How MMA Can Reach That Next Level

by Tha Realness on Jul 25, 2008 2:23 PM EDT

The sport of MMA has progressed greatly within the past few years. Just 4 years ago the largest MMA promotion in America was bleeding millions of dollars for every event they produced. Nobody thought they would ever see MMA on prime time network television. However, this weekend MMA will make its second appearance in the form of EliteXC: “Unfinished Business” on CBS. The Ultimate Fighting Championship is reportedly worth over a billion dollars. There is so much more room for this sport to grow, and I have to wonder why isn’t hasn’t progressed even faster?

I think it’s safe to say that Zuffa is THE major player in the MMA world. They are the only promotion that continuously produces events that yield a profit. In fact, Dana White says “I’m glad we make this business look easy…because it’s not.” Since the UFC began operating in the black back in 2005-2006, we’ve seen a multitude of promotions sprout up hoping to become the next UFC. If not all…most of them now defunct after losing millions of dollars…and for what? Only to have their fighters and assets consumed by the UFC to strengthen that company.

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During the early years of the NBA and the NFL there was more than one league.

The NBA merged with the ABA in 1976.

The NFL merged with the AFL in 1970.

In basketball you still have a lesser league surviving on a smaller scale.

In football you still have a lesser league in the Arena league.

So I think what you saw during the early years of those sports is playing out now in the early years of MMA. Just like one major organization emerged from those sports is a likely indicator of how things might play out in MMA.

I do think working together would be a good thing but why would the UFC let people in when they look to be the one to emerge as the industry leader such as the NBA or the NFL.

I think it is just a matter of time and growing pains just like all the other sports leagues went through over decades to get where they are now. I think MMA won’t take quite as long to develop as the other sports given the advancements in the world but I think it will just take time to grow the fan base and build the core to support it properly.

by mattman73 on Jul 25, 2008 3:11 PM EDT 1 recs

Network

Being on network TV is the key to taking it to the next level.

Dana White has spoken about making MMA the biggest sport in the world, this can never happen if their primary source of revenue is PPVs. Putting on great PPV cards is great, and the hardcore fans are happy to pony up $40+ every month to watch MMA, but there are still many casual fans that are unwilling.

I understand that there has been tremendous growth in the past few years, but MMA still has a LONG way to go. We are all still relegated to blogs to satisfy our hunger for all things MMA.

by steak_knife on Jul 25, 2008 4:11 PM EDT 0 recs

yea

Yea, network television was a given…that’s why I didn’t mention it…

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by Tha Realness on Jul 25, 2008 4:14 PM EDT up 0 recs

“During the early years of the NBA and the NFL there was more than one league.”

Right…however, after one was ‘established’ as THE league…they merged…which is kinda what I’m suggesting….while also retaining the heads of those promotions to help the UFC. Like with the UFC acquiring the IFL…Jay Larkin could only help them get some things done IMO…why just cast him aside(if they do so)?

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by Tha Realness on Jul 25, 2008 4:13 PM EDT 0 recs

Just like with the WEC

I see your point, Zuffa kept the WEC managers. I just don’t have a clue as to how they’d utilize Jay Larkin.

by lovingmma25 on Jul 25, 2008 4:37 PM EDT up 0 recs

Jay Larkin

Thinks grappling is “like watching gay foreplay” he will never get anything in MMA done.

by B Money on Jul 25, 2008 6:44 PM EDT up 0 recs

I think your point is valid for the short term, but in the long term mma will benefit far more from serious competition between promoters. Competition forces promoters to behave in a fashion that is more beneficial to fans. For example, Affliction put on a card filled with fighters Zuffa was unwilling to sign for various reasons. If you have only Zuffa in control of everything you take all negotiating power away from fighters and mma will develop as the UFC brass sees fit.

I think what mma really needs is to get away from the “ultimate fighting” label. Most people have no idea what I’m talking about when say I watch mma, but they know exactly what I mean if I say I watch “ultimate fighting.” Until mma develops a fan base that follows the sport, rather than a promotion, mma will be unable to reach its full potential. The sport needs to develop to the extent that casual fans will watch an mma card on free tv because they like mma, not simply watch a UFC card because it’s the cool thing to do. Once mma hits that point I will consider mma to have reached the next level.

by Andy R on Jul 25, 2008 5:22 PM EDT 0 recs

While I agree that competition is good between promoter’s…once you get all the best fighters under one promotion as I’m suggesting….it doesn’t really matter…because every card would be pretty much stacked….the only thing that matter’s then is…are the fighter’s being compensated fairly.

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by Tha Realness on Jul 25, 2008 6:36 PM EDT 0 recs

Yea weak cards at that point would only hurt their bottom line. It wouldn’t make sense.

by mattman73 on Jul 25, 2008 6:49 PM EDT up 0 recs

I may be a little negative, but I don’t see MMA rivaling major team sports in mainstream popularity at this point. There are so many detractors due to the perceived brutality. If the sport has to alter how they operate in a significant way (i.e. early stoppages) for major network TV, the sport will turn off its devoted fan base. MMA is very new compared to most other major sports. Even NASCAR had been in existence for nearly 50 years when it really broke into the mainstream in the late 90’s. It wouldn’t hurt if MMA grew at a more moderate pace for awhile. The negative criticism probably wouldn’t be as great. I don’t see that happening with information being so fluid. Growth of new things tends to be in overdrive.

by Cannon J on Jul 26, 2008 12:46 PM EDT 0 recs

MMA is an individual sport….so like boxing it would never rival any major team sport in America…it would or is cutting out it’s own niche in terms of fanbase…just like NASCAR has done.

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by Tha Realness on Jul 26, 2008 2:04 PM EDT 0 recs

Boxing was a significantly bigger sport than pro football, basketball, or hockey for most of the 20th century, you know.

by D.Capitated on Aug 1, 2008 8:54 AM EDT up 0 recs

Sure, I mean the NFL, NBA, and the NHL are still relatively young organizations…and even when these leagues formed….they didn’t rival boxing….just like the NFL, NBA, or NHL don’t really rival one another….each stands for their own sport.

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by Tha Realness on Aug 1, 2008 1:15 PM EDT 0 recs

But the fans started watching and writers eventually covered them instead of boxing and horse racing. It was a long process to get to where people saw sports solely as being stick and ball ventures as millions do today. As for the NHL not being a rival to anyone, that was not considered to be the case 13-14 years ago.

by D.Capitated on Aug 1, 2008 2:36 PM EDT up 0 recs

“But the fans started watching and writers eventually covered them instead of boxing and horse racing”

Which goes back to where I said…

“MMA is an individual sport….so like boxing it would never rival any major team sport in America…it would or is cutting out it’s own niche in terms of fanbase…just like NASCAR has done.”

http://tharealness.wordpress.com/

by Tha Realness on Aug 1, 2008 2:45 PM EDT 0 recs

I’m trying to get exactly what your point is. Are you saying that people don’t watch more than one sport? I’ve yet to see an NFL game where people were chanting for Roger Goodell. If MMA wants to get anywhere NASCAR in terms of ratings, they’re going to need to appeal to people who watch team sports or other individual sports. Those sports will inevitably look at MMA as a sort of commercial rival cyphoning away money both in drawing customers and advertising.

by D.Capitated on Aug 1, 2008 2:58 PM EDT up 0 recs

well

My initial point was that all of these wanna be promoter’s should not start their own promotions and just recognize that the UFC was/is top dog…then somehow support the UFC…whether it be partnering with them…or helping with expansion…or just getting more blue chip sponsors.

However, my discussion with you has taken on a life of it’s own….lol…I think it’s safe to say that people watch more than one sport….however, MMA’s targeted demographic is 18-34(which is what I mean by cutting out it’s own niche in terms of fanbase). Whereas the demographic for the NFL, NBA, MLB etc are much broader….and really nobody is watching it on TV unless it’s the playoffs(MLB, NBA)...and the NFL would be similar if they played more games a year IMO.

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by Tha Realness on Aug 1, 2008 3:11 PM EDT up 0 recs

Well, listen. A lot of people bring up NASCAR. And that’s nice. Hey, it is a individual sport, after all. In fact, many of its competitors own or work with other competitors out of the same camp. Happens in MMA all the time. But its not like NASCAR didn’t have to compete with anyone. They needed their chief rival to metaphorically blow its own brains out all over the sidewalk to put themselves in position to become what they are, much less actually get there. For the TV time that MMA really needs to get to another level, its going to likely need boxing to do that for them, and given that it hasn’t already in spite of 300 years of corruption, I don’t see it happening.

The biggest issue they have isn’t that Trump isn’t willing to get them sponsorship or whatever it is you imagine him doing (and likely not making money in doing), but rather that they haven’t made the necessary adjustments to put themselves on something like a network TV channel, ESPN, or HBO. They’re safe in what they’re doing and can make a whole lot of money, but no matter how hard they try, Spike TV is not going to be HBO, ESPN, CBS, or whatever else you imagine.

re: Expansion – Its clear the UFC doesn’t want any help with that either, however poor an idea I believe it might be. They’ve done all their expansion thus far themselves and have proven to be absolutely against allowing local promoters to use the UFC name outside or inside the US. Tokyo Disneyland isn’t even owned by Disney, but Zuffa demands they run their show in Japan with their guys with their rules and their vision of TV. Its almost funny then to hear about how they’re gonna run the Phillippines.

by D.Capitated on Aug 1, 2008 3:42 PM EDT up 0 recs

I agree with alot of that…but it’s inevitable for the UFC to get on primetime television…and they are working toward that…I think it’s safe to say it was smart of the UFC NOT to take the CBS deal…once they score that deal(it’s gonna happen)...they will do HUGE numbers.

http://tharealness.wordpress.com/

by Tha Realness on Aug 1, 2008 5:08 PM EDT 0 recs

Why was it smart of them? Because they’d have gotten a real PBP guy? I don’t find it “inevitable” or that they’d do huge numbers on network TV either. I’d be pretty surprised if they significantly went past the Kimbo/Thompson unless they put on a major name. Realistically, do you think they’re gonna get enough money to justify putting someone like that on network TV rather than PPV? Its the reason why boxing ended up on HBO, Showtime, and PPV.

by D.Capitated on Aug 3, 2008 8:16 PM EDT up 0 recs