All things being equal, the UFC mostly delivers the fights we want to see. Compared to boxing, it's lightyears better.

[BullyKutta]

Every year, I hope that the boxing scene will pull itself together and start 'moving' the same way that the UFC does, but it never happens. There's just too much ingrained dysfunction in boxing thanks to the alphabet mafias.

I'm no fan of Dana's business practices, and I think we're going to read an enormous amount of heartbreaking stories about former fighters in the next 5-10 years. Someone's going to do a proper documentary about the UFC's penchant for chewing these guys up and spitting them out with no money to show for it.

But that said, I still have to concede that we're well fed compared to other combat sports. The amount of can-crushing that happens in boxing thanks to idiotic systems like 'mandatory challengers' is just breath-taking. Let's take Sean O'Malley as an example. If he were a boxer, even coming off his latest win, he'd end up spending the next 3 fights (and possibly 2 years) fighting nobodies and padding his record. His momentum would grind to a halt, and we'd have to wait a painful amount of time to see him in the ring again against a legitimate opponent with any sort of dimension.

As an example, 3 years ago, Canelo Alvarez headlined a $49.99 PPV against a mandatory challenger named Avni Yildirim (Don't worry if you've never heard of the guy).

Yildirim was a -5000 underdog. Yes, -5000! And the bloody card STILL had a 50 dollar pricetag.



By and large, this rarely happens in the UFC, and to whatever degree we can be thankful, we probably should be. If MMA ends up going the same route as boxing, we might end up looking at the current era as a golden age.

 

[Gladiator24]

Boxing is making a comeback now because of his excellency

 

[BullyKutta]

Boxing is making a comeback now because of his excellency

If Saudi Arabia can give the sport the injection it needs, I'm ALL for it.

Growing up in the 90s, boxing PPVs were events unlike anything else in the world. I would love to get back to that level of spectacle and gravity.

 

[LiQuiD42]

I will agree with that. The UFC does put on the fights we want to see.

 

[markg171]

The UFC can make the fights fans want to see because their champions aren't legally mandated to fight whoever's next in line or be stripped by X date like they are in boxing.

Here though TS is calling that record padding even though the real record padding is just throwing together whatever fight you want to make like the UFC can.

 

[Gladiator24]

If Saudi Arabia can give the sport the injection it needs, I'm ALL for it.

Growing up in the 90s, boxing PPVs were events unlike anything else in the world. I would love to get back to that level of spectacle and gravity.

Saudi cards are definitely not spectacles, the atmosphere is equivalent of being in a library but they put on good cards

 

[HatKick]

For sure. I slightly prefer boxing as a sport, but UFC destroys the boxing orgs as an entertainment product.

 

[Pequeño Corey]

“Fights we want to see”

Max vs Gaethje
Pants vs Erceg
O’Malley vs Chito
Belal vs no one

 

[CannotWin]

No no. Fighter pay burrrrr Pink goof Bad duuuurrrrr Baxing is Butter

adhere to the dogma or be purged, shersinner

 

[Dr. Rose]

If Saudi Arabia can give the sport the injection it needs, I'm ALL for it.

Growing up in the 90s, boxing PPVs were events unlike anything else in the world. I would love to get back to that level of spectacle and gravity.

He needs to do it for kickboxing. Never understood why the sport never took off; most so-called MMA fans on here really just want a kickboxing match inside a cage.

 

[PeterGriffin]

I would agree with you if the UFC still cared about rankings. Or belts.

UFC is boxing now, you know... that sport that Dana always railed on against. Those days are long gone. It's been the same merry-go-round of challengers at WW and MW (examples) for the past what? 3, 4, 5 years now? It is 100% sales driven and merit or accomplishments fall by the wayside. How many examples do you need of the UFC ignoring rightful challengers in the past decade?

Champ is hurt? Create an interim belt. Champ won't defend? It's okay. I mean, it's okay if it's Conor, or Jones. Anyone else is getting stripped. The UFC does nothing to eliminate double standards or queue jumpers.

Champs seem to fight once a year now, and only seem interested in two-belt shit. Calling out people they will or could NEVER fight. Who was that fighter who called out that Trans swimmer post fight? If you think that is because he doesn't like cheaters, okay, but that seemed like someone frustrated with the state of things. Contenders have a hard enough time trying to rise in the ranks, but if the ranks don't actually mean anything than what's the fucking point? Poatan is a fucking blessing at this point.

Sorry, the UFC is getting fucking ridiculous. Topuria, never defended, says no FW are worthy and wants Islam or Conor. Makhachev is more interested in Edwards than defending against an actual LW. Belal can't get a title fight to save his life. DDP only wants to fight Adesanya in SA, on his own terms.

The fans don't want Jones vs. Miocic. Dana does, Jones does, Miocic apparently does, but do the fans? No. Most want him to fight Aspinall. The fans want Conor to fight, Conor says he wants to fight, Dana says Conor will fight when he's ready, and Conor says the UFC is stalling him, so really... who's cockblocking who? If it comes down to a "Who's lying?" between Dana and Conor, sorry, I'm probably going to side with history and go with the kid who only lies half the time.,

The UFC doesn't give a shit about the fans, or the integrity of the sport anymore. They want the fans' money. Just as how the UFC has always done. When you are no longer of any value to them, buh bye.

 

[Goutfather]

ufc is still more legitimate and consistent than boxing… but it’s worse than it was 10 years ago. ufc has relied to heavily on storylines to sell its product. this leads to questionable matchmaking, giftwrapped title shots, and sometimes overlooking the most talented fighters. lately they’ve been pandering to demographic groups, which is tacky, but also dangerous. overall, you can be less assured that the belts are legitimate, and that the champions are actually the best in their divisions.

 

[kingghidrah]

The Saudis are starting to really improve HW boxing matchups, at least getting top contenders to fight each other due to the power of $$$

 

[TankAbbott4Eva]

The Saudis are starting to really improve HW boxing matchups, at least getting top contenders to fight each other due to the power of $$$

Also getting Bivol v Beterbiev to happen which is awesome for the fans.

It's not just at the top end though, you regularly get up and comers fighting each other on the way up in MMA. A lot of pro boxers will fight guys they are heavily favoured against on the way up, maybe they get to 20-0 before they take a risk.

Boxing matches like Davis v Garcia last year rarely happen in boxing, two young guys risking their 0. Happens all the time in the UFC, well they may not even have an 0 by the time they're in the UFC but fighters have to take more risks.

 

[Goutfather]

I would agree with you if the UFC still cared about rankings. Or belts.

UFC is boxing now, you know... that sport that Dana always railed on against. Those days are long gone. It's been the same merry-go-round of challengers at WW and MW (examples) for the past what? 3, 4, 5 years now? It is 100% sales driven and merit or accomplishments fall by the wayside. How many examples do you need of the UFC ignoring rightful challengers in the past decade?

Champ is hurt? Create an interim belt. Champ won't defend? It's okay. I mean, it's okay if it's Conor, or Jones. Anyone else is getting stripped. The UFC does nothing to eliminate double standards or queue jumpers.

Champs seem to fight once a year now, and only seem interested in two-belt shit. Calling out people they will or could NEVER fight. Who was that fighter who called out that Trans swimmer post fight? If you think that is because he doesn't like cheaters, okay, but that seemed like someone frustrated with the state of things. Contenders have a hard enough time trying to rise in the ranks, but if the ranks don't actually mean anything than what's the fucking point? Poatan is a fucking blessing at this point.

Sorry, the UFC is getting fucking ridiculous. Topuria, never defended, says no FW are worthy and wants Islam or Conor. Makhachev is more interested in Edwards than defending against an actual LW. Belal can't get a title fight to save his life. DDP only wants to fight Adesanya in SA, on his own terms.

The fans don't want Jones vs. Miocic. Dana does, Jones does, Miocic apparently does, but do the fans? No. Most want him to fight Aspinall. The fans want Conor to fight, Conor says he wants to fight, Dana says Conor will fight when he's ready, and Conor says the UFC is stalling him, so really... who's cockblocking who? If it comes down to a "Who's lying?" between Dana and Conor, sorry, I'm probably going to side with history and go with the kid who only lies half the time.,

The UFC doesn't give a shit about the fans, or the integrity of the sport anymore. They want the fans' money. Just as how the UFC has always done. When you are no longer of any value to them, buh bye.

the thing is all those grievances are worse in boxing, and there’s nothing that can really be done about it because the industry is fractured among all these different sanctioning bodies and promoters. who is actually the best hw in boxing right now? you could say usyk, having collected all those belts. but then fury is still technically undefeated. i remember reading somewhere that no matter who wins between fury and usyk, there will be an automatic rematch, forcing the winner to vacate some of his other belts. basically it’s really hard to unify all those titles, and it’s hard to say to who the real champ is at any given time. it’s like that in almost every division.

 

[Jeffy37]

Boxing is making a comeback now because of his excellency

Betting and putting together draft kings card is part of the game. Ufc puts on so many events with 12 or more fights every event.. Boxing isn't coming back.

 

[blaseblase]

We didn't get Jones v Ngannou or even Jones v Aspinall.

 

[ChessJitsu]

That's kind of true but there's still a lil bit of bs in UFC.

Like we've definitely watched McGregor and O'Malley get favorable matchmaking and career-building boosts because of their charisma & potential starpower.

If we're talking about pure sport integrity, that shouldn't have happened.

 

[ChessJitsu]

We didn't get Jones v Ngannou or even Jones v Aspinall.

I think that has more to do with Jones/Ngannou demanding gigantic paychecks than anything else.

 

[PeterGriffin]

the thing is all those grievances are worse in boxing, and there’s nothing that can really be done about it because the industry is fractured among all these different sanctioning bodies and promoters. who is actually the best hw in boxing right now? you could say usyk, having collected all those belts. but then fury is still technically undefeated. i remember reading somewhere that no matter who wins between fury and usyk, there will be an automatic rematch, forcing the winner to vacate some of his other belts. basically it’s really hard to unify all those titles, and it’s hard to say to who the real champ is at any given time. it’s like that in almost every division.

No, I absolutely agree that boxing is full of rampant bullshit. Doubtful they will be able to correct that either.

But any integrity Dana had went out the window long ago. When he was building the organization, he did care. Rankings did matter. The value of being a belt holder meant something. The UFC was fun and exciting, and events were just that. Now, Dana is just dialing it in, and he doesn't give a shit about anyone. What other sports organization leader(s) flat out lie to his own fans and media?

That dude is the new Mr. (jacked up) Burns, and the UFC is a stale product compared to what it used to be.