The Trenches, Ep. 36 Poll: Do the losses for Northcutt/Alvarez show the strength of other orgs?

Do the debut losses of Alvarez and Northcutt in One show the strength of talent outside the UFC?


  • Total voters
    170

JayPettryMMA

Danger Zone Aficionado
Staff member
Forum Administrator
Joined
Mar 13, 2011
Messages
41,722
Reaction score
22,561


NOTE: We are implementing a new feature called LIVE THREADS. To enable them, click on your status bar (Your username on top of the screen) and go down to "Join User Groups". If you join in on the "Live Threads" usergroup, you will automatically be a part of this.

What it means is that you will no longer have to refresh the thread when viewing it, as new posts will be added automatically.

Sherdog Main Page writers Ant Walker and Jason Burgos want to talk things over and answer your questions on a Live Video Chat series titled "The Trenches," airing WEDNESDAY at 8 PM ET/5 PM PT.

We also want your thoughts on a poll posted in this thread, with this week's poll question asking the following:

Do the debut losses of Alvarez and Northcutt in One Championship show the strength of talent outside the UFC?

Chime in on the conversation by voting in our poll or posting any fight questions you have.

Ant holds over 15 years of martial arts experience, training in multiple styles including Boxing, Muay Thai, Taekwondo, Kung Fu and Krav Maga, and also coached amateur MMA fighters. A former Sherdog Radio Network personality and current contributor to Sherdog.com, this self-described "gym rat" seeks to impart his knowledge and discuss all things MMA with his fellow community members.

A journalist by trade, Jason has also co-hosted and produced multiple podcasts (including the "Fight Strength Podcast" with American Top Team trainer Phil Daru) over the years. He has contributed for several publications, and was a Senior Editor for MMASucka.com before landing at Sherdog. Along with his plethora of articles based on his exclusive interviews, Jason frequently covers live events for the site, chronicling the happenings with his growing photographic talents.


The Trenches Episodes:
The Trenches, Episode 35: One for the Old Guys
The Trenches, Episode 34: UFC 237 vs. Bellator 221
The Trenches, Episode 33: ONE and Done
The Trenches, Episode 32: UFC vs. Bellator vs. The Avengers
The Trenches, Episode 31: Number One Contender Belts
The Trenches, Episode 30: Fall From Grace
The Trenches, Episode 29: ONE of a Kind Show
The Trenches, Episode 28: Mexican Wrestling Cain
The Trenches, Episode 27: 3 Piece and Soda
The Trenches, Episode 26: Conor McGregor vs. The Phone
The Trenches, Episode 25: BJ Penn's Legacy
The Trenches, Episode 24: UFC 235
The Trenches, Episode 23: The Retirement of GSP
The Trenches, Episode 22: UFC vs. Bellator Doubleheader
The Trenches, Episode 21: Adesanya vs. Silva
The Trenches, Episode 20: The Licensing of Jon Jones
The Trenches, Episode 19: The NSAC Hearings
The Trenches, Episode 18: UFC Brooklyn
The Trenches, Episode 17: Welterweights and Title Shots
The Trenches, Episode 16: Looking Ahead in 2019
The Trenches, Episode 15: The UFC 232 Debacle
The Trenches, Episode 14: UFC returns to Milwaukee
The Trenches, Episode 13: The GOAT Featherweight
The Trenches, Episode 12: Greg Hardy and Rachael Ostovich
The Trenches, Episode 11: Anderson Silva vs. The Next Anderson Silva
The Trenches, Episode 10: Golden Boy MMA
The Trenches, Episode 9: What's next for Conor?
The Trenches, Episode 8: The death of the Flyweight division
The Trenches, Episode 7: Cormier defends against Lewis
The Trenches, Episode 6: The Trade
The Trenches, Episode 5: Eddie Leaves the UFC
The Trenches, Episode 4: UFC 229 Brawl
The Trenches, Episode 3: Leading up to UFC 229
The Trenches, Episode 2: The Rise of Gegard Mousasi
The Trenches, Episode 1: UFC 229 Presser

Ask Ant Articles:

Thank you, and please be respectful. We appreciate it.
 
Last edited:
Who'd win in a street fight between Leon Edwards and Jorge Masvidal?
 
Was a jokes :D
Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed it. We may translate it into a question about the likability of promoters, and why each of the major ones are are seen in such a negative light. Even Scott Coker has quite a few detractors.
 
Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed it. We may translate it into a question about the likability of promoters, and why each of the major ones are are seen in such a negative light. Even Scott Coker has quite a few detractors.

That would be cool. To me coker is an angel compared to Dana.
 
Would it be plausible for the UFC to attempt a buyout of One or Bellator? Both Orgs have been putting on great shows this last few year sand former UFC fighters are getting knocked out by guys in the "minor leagues". It seems that the UFC's era of dominance after the strikeforce buyout is finally coming to a close. Is it more likely the UFC would try to acquire some of these smaller orgs or would they find more success in cross promoting? I think with the Askren trade there was at least a small seed planted for the option of cross promotion in the future.
 
Thoughts on what's at stake regarding Gustafsson vs. Smith. It's an exciting fight between 2 guys that like to strike, but both seem to be stuck in the mud with Smith just getting shutdown by Jones in March, and Gus underwhelmed and just looked terrible in the rematch. Both guys just seem like they're stuck with nowhere to go but down at this point. I know Gus has said if he can't beat a guy like Smith he should just hang em' up.

Thanks
 
Would it be plausible for the UFC to attempt a buyout of One or Bellator? Both Orgs have been putting on great shows this last few year sand former UFC fighters are getting knocked out by guys in the "minor leagues". It seems that the UFC's era of dominance after the strikeforce buyout is finally coming to a close. Is it more likely the UFC would try to acquire some of these smaller orgs or would they find more success in cross promoting? I think with the Askren trade there was at least a small seed planted for the option of cross promotion in the future.
The answer is no.

UFC (Endeavor) will have about $1 billion revenue in the next few years annually. Bellator, as far as I know, cashes only $30 million from DAZN every year. So buying either of these companies wouldn't make any sense since UFC has 30x income than everyone else combined per year.

Endeavor is probably going to buy either PBC or Top Rank, that's more likely their next investment.
 
That would be cool. To me coker is an angel compared to Dana.
Yeah, there's a lot we can look at. Is there a "model" promoter, and going through each of the top ones to see what works and what doesn't. I can dig it. We have PFL on Thursday which is why the show is on Wednesday, and no UFC/Bellator to talk about this weekend so it'll be a much more open-ended show.
 
Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed it. We may translate it into a question about the likability of promoters, and why each of the major ones are are seen in such a negative light. Even Scott Coker has quite a few detractors.
Even the Bare Knuckle guy is starting to rub me the wrong way: he is showing no control over his fighters esp Paulie who is slapping and spitting and next will be pissing pee on his opponents

Granted this is Paulie going full Paulie but it can be in the contract or premeetings that pressers cannot involve physical attack and pissing pee on opponents mouth
 
So who wins in Cejudo vs Moraes?

Is it right to say that Jones is a chicken for not fighting DC at heavyweight?
 
Why do we have wmma? No one likes it. Why Zant we cancel it for good?

War Cyborg tho!
 
Where did the Schmo come from and how do we get rid of him?
 
* Antman, Jason from the Bronx, am I correct in believing that the UFC is just hunting for its next Ronda/Connor/Lesnar-esque superstars, and that the majority of their income will be based on such individuals, with everyone else just being pocket-change filler. Do you think this is an accurate assessment? Is it financially viable? And can the ship be turned around to a more company-wide business-plan that we had in the early 2010's and before?

It seems like they bring in millions while cards that leave you in a state of cocaine-ecstasy over how awesome they were, like UFC 236, manage a measly 100.000 buys.

* Antman, Jason from the Bronx, I'm sorry, but I want to ask about a controversial and inflammatory question. How popular/profitable is WMMA? It gets tons of hate online -- but cyberspace people tend to be weirdos and not at all representative of the overall market. Is your average MMA-viewer down with these sheilas and how will the popularity of WMMA develop? To me, it seems to have a strong curiosity-value but interest tapers off the more people are exposed to it.

* M-1 has turned into a feeder-org for the UFC. Wow, what a poetic ending considering their storied relationship. As a result of this, the UFC has been flooded with ultra-prospects like Alexey Kunchenko, Movsar Evloev, Bruno Silva, Khadis Ibragimov and possibly the madman Nate Landwehr. Which one of these do you think could go the farthest and which are you more excited for?

* Alexander Shlemenko is rumoured to get a UFC stint... about 10 years to late, with recent scandals and losses. Why? WHY!?
 
Last edited:
Would it be plausible for the UFC to attempt a buyout of One or Bellator?

ONE's finances are one of the strangest subjects in the sport. In 2017 they were like 70 million in the red but are still burning millions by the truckloads. Basically, ONE is swimming in Asian venture-capital. As soon as that income-source closes, they'll collapse immediately, but as long as it keeps flowing, they're essentially untouchable.
 
Back
Top