The Future of Mixed Martial Arts: Buissness or sport?
Posted on August 5, 2010, 09:33 PM by bluntsandbeers
there is no argument Mixed Martial Arts is the fastest growing sport in the world. Sense its beggining it has been catipulted into the mainstream thanks to moments like the Griffin Bonnar fight or the bone crushing knockouts of Chuck Liddel, and even the overseas domination of a character we call the Axe Murderer. In this day and age MMA has been crowned the number 1 extreme sport and even slowly inched its way into sportcenter, and other mainstream media programs.
So now that our beloved sport has burst into the mainstream we have hit yet another roadblock, even though MMA has all the credentials to be considered a sport. Atheletes, competion, rules, and a athletic comission that has the sport on LOCKDOWN, there are questions on its legitimacy as a word renowned sport. with all these things considered doesnt it only make sense to say that mma is a mainstream sport? we could but there is one problem, there are people in power that put the buissness aspect before what really makes sense for the sport. There are a few prime examples, does anybody remember a little event called UFC 91 Couture Vs Lesnar? Although i cannot argue with the results, Brock Lesnar was given a title shot that literally came after a 1-1 stint in the UFC. really?i didnt realize that was all you needed to qualify for the baddest title in the bis. Although Lesnar became a dominate champion he still took a road that was intitled for the promotions finacial gain, not the HW rankings. Another big No-no for the UFC was all the publicity "kimbo Slice" got before he even got into TUF house. we get it, rags to riches, fought on the internet, youtube sensation etc etc. but the UFC used this man for personal gain and through him out after he went 1-1 in the promotion... mind you the same EXACT record got lesnar a title shot, and kimbo thrown out on his ass. i mean where is the fairness in that they used Kimbo for finacial gain and dropped him like a sac of potatoes.
However the UFC is not the only guilty promotion in this respect. Strikeforce has been doing buissnes very similar. After Werdum pulled off the fairy tale ending at strikeforces "fedor vs werdum" card, Scott Coker was at a loss of what to do. He put several options on the table, None of which made any sense for the sake of his companies legitmacy. It was after heavy critism that Coker finally realized that if he wanted his HW title to mean anything Werdum and Overeem must fight, no fedor werdum rematch just yet. But my point is that every chance a CEO gets to make a quick buck, they will reagardless if its for the good of the sport or not. Wether it be Dana White or Scott Coker, Promotions need to make some changes. If we want to be taken seriously as a sport we need to unify and start promoting for the good of the sport and of the fighters. If promotions werent so money hungry deaths like Michael "tree" Kirkham would not have occured.
Although there are many, MANY more examples these are a few of the prime ones
Comments
really want to hear opinons on this one
You have put out some decent opinions you should particpate in the next blogkick. No doubt the UFC puts fights togeather based on hype and how much money they can make from it. I agree alot of org a guilty of this. Im not a Lesnar nut hugger but it dosnet bother me that he got a title shot that earlier, i think the ufc looks at potential, and the diff between him and kimbo was that kimbo lost his second fight, and they knew this guy realy didnt have a chance at a successfull career at HW.
very true. i agree the potential in lesnar was huge and he didnt disapoint what so ever. he is a legit HW champion. and i will try to participate in the next blog kick, see that picture of dana up there? thats 2 hours of hardwork in paint (;
If the fighters continue getting paid as low as they are, 100% business.
No one can argue that Brock has proved that he is a worthy champ at this point. The fact that he got that title shot when he did was completely wrong.... if this is supposed to be looked at a legitimate sport. EVERYONE should have to work their way to the top and earn their way to the title. From a business stand point I think it was a great money making move. Brock was still relatively new to the game and there was a lot of interest and curiousity not to mention the thousands of pro wrestling fans that were backing Brock.
just 1 or 2 things on lesnar, while i admit that 1-1 is hardly a record that warrants a title shot (and i know there was a huge financial incentive in giving brock that shot) there were other factors:
1-his potential...aldoh he lost to mir, he was KILLING mir in that first fight and only lost because of a rookie mistake (which brock himself admitted to) and against heath he looked awsome
2- the HW division at that time was quite weak...if brock had come into the sport atm i guarantee u he wouldnt have got the shot so early, but cain jds and carwin hadnt emerged at this point....the only legitimate HWs in the division IMO were randy, mir and big nog and the second 2 were doing the ultimate fighter so they couldnt fight for the title yet
3- aldoh i know it was a source of controvrsy at the time, dan was proved right to give him that shot because hes now defended it twice and looks to be a very legitimate mixed martial artist
im gonna disagree that the business aspect is ruining the sport. i think it has brought the sport to where it is today. Yes Dana hypes every card like the main event is the fight of the century but shit, it sells. its making money which allows the UFC to sign more and better fighters. yes they do play favorites but i think those were desperate times, especially for the heavyweight decision. in the end the business aspect will bring it to the next level of sports. the NFL and NBA, two most popular sports in America are giant businesses. and you cant argue with their success.
yea but the NBA would never have kobe loose 40 games in a row and then give the MVP spot to stone cold steve austin just caue he came into the NBA lol theres just a sense of legitimacy in other sports. you cant play favorites if you want to be taken seriously, and having a man cut with the same exact record as a guy who got a title shot is just ludacris, and contridicts everything the UFC stands for. i just cant stand it when i see guys like fitch and florian giving everything in there being to get a title shot and then just being slapped in the face by a guy who went 1-1
kobe win 40 games****
Well the reason kimbo got cut was because he didnt work hard. i dont hink he cut any weight and just fough at 220. he had bad knees and really couldnt fight that well. Brock did have the same record but you can tell they are different levels of fighters. plus i think dana said kimbo was cut for his work ethic not his record.
haha and dana white says tons of other dumb shyt too. like the fact that he "doesnt want fedor" and how " tito ortiz will never fight in the UFC agian" i can quote this guy lieing and contridicting himself all day long but the fact of the matter is he does what he thinks will get him the most money regardless of what the fighters, fanbase, and logic says you should do. i cant completely hate on him cause hes a buissness genius and marketing machine. he made me fall inlove with MMA and especially Jiu Jitsu, i think its awesome what he did for the UFC but he needs to stop being such a god damn nazi
Well its not like he just takes the money and runs. He gets the money and puts it right back into the UFC. How else could it be as successful as it has been with Dana in charge.
it will take time, MMA is just a baby right now and it's growing at a tremendous pace but,it will still take time. Over time the mass population will begin to see the heart,skills,smarts and hard work these guy do on a weekly basis.
Japans "Dream" is a perfect example of what mma should be.Respect and Honour. right now just a lot of ppl wanna get drunk and have a good time at events, which is fine, but when you got ppl swearing at you in the crowd and stuff thats the stuff that make councils write mma off. We the fans are first generation MMA fans and as we all get older we'll pass it on to our friends and our kids then you'll get the 2nd generation mma fans,so in time it will be more acceptable
yessssss great minds think alike my man
That's just the difference in cultures. Cant really do anything about how people act unless the cultures change.
i think the main factor in kimbo getting cut was he got completley owned by a guy with only one pro fight and they were left with a sitiuation in where they either had to bring lesser talent from outside the promotion or watch him get killed in the ocatagon
I always say "Every millionaire has stepped on fingers to get there"
Giving Lesner a title shot has no doubt proven to be a wise decision.
Kimbo was given a shot because people wanted to see him fight. The decision was made with legitimacy. The UFC resisted hiring Kimbo straight away and had him prove his capabilities in lesser organisations. Upon being picked up by the UFC Kimbo was given every opportunity to grow as a fighter. Training with the best in the game before entering the octagon, In the end Kimbo had limited success and was moved on appropriately.
Strike force doesn’t have the capital to create the depth of the UFC. They will need to make unusually decisions at times to pay the bills. That’s just the nature of any start up company.
Some nice sentiments in this article. Unfortunately, DW is president of MMA's largest organisation and he aint gonna change anytime soon. He's all about the dollar.
Credit where it's due though. He has many believing his HW division is now great, when Lesnar/Carwin proved it aint. And he now is feeding GSP fighters he already beat, and Silva fighters who aint in the same league in terms of ability. He does play favourites no doubt, and if they want to be taken seriously in the main stream it's something DW has to address.
I couldn't agree more.
for me the problem lays in the fact that the sport does not have legit rankings. when you say that the UFC "took a road that was intitled for the promotions finacial gain, not the HW rankings" that is only true in a part because of the rankings...what rankings? the sherdog rankings? the ESPN rankings? common sense rankings?
The sport needs a objective(mathematical) rating system on which you win or lose points base on the rating of your opponent only(maybe ad a bonus for finishing your opponent if you win).
For me this will be the next revolution of the sport. mainly because finally will be able to compare fighters objectively of different promotions(and it will prevent the lesnar title shots since no promoter will give a title shot to a guy ranked 20 in the world and no chanp will accept 1).
I dont want to seem like im being a ****.... but seriously man use a spell check before posting an article lol
im a terrible speller but will do lol ill prolly just type it in word then copy and paste it over next time thx for the tip
That's exactly what I was going to say, but you took the words right out of my mouth, lol :) I agree he should of used a spell check before posting an article it makes it look tacky not to mention Jr.
Love MMA, can't stand Dana White? We got something in common if that is so.
I can understand some of your points, but what I can't understand and fail to understand is why would you be hating on the guy who made the sport what it is today? Do you hate on Vince for making WWE what it was in the 90's ? No probably not, so why would you hate or dislike a guy that made UFC what it is today? He didn't wrong you in any way, did he? He didn't promise you anything, did he? He didn't say someone was going to be fighting and when the fight came the fighters that he promised were going to be fighting didn't fight, did he? So far to me Dana is a stand up guy, Honest, truthful, open minded, cool, awesome, and he speaks his mind and doesn't give a shit if you love him or hate him for it, so why all the hate? All the anger? All the jealousy? All the bitterness? All the madness? For Dana White? Is it because he doesn't care what he says? What he does? Or what is the issue? For real all the haters they just need to get a ****ing life and stop the non-sense. He is good for the sport, he promotes good matches that everyone wants to see, he keeps his word, he's never wronged anyone as far as I know. He's real with people and doesn't sugar coat shit for you lil pussies that need sugar coating and pampering maybe that's why you hate on him. But whatever the reason You need to learn to love him because "He ain't going nowhere, so get used to him" He ain't going nowhere, so get used to him." LMAO **** all you hater pussies that want shit sugar coated for your pussy ass bitches. Grow up and be a man not a lil ****ing boy....
He gets fighters contracted and prevents fioghts unless he can 'own' the fighter.
He blocked Couture - Fedor, runs down anything non UFC (unless its probably gonna join at some point), give Toney nearly ten times as much as Edgar at UFC 119 when Edgar was defending a very hard earned belt, and Toney was doing an impression of a sleeping bag. He flexes corporate musclethat cost Fedor his Tapout sponsorship, and I could go on.
Credit to him for making UFC what it is today, but it's become a bit much of a monopoly now and thats usually bad, and is taking MMA in a bad direction IMO. It seems trash talking is more important than ability to sell fights now and its just about the dollar. Which is a pity as with the talent pool the UFC has it could run things different and legetimise the belts it has for each division, but it cannot be taken seriously as a sport for many reasons just yet.
Sonnen rematch or Lesnar title shot being 2 glaring examples that prove the above statement.
Maybe in time these issues are addressed, and I really hope the fighters get together and get a union formed so they cant be shit on so much when it suits DW.
in what way was Michael Kirkhams death the fault of money hungry promotions.....it was a freak accedent
I agree that a unification of promotions is extremely important. This is the ONLY way MMA can become a legit sport today. What needs to be done is a league type format, like football (soccer). Unify the top promotions as Premier MMA league, everything under should become a league 1 type of promotion. Scouts can then move fighters up to Premier according to potential and achievements.
Another cool thing would be to allow promotions to stand alone as they do today, but meet once every now and then and make a world cup style tournament. UFC, Strikeforce, Dream etc. Each promotion could elect a team of fighters and pit them against each other to decide which promotion wins in the end.
Another point regarding the way Dana White promotes fight: He says this sport is huge and that it has finally become mainstream, but the fact that they promote trash talk and hype fights for monetary purposes shows that the UFC and others still need to do this in order to get more buys. No other sport needs to do this as much, why? Because they are officially accepted and successful purely based on performance. It proves that MMA still has a little while to go. On the other hand, boxing has always had beefs, fights at conferences and weigh ins...SO to an extent, combat sports will never entirely rid themselves of this style of promotion...