nikka you know what I meant
UFC and Dana White makes events that would normally be pay-per-view events free so they don't get killed by boxing numbers. Happy now?
outside of the Valequez/Dos Santos bout what ppv caliber event has been on network tv. Certaintly not the past diaz/miller fight and most def not the unpcoming lombard/stann bout. Killed by boxing numbers? If Mayweather isn't fighting nobody really purchases boxing fights. Even this upcoming Pacquia bout wont be very huge
Actually, I REMEMBER being on AOL Chat rooms and being laughed outta the room because I said "Jericho was the next HBK" when he was nearly a nobody in early in WCW.
I know my stuff, thanks.
My point is, you got ppl fighting who nobody really knows, unless you follow Sherdog or those other sites. I dnt watch the UFC show, the only ppl I ever know are the main event guys.
Once again
This is true, but you tell me how you build a mercurial nutjob like Nate Diaz (I love Nate, but this is true).
Of course, you could go safe and end up with a total pretender like Roger Huerta.
It's an easy thing to say, but in no way is it an easy fix, especially when so many of these guys are completely nondescript.
To hardcores yes.But Joe blow cant tell anderson silva from blanco brimage..From a narrative stand point this headliner can be sold on the back of stann being "an american hero"
and hector bein a champion from another org makin his debut with a staggering 20 fight win streak
Its amazing how this is lost on so many pessimists screaming for bigger headliners next time.There aint a fukin difference between davis/evans and miller/diaz to the general public they are all unknowns.The only reason the 2nd show did numbers was becaus fox marketed it like hell
.Dana White is too much of a control freak and wants to be the star himself too much. I don't think he wants anyone to be seen as "bigger" than the UFC, even though that would probably be a good thing in the end.I was talking about this to Lukie the other day on twitter, and i think were gonna eventually have a round table about it on the podcast, but i think the marketing strategy around UFC has to change, but it wont until the fighters start to create their own brand. Theyve been trying to promote UFC, which is fine and good,but at some point in time people are gonna tune in for the fighters
They need more shows like 24/7 imo to expose some of these guys. Not all of em are superstar material, but it gives the fighters some foundation to stand on instead of having them hide behind the shadows of the promotion(UFC)
Another problem that hasn't been explicitly commented upon here is just how much shytty kickboxing has come to dominate UFC fights.
Yeah, the rules are heavily geared toward wrestlers. But I would almost take that over watching match-up after mediocre match-up default to 10-20 minutes of circling, all for a leg kick or a slow-ass, impossible to land clean head kick. I grew up watching kickboxing and K-1 Grand Prix on ESPN a few years back, so none of these guys either impress me or are even that good at it. More importantly than that, do you really think that any of the casual audience want to watch a bunch of "strategic" circling?
You could probably count the number of really good strikers in the UFC on two hands. You could count the number of EXCITING ones on one. These guys seriously need to stop with this crap, because it's not helping.
Oh, and by the way? This is another thing we can thank that cro-magnon Dana White for, with his emphasis on finishes and "exciting fights". Has everyone fighting not to get embarrassed and fighting for the moment instead of fighting to win. For old Pride faithfuls like me, this is just utterly galling, one of the worst developments in MMA ever.
But it's not going away any time soon, so
