fanpost from another website

UFC is a stale cookie right now. Here's Why.

There have been some great fights lately in the UFC but when you look at what's really going on, I can't help but suggest it's stale. Injuries are simply piling on top of each other and cards that are slim, and getting even slimmer. The stars are not there currently. The biggest fights we waited for aren't happening. Less fights are on free TV now and it means without Fight Pass, you're feeling the pinch. Veterans are retiring and throwing accusations against the UFC which are making greed an issue for fighters. I don't get the WOW factor right now. This weekends card is "stacked", but falls off a cliff on the main event which is just an indicator as to where things are at. The question I have for you is, what are you excited about right now in the world of the UFC? I've been more let down over the past while for the previously mentioned factors. At this point, with all the events and the thinning of cards, I can't help but let out a bit of a yawn. wrote:

http://www.mmafighting.com/2014/9/25/6847455/ufc-is-a-stale-cookie-right-now-heres-why


i have to agree with everything this poster said. i believe since the fox deal ufc has been on a fast decline. it lost its spark and is kind of drifting off in some aspects. what do you guys think?

I think the one thing that came out of this weekend is that even though he could very well be the best P4P fighter in the world DJ can never be a main event or possibly even a co-main on a PPV again. Everyone was leaving the arena BEFORE his fight. That's terrible. And he does nothing to help himself.

He doesnt have to be a chael or mcgregor, but when asked after the fight what he wants next, could he possibly have given a less exciting answer than "i dont care ill just wait for the call"

I mean come on dude. Help the UFC out a little.

Have to agree with the "stale cookie". Its been a long time since I bought a ppv, but when you can't even work up the energy to find a live free feed you have to know something is wrong.

I still think getting rid of the cage would rejuvenate the sport. If you cant get rid of lay and pray on the ground at least get rid of it on the fence. Start fining fighters for inactivity (dancing around poking at the air for 3 rounds). And lifetime bans for second offence PED, HGH or whatever else use.

Krieger wrote:

Have to agree with the "stale cookie". Its been a long time since I bought a ppv, but when you can't even work up the energy to find a live free feed you have to know something is wrong.

I still think getting rid of the cage would rejuvenate the sport. If you cant get rid of lay and pray on the ground at least get rid of it on the fence. Start fining fighters for inactivity (dancing around poking at the air for 3 rounds). And lifetime bans for second offence PED, HGH or whatever else use.

exactly. i think refs should be able to throw cards out. i also would love to see them bring back the camera on the ref. there are so many simple changes that could make this so much more entertaining and its much needed. i refuse to spend 60 bucks on a ppv card its crazy. I think the ufc fight pass thing is also a joke. i have limited myself to streams, highlights and fs1/fox.

as for dj - man the ufc needs to get this guy in another mind frame. i hear joe rogan pumping him up calling him the p4p best fighter and all that but i dont think dj has it in him to gain a big fan base to take him to where the ufc needs him to be. john dodson and uncle creepy would fit the picture for what the ufc needs imo

I think the problem is that most if not all of us here witnessed the Golden Age of MMA.
We were there when the sport was at it's peak, while a fair amount of current MMA fans were not. I'm not talking PPV dollars. I'm talking quality.
Because the bar was set so high from roughly 2004 through about 2009, we expected it to stay there. But realistically, like in all sports, the Golden Age doesn't last forever. There's gonna inevitably be some plateaus, and we're on one now.

I can sum this up with 3 words Screw Fight Pass!!!!!

MMA did exactly what we all made it do...it got HUGE. Many of us were watching back when guys like Keith Hackney and Gracie were the ones to watch and it was exciting and small and we all were thinking "how is this not HUGE, this stuff is awesome"....then it got HUGE and it's flooded and there are soooo many fighters in sooo many weight classes so the UFC has to do something to get them all fights....they have stale cards that are full of gobs of fighters no one has heard of and it just doesn't draw the crowd.

I guess it sucks, but it's what we all wanted at the beginning....kinda sorta

I don't know, I'm not sold that this is the new norm or whatever. I just think what we're seeing now is Dana and Zuffa testing exactly how far they can reach and much they can grab. They're in Hungry Hungry Hippos mode right now where they're just gobbling up everything in sight to make sure they maximize their profit potential.
I think it's gonna stabilize soon once this whole "global expansion" initiative maxes out. There's only so many new audiences to reach, and once they've seen the end of the road in terms of expansion, we'll start seeing a refocus on quality.

Will that refocus mean less events? Because that is one thing that would have to happen IMO. We are so over saturated with events that he's gotta find every no name fighter and their little brother to fill fight slots...that's why we have events with 12 fights and we haven't heard of 11 fighters.

yeah there is saturation of events, and i agree with trigg that Dana is in reaching mode. Just like any business, it will push the consumer boundaries until decline in interest happens and then, they start throwing free stuff at you.
but also, in my view, a major problem is the education of fans. In football, nfl has made enourmous effort to educate fans on the game, so everyone knows details and appreciates even "stale" games. Just look at all the pre-game analysis, for me - nothing is more boring, but it does the job of teaching.
MMA fans are not educated in fighting, most just want to see something close to bottles broken over heads. So, instead of expanding the knowledge of what it means to fight, UFC panders and as result, a lot of fans are either confused when the fight is strategical or get in the wwe mode.
And yes, ufc must somehow make fighters train without getting injured so much. not knowing when you will see a certain fighter will lose fans

I think the amount of fighters and the amount of events is fine. The more free fighting the better IMO.

Where I think the UFC is going wrong right now is trying to throw a bone to everyone. They give a couple of big names to Fox, a couple of big names to fight pass, a couple of big names to FS1 and the next thing you know there is only a couple of big names left for PPV.

I think they should bucketize the formats (and i do understand it may mean some lost fight pass subscriptions, but i think it would be made up for in PPV buys).

Have the international new guys on fight pass, the up and comers on FS1, the fights with meaning or the guys getting back into the mix on Fox with a possibility of one good main event and go back to stacking the PPVs. That is what I would like to see.

i agree with fist..

fightpass- guys on a decline or new to the ufc fighters.

fs1- guys who are trying to build recognition, have a couple of fights but not known to the general publuc

fox- guys who have been around spotty records, fan favorites, gatekeepers etc

ppv- title fights with number one contender fights.

i wish that the refs could pull yellow cards too. kill the wwe bullshit that has grown to be uncomfortable to watch at times. the commentary also needs to stop being biased. this is especially geared towards rogan if he wants to boost a fighter its almost impossible for me to watch and enjoy a fight without him trying to fill my head up with how amazing a leg kick was or a jab.

On a side note what ever happened to the tapout crew?

another thing i witnessed is after everyone stopped wearing tapout, extreme couture, affliction, and ufc gear it seems like thats when the flame started to really fade away.

Yeah I think once the greedy reaching slows down a little, we might see a little more structure like you guys talked about.
To me this feels like harvest time right now, like Zuffa is just gathering as much food as they can. They'll worry about when to eat what meals after the rush is over.

Triggerman99 wrote:

Yeah I think once the greedy reaching slows down a little, we might see a little more structure like you guys talked about.
To me this feels like harvest time right now, like Zuffa is just gathering as much food as they can. They'll worry about when to eat what meals after the rush is over.

with these numbers i think that the ship has already kind of sunk. these numbers for 2014 are horrible

02/01/2014 UFC 169 Barao vs Faber II 230,000
02/22/2014 UFC 170 Rousey vs McMann 340,000
03/15/2014 UFC 171 Hendricks vs Lawler 300,000
04/26/2014 UFC 172 Jones vs Teixeira 350,000
05/24/2014 UFC 173 Barao vs Dillashaw 215,000
06/14/2014 UFC 174 Johnson vs Bagautinov115,000
07/05/2014 UFC 175 Weidman vs Machida 545,000
08/02/2014 UFC 176 Aldo vs Mendes II Canceled
08/30/2014 UFC 177 Dillashaw vs Soto 125,000
*****ufc 178 official numbers arent in but an early estimate is 130k-180k

with ppv numbers like these the ufc is in need of something new and creative and it sure as shit isnt ufc fightpass