UFC's Return to Japan a Wasteful Vanity Act

Throwing a half-assed card at Japan with no regard for the local fans and a roster of low-mid tiered Japanese fighters does nothing for the UFC. Just the UFC brass showing their old PRIDE fanboy-ism again.

I think the most overlooked problem for the UFC is that there isn’t any sign that they want to change their product to cater to the Japanese fans.

The UFC wants to push their brand, their own style of what combat sports is to the Japanese.

It doesn’t make sense if they’re not going to make a more culturally significant product for Japan.

Overeem rampage big nog – shogun-wanderlei just to name a few those guys are big in japan and why not ?
And going to the phillipines those places is not the best time whit one fc on the rise and other mama comanpies

::gasp:: The horror!

Can’t really wait until it’s huge on its own accord and then do it – ya gotta build it up on your own sometimes.

and immediately had the Sesame Street “One of these things is not like the others” song playing in their head?

Why is the UFC heading to Japan? The yakuza is still very active in the entertainment industry. Combat sports is down right now in the country.

Exactly when, if ever, is that going to change? I agree that they’re going about it half-assed at best and completely wrong most likely, but this notion that “the timing has to be right” is just bullshit. That country’s peculiarities and business practice difficulties are never going to change within Lorenzo, Frank, and Dana’s lifetimes, so they may as well try when they damn well please. But they need to do it right, which doesn’t seem to be the case at this early stage.

You seem to be the resident Japan expert here- have you ever lived there? Always been one of my dreams to spend a year or so there- just never worked out.

That could set up a nice co main event. I would buy it, I’m sure they wouldn’t have enough drawing power to be the main event but it’s a good start

Everything I’ve heard is that the Japanese fan base is still there, they just don’t have a product to get behind. The early start time will be bad for the gate, but it’s understandable because tape delays kill PPV numbers.

The UFC has never packaged MMA as something less than a sport and the idea that this card needs freak show fights is simply saying that the Japanese need to be handled with kid gloves. This is an opportunity to start the SLOW process of bringing the Japanese audience into the reality of the sport rather than putting on a show with cartoonish sensibilities. I think it won’t be the most successful event, but I think it’s important to do this now rather than ignore the market all together and have nothing in 2-3 years.

they have to start SOMEWHERE. choosing not to do a Japanese show at all is an option as well but if they do that they are self-selecting themselves out of any future opportunity. It will serve as an important learning experience and could spark the interest of a younger generation who never really got to experience Pride. Give it a chance.

This is a direct attempt to appease a dying market that they essentially have helped slowly killed off, as well as people who cannot let go of PRIDE.

Several of the fighters on this list have losing records in the UFC.

The ufc is going about their business the wrong way!

Seriously, they’re making a solid effort without overextending themselves on something with a possible upside and that a number of fans wanted (even if an impressive amount of disappointed fans feel the need to express that this show doesn’t meet their specific (and impossible) expectations on what it should have been).

When the gate sells out in a few hours just like UFC Rio.

People were saying the same shit about Brazil and then the evnt sold out immediately and was awesome. UFC has quickly sold out whenever they have an event in a country they haven’t been to (in the Zuffa era). Japan won’t be any different.

  I really think some important inroads will be made. I think the Japanese will see the difference between the American and Japanese fighters. I understand this isn’t going to be an overnight thing. However, Japan is an important market and Zuffa need to do something.