I have a close friend who is a die hard UFC fan. Now when I say die hard, I mean he knows fighters like Chris Wilson, Ivan Menjivar, Pope Wilson. He is also a person who has bought the last seven years worth of UFC PPVs…that’s right he didn’t miss a SINGLE one. Then back in July of this year, the unthinkable happened, here is a recap of our conversation:
Me: So (friend’s name withheld per request) you buying the UFC PPV this week?
FRIEND: Uhm…naw, don’t think its worth it…Wanderlei Silva Vs Rich Franklin II is the main event? Then a bunch of no name Brazilian fighters for the rest of the card? Eh…I’ll save my money, its getting to be almost sixty bucks a ppv!
I don’t think wiser and sadder words have been said. Not only did this mark the ending of an era but also echoes what many fans, both casual and fanatic, have been thinking and voicing the last couple of years: there are just too many damn UFC events.
Back when my buddy bought his first UFC PPV (UFC 52: Couture Vs Liddell 2 April 2005) the UFC was doing about a PPV every other month. Now the UFC has aired 43 PPVS in the last 3 years and that doesn’t include nearly 35 free TV events for a total of 78 UFC events over a span of 36 months (that’s basically a event every other week). Now for die hard UFC fans, like myself and my buddy, this would seem to be a dream come true. But like most things in life, sometimes having too much of a good thing…can be bad.
When UFC was on the verge of breaking into the “mainstream” and having PPVs only once every month, most die hard UFC fans couldn’t wait for their MMA fix. Now, as of this writing, the UFC will have eight events (including Strikeforce and live TV events) over the next eight weeks. Consecutive weekly streaks like this would seem to be a boon for die hard MMA fans but really it has become more of an issue between quality Vs quantity.
Lets analyze the next series of UFC events (both live TV and PPV) and really see if these are “quality” shows. Now the UFC on FX show, showcasing the finale of the “Smashes” TUF series is being headlined by the coaches: George Sotiropoulous and Ross Pearson. Though arguably both fighters are talented, they are also coming off losses (with Sotiropoulous coming off back to back losses). The co-main event and possibly the more appealing match is between one time Bellator Middleweight champion Hector Lombard and UFC vet Rousimar Palhares. Originally a big prospect to face UFC MW champion Anderson Silva, Lombard lost in a horrible UFC debut to Tim Boetch while Palhares is also coming off of a lost of his own. Not only does this card lack true star power at the top of the card, its been changed due to FIVE separate injuries to its card’s fighters (with one bout being completely taken off the card).
TUF Finale show showcasing Nelson Vs Carwin has also been affected by injury with one half of its main event being forced off the show. So what you originally had being built up by an entire season of TUF TV, is now completely changed, with TUF alumni Matt Mitrinone stepping in to face Roy Nelson.
The other matches on the fight are filled with people coming off of losses as well; Pat Barry got KTFO by Lavar Johnson, Shane del Roasario got stopped in the first round of his previous fight, Melvin Guillard got beat down by the Cowboy Cerrone, Jamie Varner was choked out in the first round of his last fight, Dustin Poirier was beaten in a Featherweight title eliminator match and TUF winner Jonathan Brookins got beat in the first round of his last match as well.
Even the next “big” PPV show has been plagued by injuries with subpar fighters being brought in as replacements. After the huge main event rematch between Dos Santos and Cain Velasquez for the UFC Heavyweight title, the co-main event between Forrest Griffin and Phil Davis has been scrapped completely due to Griffin being injured (and this is after original Griffin opponent Chael Sonnen was taken off the card when he talked his way into a title match with UFC Lightheavy weight champion Jon Jones). Another fight on the PPV card which was originally a Middleweight Title eliminator between Chris Weidman and Tim Boetsch has been changed with the hot prospect Weidman going down to a injury (if you don’t know his replacement and training partner Costa Philippou, you wouldn’t be the only one ). TUF alumni Gray Maynard had to back out of his fight with Joe Lauzon due to injury and has been replaced by another TUFer, Jim Miller. And a match between heavyweights Philip De Fries and Matt Mitrinone has been scrapped when Mitrinone stepped in to replace the injured Carwin for the TUF season finale mentioned above.
So now you should be getting the picture. It would be one thing if every show that the UFC put on was a stacked card, this use to be the case when they were running bi monthly shows. Instead we are getting a barrage of cards that not only are constantly changing from the original line up, but are also filled with subpar fighters, thrown in as last minute replacements.
Lets go back to my (formerly) die hard UFC fan. Back in the day, my friend could literally name everyone on the UFC roster. Or if anything, see a guy on the screen, know exactly who he was, who he trained with and even who his last fight was with (believe me he was THAT diehard of a fan). Now, he can barely recognize half the fighters on half of the cards. Now if this is a problem with a
diehard UFC fan, imagine how a casual MMA fan feels. Most people watch fights or sporting events because they are interested in whose fighting. How can a person watch a UFC fight if he doesn’t know half of the names on the card? Better question, WHY would a person watch AND pay for a UFC show if he doesn’t know half of the names on the card? The sad truth about the UFC is that they don’t really have that many marketable stars. Honestly if you look at the top gates of the UFC PPV events, the only stars that consistently sell for the UFC are current Welterweight champion George St. Pierre and Middleweight Champion Anderson Silva. Due to this lack of star power the UFC forcibly subjects their fans to events that are headlined by fighters whose only claim to fame is that they were on the Ultimate Fighter. Pumping out almost a UFC show a week seems to be counter productive if the shows are filled with fighters that nobody knows OR cares to see.
Of course this isn’t saying that some of the “low star powered” shows ARENT good. The UFC has been smart enough NOT to make these shows PPV and instead air them free on cable TV. How can one argue how badly a card is, if they aren’t forced to pay for it? And yes, there has been occasions where a “free” UFC show has been better than a full priced, fully stacked UFC PPV show (the poorly named UFC 75: Stacked card, comes to mind). Yet if one were to run less shows and made sure they were filled with great fights/fighters, chances of say five of those shows crapping out compared to 15 shows filled
with TUFers, subpar fighters who are just trying to make a living and fighters on the down slope of their career would not be very high.
Another benefit to having less shows for the UFC would be the decrease of injuries. In recent interviews UFC President Dana White argues that there is no correlation between the increase number of injuries to UFC fighters and the increase number of UFC events. Yet logically it makes sense. To be an athlete of elite caliber, one must train their body constantly to not only get stronger but to maintain whatever edge or advantage they already have over the competition. In a brutal sport like MMA, where training consists of putting your body under intense abuse for up to nearly 8 hours a day, five days a
week, even a top competitor can suffer an injury (case in point the knee injury that took out Georges St. Pierre for nearly two years). Now in most professional sports, there is an off season where the athletes can rest and recover for at least 3-4 months before having to start training for the next season. In MMA there really is no season therefore there is no off season for the fighters to “officially” rest. With the lack of star power and the increase of events, the UFC is forced to put some of their more well known fighters like Dan Hardy, Brian Stann, Ryota Machida and Clay Guida into more fights per year than they normally would. More fights means less time resting and more time training, and preparing for those fights. Add that up and you are looking at more chances for fighters to get hurt and thus having to not only back out of fights but possibly be on the shelf for a while, leaving the UFC with more holes to fill on future cards.
So the solution should be simple, have less shows. Of course with the money making juggernaut that is the UFC, White would probably run a show headlined by Tank Abbott and Ken Shamrock, before ever doing that. So maybe a solution should be to have what boxing and the newly UFC acquisitioned Strikeforce, once had: a weekly Challengers series. A series of events that can be aired for free once a week that showcase up and coming talent and maybe a few former “big name” fighters who have either become stepping stones or are fading out of their career. This way you can have UFC shows every week, give your big name fighters a chance to rest and fight only a few times a year, and showcase some of the young stars that have potential but not enough to fill the undercard of shows people are putting their hard earned money for. The beauty of having these shows is that you can also start a fanbase for some of these young fighters. Fans can start to identify and relate to fighters if they can say they have been following them throughout their fight career. Starting on Challenger shows like this one until they get enough wins to earn their way onto the undercard of a PPV and then possibly to a title fight. Granted these events probably wont bring in a ton of money at the gates but I doubt that TUF season finales and some of the UFC on FX shows do either.
Bottom line some UFC fans are loyal to a point. There maybe another UFC fan who has replaced my good friend, as a guy who continues to this day to order EVERY UFC PPV that is presented to him. But sooner or later, especially with this economy, fans are really going to question whether its worth it to buy a UFC PPV or even watch a “free” UFC show if the card is filled with guys who they don’t know or aren’t worth watching. Even UFC fans have a value for their time and money and sometimes watching a UFC fight is just not worth either one.
