Any long time fans feel like the UFC has lost its magic?

Dim1 said:
That they were able to keep reasonable shows happening through the pandemic was a good sign. I think we have some good up and comers that need to go star level. The problem is their tendency to cling to stars too long but the combat sports fan base is also responsible (look at Mike Tyson - fans can't let him go now 30 years out of his prime.)
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I think trying to pre-write stars is foolish. I like Omalley a lot but the way that he's marketed and pushed by the brand makes him very undigestible for newer fans and he rubs the older fans the wrong way. They should focus on letting the fighters achievements with pinches of their personality catapult them into stardom more naturally instead of shoving it down everyones throats imo
 
filthybliss said:
I mean the aura and charisma that those guys had were something special. Add the mysticness of Royce Gracie and the genuine masculinity of guys like Don Frye and Tank Abbott. Fighters were less concerned about losing/whoring the belt and more concerned about putting the best effort that they could against whoever was on the other side of the cage.

Now, we got influencer wannabes like Strickland,Omalley and Colby. Hell even, 54 yr old Dana, who might be a billionaire, wants to be a dorky social media influencer. Unfortunately, this is just the tip of iceberg, there's whole plethora of issues that I feel can be untangled leading to this demise.
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Strickland isnt an influencer wannabe. He just beats the piss out of them. Strickland is in the same category as Frye and Abbott.
 
J'Ghasta said:
Strickland isnt an influencer wannabe. He just beats the piss out of them. Strickland is in the same category as Frye and Abbott.
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excuse me....frye and abbott could dish what they could take out, they were not crying about people being different than them, they were ready to scrap with anyone. on the other side, strickland is just a massive crybaby, he needles everyone and when they smack back, he tries to moral grandstand like he's isn't a drama whore. he pretends to not care about the belt but then whines and makes excuses incessantly when he doesn't have it anymore.

i wanna support the guy, i really do, he came from a really shitty place and turned himself onto a better path. but he acts like such a manchild, i suppose its to garner the attention that he was deprived of as a kid but still, if he didn't want to be an influencer, he wouldn't be associating with them as much as he does and instead calling out fighters.
 
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filthybliss said:
excuse me....frye and abbott could dish what they could take out, they were not crying about people being different than them, they were ready to scrap with anyone. on the other side, strickland is just a massive crybaby, he needles everyone and when they smack back, he tries to moral grandstand like he's isn't a drama whore. he pretends to not care about the belt but then whines and makes excuses incessantly when he doesn't have it anymore.

i wanna support the guy, i really do, he came from a really shitty place and turned himself onto a better path. but he acts like such manchild, i suppose its to garner the attention that he was deprived of as a kid but still, if he didn't want to be an influencer, he wouldn't be associating with them as much as he does and instead calling out fighters.
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Brutal post ^ but ... I can't fault it lol.
 
UFC is too political and culture war centric. Takes away from the magic and turns it into another organization pushing an agenda.
 
XociDe said:
The UFC has had multiple different eras and being nostalgic about the "old days" is normal, but there was always a certain magic throughout all of those years. Even when it went fully mainstream with Conor and millions of new fans came flooding in, it still kept that feeling. I just don't feel it anymore.

The UFC is obviously not dying, and that's not what I'm saying. I can't put my finger on what it is.

Anyone else feel the same?
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I watch MMA for the technique now. I really enjoyed a few recent fights on that last fight night. Back in the day I wanted to see brutal finishes, but now I just want to see actual MMA showcased as opposed to average kickboxing or grappling fights. The issue for me is I find they are pushing fighters who are basically kickboxers, who then eventually run into a wrestler who just wins by holding them down. The days of well rounded champions have faded off a bit.

I still enjoy it, but I aint paying those over inflated prices for the PPVs they have been putting out lately.
 
PPVs are too expensive and in an attempt to corner the market they have brought in too many fighters that are amateur level at best. I watched the free fights list night and on the main card some goof named Peek literally spun around like a top to try and hit his opponent. The skill level in a lot of these fights is embarrassing. It's hard to want to watch a bunch of dudes flail at one another and then panic wrestle. The little guys are still fun but we are on the verge of middleweight and up looking like UFC 1 level fighters or worse. It's just highschool wrestlers spazzing out all over the place and the UFC calling every other guy the next big thing. The UFC used to let guys pressure test outside the UFC and then bring them in after actually watching them fight. The UFC has now had fighters that doctored their records and didn't even bother to watch the fights they had to decide if they were good enough to be there. Dana's contender series is laughable at best. It's just sad.
 
BFoe said:
Yup. There are fighters I like to watch, sure, but I just haven’t found any that I really become a fan of the way I was with Fedor, Silva, GSP, Nick Diaz, and so on. I also hate the lack of meritocracy, I hate how social-media driven shit is, and the insane price of PPVs. I still follow the sport, but I’m nowhere near as much a hardcore fan as I used to be.
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Thia is spot on. There IS more free content though, but it seems pretty watered down. It just doesn't seem like the talent pool is as deep, and attraction to that talent pool isn't as deep either. I'm definitely aging out of it as well. The whole MMA thing seemed a lot more special 20 years ago.
 
DShiznit said:
UFC is too political and culture war centric. Takes away from the magic and turns it into another organization pushing an agenda.
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what do you mean? every sport has their characters spouting their nonsense and political alignments. you mean trump being on the screen for 5 seconds? that shit doesn't really phase me lmao and i can't stand the guy. i am baffled that people can't fathom seeing his face for 5 seconds but can stomach 2 people beating their brains in the cage.
 
I dunno.. i all i know is that i used to watch every fight, every pre fight presser and interviews. And then all post presser stuff too.
But then years ago i stopped doing that and just turned into a "casual" viewer and now i only watch fights that peak my interest.

I guess you could say it lost its magic for me. But i feel like its more i lost the connection with the fighters. I tuned it too watch and cheer for my guy win or lose. But most of the fighters i followed all went away/retiered/died/etc. And i cant really "connect" to most of these new fighters, they feel like they just rolled of some kind of "fighter A or B" conveyor belt.
 
Yeah, i've felt this way for awhile. Switching PPV's to ESPN+ and trying to force a subscription to watch watered down cards sucked a lot of the life out of it. The price keeps increasing, but the quality remains the same or worsens. Most of the fighters i rooted for have retired now, and there don't seem to be as many fighters with the same...charisma? Some talented young fighters, for sure, just doesn't grab me and hold my interest the same way. Went from watching every show and PPV and knowing the card top to bottom to being lucky if i recognize a few names. Haven't watched a PPV in years, don't see that changing any time soon.
 
XociDe said:
The UFC has had multiple different eras and being nostalgic about the "old days" is normal, but there was always a certain magic throughout all of those years. Even when it went fully mainstream with Conor and millions of new fans came flooding in, it still kept that feeling. I just don't feel it anymore.

The UFC is obviously not dying, and that's not what I'm saying. I can't put my finger on what it is.

Anyone else feel the same?
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The fighters overall are better than ever. I would say that you are just burned out. It happens. I don't watch nearly as obsessively as I used to.
 
Been watching ufc and mma in general since 1995 and my height was during pride where i couldnt miss any single event....now i just missed the past 3 events and didnt even care
 
Getting older and having other priorities. UFC quality of cards has dropped significantly. The best fighters fighting once a year. Fighters ducking the best opposition in favor of money fights. The UFC and most fight promotions are super sketchy, treat their fighters like shit, and while I don't buy PPVs, I dont like supporting the UFC financially.

I still love watching fights when they are good, its just less consistent. We use to get UFC 300 esque cards a few times a year and now we get them once a year at best.
 
MMA as a whole lost its newness and most people around are just true fans of the sport. You would probably need to ask new fans. Older fans may tell you yes and really they just aren’t interested in mma anymore
 
Not for me.

UFC 299 this year was fucking amazing. Stacked card and the fights delivered. UFC 300 in one week. I am pumped. UFC debuts in Saudi Arabia this year with a stacked card. UFC at the sphere, which will be stacked. International fight week coming up where they go nuts on getting banging fights together.

This year is the best time to be a fight fan.
 
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