion is in a couple of months.

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