***spoilers*** UFC News and Discussion Thread

[JasonM]

That's some encouraging news. Whilst I'm sure it hurts like a bitch hopefully it'one of those clean breaks that looks horrific but isn't as difficult to rehab as a ligament or tendon injury.

As far as the women go, I think the UFC have themselves to blame for it not taking off very quickly. They should have put more of the Women's fights that have been prelims on main Fox Sports cards, Sara McMann vs. Sheila Gaff for example was on the prelims for UFC 159, why not save it for a slot on a proper televised card that more people are likely to watch? McMann is now headlining a UFC PPV and not a single casual fan knows who she is.

Liz Carmouche was an unknown too, and they hyped it up tenfold and made her look like a massive deal. Tate lost to Rousey before and against Zingano, and they hyped that fight massively and quite honestly would have been able to headline a card.

Rousey Vs. McMann will sell regardless because the UFC hype machine is the best hype machine there is and they can make anyone look like a big deal, they could throw a homeless man against Mark Hunt and they can make it feel like the Homeless man can KO Hunt.

And like has been said before, Rousey is the biggest heel in the UFC right now. She is a massive bitch and she knows that being a bitch sells her fights and make people want to see her get her ass beat. She dominated Tate, but the crowd was still actively cheering Tate until after the actual finish.

I agree that they can certainly do more effort to make the other women fighters more popular, but as long as Rousey is the champ she is going to sell fights regardless of who she faces.

And now to Anderson, that injury is just nasty in every sense of the word. And if this is it for Silva this would be a tragic end to a legendary career. And I really don't know what Silva still has to prove in the division, and like others have said he isn't the same Silva that was unstoppable and I don't see him being able to hang at the top if he returns.

[Your Mom]

I just saw the highlights and Ronda refused to shake hands after she won? Man fuck you bitch. Hate you!

[Baddar]

I think she said Tate had made comments about her family, so although she respects her, she couldn't shake her hand.

[Rich]

That's some encouraging news. Whilst I'm sure it hurts like a bitch hopefully it'one of those clean breaks that looks horrific but isn't as difficult to rehab as a ligament or tendon injury.

As far as the women go, I think the UFC have themselves to blame for it not taking off very quickly. They should have put more of the Women's fights that have been prelims on main Fox Sports cards, Sara McMann vs. Sheila Gaff for example was on the prelims for UFC 159, why not save it for a slot on a proper televised card that more people are likely to watch? McMann is now headlining a UFC PPV and not a single casual fan knows who she is.

And like has been said before, Rousey is the biggest heel in the UFC right now. She is a massive bitch and she knows that being a bitch sells her fights and make people want to see her get her ass beat.

I really don't think Ronda believes she is being a bitch and therefore she knows that it is what is maybe what is selling her fights, I don't think she really cares what the publlic think as long as she gets to do what she wants. I think its just what you see is what you get with her, I actually think that Ronda is very naive about her image and could well do with tightening up her PR as it could lose her money in the future if she is seen to not have the right image for product endorsements, movie roles, etc...

I just saw the highlights and Ronda refused to shake hands after she won? Man fuck you bitch. Hate you!

Ronda really gave props to Meisha in the interview, but refused the handshake as she felt the personal things said by Tate and Caraway were too disrespectful to warrant full on forgiveness

[bolleje]

I can't see Anderson Silva coming back from this. For his last few fights (in fact, since the Maia-one) he never really seemed motivated. I'm afraid Weidman II was his last fight...

I think that's a huge issue for the UFC. Unless the rumors about Lesnar coming back prove to be more then rumors, there is only Jon Jones and Ronda Rousey left as real superstars (and maybe Velasquez) and even those are doubtful.

[Rich]

I think that's a huge issue for the UFC. Unless the rumors about Lesnar coming back prove to be more then rumors, there is only Jon Jones and Ronda Rousey left as real superstars (and maybe Velasquez) and even those are doubtful.

May I ask why you believe this is a huge issue?

[Maxx]

Probably be side big names = bigger buy rates = more money

[bolleje]

Probably be side big names = bigger buy rates = more money

Yes, that and just the 'growth' of the UFC in general. They made some huge steps the last years ('the fastest growing sport worldwide') but I believe they are going to have some more difficult years now. A lot of huge stars during this growth have left (Couture, Liddell, GSP, Rampage, Franklin, Forrest Griffin, Hughes, Nogeira, BJ Penn, Mirko Cro Cop...), some others are probably close to retirement (A. Silva, W. Silva, Dan Henderson, Faber).

Quality wise, a lot of good fighters have stepped up. Draw-wise, I'm not so sure. Chris Weidman, Johnny Hendricks, Anthony Pettis, Dominick Cruz, Alexander Gustafson, Glover Teixeira, Demetrious Johnson, Renan Barao, ... It's just a lot more difficult to keep up with all the upcoming stars (there are a lot more divisions now too).

UFC is probably wise in now targeting certain audiences with the smaller shows, as they'll do in Singapore in a couple of days. Make sure the Asian fans know the Asian fighters, sell Bisping & Gustaffson to the European audiences, etc... That way they can still sell the local events and make the big/PPV events feel like it features the best fighters in the world.

[Liam]

It was being discussed over at DVDVR forum that realistically, you have too many generic fighters now - talented, yes - interesting, not necessarily - drawing potential, possibly limited.

With some big names gone, there might be some lean years if they don't build some new stars.

[Your Mom]

Should have pushed the young guys while they had a chance instead of always pushing Super Silva. Am I right guys?? lol UFC

[Rich]

It is really depending how you are defining "draws" though, the PPV model is on the way out as the main method of getting fights to the fans, the FOX deal is worth a lot of money to the UFC every year, and now they are doing the fight pass and going international with the tv deals like never seen before, there is increased coverage in Europe and particularly the Brazil/Latin America markets are really gaining pace.

I get that the obvious marker of PPV buys shows a trend of depressed buys, but this doesn't mean depressed income, the UFC have massively diversified their income streams and continue to do so (again, see the fight pass thing) and they are doing 50 shows in the next year, they aren't running these shows for fun, they are running them to make money, surely the indication is that they are doing even better despite the perceived lack of draws than they were doing 5 years ago.

Again jumping to your examples and just purely looking at PPV buys as a measure, there are a handful of people who have been legit draws for the UFC, to name them it is Chuck, Brock, GSP, Anderson, BJ Penn, Griffin and Jones. These are the guys who have garnered regular PPV buys in the +500k mark in various combinations with other fighters but some of them (Penn and Anderson are examples) had some terrible buy rates when they first headlined PPVs in the mid to late 2000's and it was only 2009 and onward that saw those rates pick up. The UFC is well set for the future, they have some massively talented and young fighters who will draw on the occasions that PPV's are needed, you have the likes of Jones, Rousey, et al and I honestly feel that Weidman is going to be a BIG star, he has so many positives (Age, ability, from New York, articulate, AMERICAN) and then you have some people who really are on the cusp of being huge names in the likes of Gus and Mighty Mouse and then you have the draws in the Brazilian market for example with the likes of Jose Aldo who show that they can be massively popular in singular markets while that appeal may not translate internationally, the UFC can make a lot of money in a local country for themselves as well as those fighters.

I think claiming they have a "huge issue" on their hands is underselling the value of the UFC brand and how the business has changed and evolved in the past 3 to 4 years, I would argue that the UFC is stronger now for not having to rely on a few fighters to garner the big buy rates, now the UFC can take its brand in to the market place all over the world and make money, not just sell 500k of PPVs in the states.

[Krone]

Back in the day, I used to be the biggest MMA fan. Before it was all the craze (and mind you, this is like 2006/2007, so really before it took off) my friends and I would always watch the PPV's. This was also back before those bandwagon fans, and I know you all know the kind I'm talking about started taking a liking to MMA, but more so just the UFC. My friends and I were the guys who would buy PRIDE DVD's to watch, stream foreign PPV's (Hong Man Choi vs. Fedor from New Years 2008 comes to mind) and it was all awesome and fun. But since about 2011, the rate that I've watched MMA has decreased severely.

Now last night's fights were awesome and fun, but onto the main point I was getting at. Or more of a question I suppose if you will. Do you think the UFC is running too many events now? For me, it feels like unless you are constantly following them every single week, it's a little bit harder to realize when they're holding their events. Back in '07, all you had really was TUF/Finale's, some Fight Night's (which were kind of a big deal) and then the PPV's.

Now, I feel it's like more people will just get lost in the shuffle. Maybe that's not the case and I can't say I'm any sort of an expert as my knowledge on the past few years is limited (besides Jon Jones living where I live. Ran into that bastard a couple of times), but I really feel like people would get "lost" in the shuffle, so it's harder for them to become known. There's just so much going on that you can't possibly point out and remember every single person, and with how expansive it's gotten and the amount of fighters, I agree with the comment that the fighters now just seem way more generic. That's all just my two cents.

TL;DR: Is the abundance of shows/fighters making it harder to get people over as they are getting "lost in transition"?

[HC]

I disagree. If anything, more cards is leading to more fighters getting exposure and opportunities. That, and most of the cards you're complaining about are free fights. I'm not gonna complain about free fights.

[gunnar hendershow]

More guys will not get lost in the shuffle. Some guys will be big draws here, some in Brazil, some in Europe, some maybe in Japan. It's a global sport, if UFC were to stick to their old model that they ran on when PRIDE was the top game in town (pre-2005, when UFC and MMA burst into the mainstream) then they would never grow. Everything is going global, they're getting the sport into every country and running shows just for those countries. If anything the problem, at least in the US, is that there's this xenophobia towards guys who aren't American. Anderson Silva only ever did well here a few times, and GSP only does well because Canada is close by.

[Krone]

I disagree. If anything, more cards is leading to more fighters getting exposure and opportunities. That, and most of the cards you're complaining about are free fights. I'm not gonna complain about free fights.

I wouldn't really say complaining. Like I said, I've VERY rarely watched UFC in the past few years. And I loved the presentation they had on Fox Sports prior to the fights. So much better than it used to be. I'm just used to there being an "aura" around UFC events like the past, and obviously, we are past that. Plus, from the looks of things, there is really no possible super fights left which is disappointing.

[gunnar hendershow]

Superfights are fucking stupid. 2 guys switching weight classes for no good reason makes the sport look like a goddamn joke and makes UFC desperate to make a quick buck instead of trying to be a legitimate sporting competition.

[Liam]

Superfights don't need to be fighters changing weight - just in general, there aren't a lot of big 'WOW, WE MUST SEE THIS'-esque matches out there at the moment.

[HC]

I disagree. If anything, more cards is leading to more fighters getting exposure and opportunities. That, and most of the cards you're complaining about are free fights. I'm not gonna complain about free fights.

I wouldn't really say complaining. Like I said, I've VERY rarely watched UFC in the past few years. And I loved the presentation they had on Fox Sports prior to the fights. So much better than it used to be. I'm just used to there being an "aura" around UFC events like the past, and obviously, we are past that. Plus, from the looks of things, there is really no possible super fights left which is disappointing.

UFC events definitely still have this "aura" you speak of. You can't tell me it didn't exist last night. Not every card is going to feel like a Super Bowl game. It's a sign of the sport becoming more legitimate.

[gunnar hendershow]

Oh I've always treated superfights as guys jumping weight classes just to have 2 big names together. Big matches in weight classes? We have whoever inevitably knocks off Jones, Weidman, Rousey, and Cain and those inevitable rematches waiting in the wings to do very well on PPV. Boxing has plenty of big matches for boxing fans, but only 2-3 huge matches in any given year. UFC isn't going to be any different, it's not pro wrestling where this shit can be manufactured.

[Liam]

I disagree. If anything, more cards is leading to more fighters getting exposure and opportunities. That, and most of the cards you're complaining about are free fights. I'm not gonna complain about free fights.

I wouldn't really say complaining. Like I said, I've VERY rarely watched UFC in the past few years. And I loved the presentation they had on Fox Sports prior to the fights. So much better than it used to be. I'm just used to there being an "aura" around UFC events like the past, and obviously, we are past that. Plus, from the looks of things, there is really no possible super fights left which is disappointing.

UFC events definitely still have this "aura" you speak of. You can't tell me it didn't exist last night. Not every card is going to feel like a Super Bowl game. It's a sign of the sport becoming more legitimate.

Some events do. This was an event with arguably one of the best P4P fighters of all time trying to reclaim his belt, as well as the next big thing in terms of women's MMA fighting. If this didn't have the aura, UFC would be rucked.

However, not all events do.