Dana White fires back at Toronto newspaper, lists top five PPV draws
Surrounding UFC 152, the Canadian newspaper Toronto Sun released an article that portrayed the UFC as a declining product, featuring many criticisms to back up its assertion. One main tenet of the article believed that the UFC is losing ground in Canada, mainly Toronto, a place where it has been quite popular for some time. Another aspect of the article focused on the five main draws of UFC pay-per-views, citing retired former Heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar as the top man. The article also insinuated 2012 was the year of injuries, with seven straight cards having a featured bout reshuffled.
I don’t think there’s any room to argue that 2012 was the year of decimating injuries for sure, but Brock Lesnar just isn’t the top draw anymore. He’s retired. Are there too many cards? An argument that perhaps has been beat to death, and pointless too, because White and the Fertittas will not quit putting on more and more events. Dana White, always quick to answer his critics in a strong way, fired back at the paper today with the following:
“Everyone keeps saying, ‘There’s too much. We built this. We know exactly what’s going on in this industry next week, next month, everything else. Things pop up like injuries, and apparently guys who don’t want to fight anybody, but it has nothing to do with the way business has been run.” – via MMAJunkie.com
White also released the top five draws for the UFC to clarify the situation in a response to the disparaging article. He stated that they are GSP, Anderson Silva, Jon Jones, Chael Sonnen, and Rashad Evans. No surprises there, really, as three dominant champions grace the list along with two of the loved/hated fighters the sport has ever seen.
Business will continue as usual for the UFC. Injuries have taken their toll, and continue to do so. Perhaps the UFC is stagnating as opposed to the steamrolling growth it had previously experienced. However, if one believes the UFC is in serious trouble, well, it will probably take a lot more than a summer full of reshuffled, watered-down cards to cause any serious lasting damage to the company.
