Media Older fans need to accept that UFC is now entertainment 1st, competition 2nd

They are entertaining while being 1000x more skilled than the old farts
 
We are back to square one. Exactly where it started. Only difference is there is no Gracie Jiu Jitsiu to sell.
The literal first fight was a kick boxer versus a sumo wrestler.
 
Aegon Spengler said:
Brock Lesnar got a title shot in the 4th fight of his career. He was 3-1 and they put him in for the HW belt.

That was 10 years ago?
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15 years ago

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Meh I’m and older fan who has been watching pro mma on a regular basis for 20 years. It been more entertainment since essentially the late 2000’s when Brock Lesnar came in. It’s still really enjoyable, but all I care about is what’s happening inside the cage. Some of my favorite fighters of all time didn’t talk shit or put on a show outside of the cage like Fedor, Anderson and Dan Henderson, they just went into the cage and put on great exciting fights. It’s what I love about Max Holloway , he is certainly a throwback to those guys while being an elite top of the game fighter. Doesn’t talk shit or rarely does before a fight, then goes in there and shows how fucking crazy technical he is in striking and his overall fight iq and cardio. Puts on a show in the cage. The opposite to me is a guy like Colby. Talks tons of shit to appeal to the WWE crowd and casuals and then when it’s fight time is usually a boring fight. Chael was kind of the same way.
 
AdamWarlock said:
it's always been this way, ufc can only be as good as the people in charge of it, and the people in charge of the organization are bunch of scumbags, hence the product they make
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Yet more people watch it and talk about it every year. But they aren’t delivering the exact product that YOU personally would like to watch, so they’re scumbags.
 
Soggust said:
Wait.

It's a legitimate sport because they are fair...sometimes?

But that's not how being fair works though, right? lol
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Depends, it probably doesn't happen as often as sherdoggers claim. Because a lot of times when a guy gets passed over for a TS, the one who happens to get it is still qualified as well.
 
That's the jacket off the beat if video right?

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TheBulge said:
Depends, it probably doesn't happen as often as sherdoggers claim. Because a lot of times when a guy gets passed over for a TS, the one who happens to get it is still qualified as well.
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I think prior to Belal, and to a lesser degree Dariush, you would be right. I think the immense backlash to these two situations in particular is not because they have hardcore fans, but rather because this is a significant jump from the credible arguments the UFC used to make.

I know qualified is subjective, but even prior to Burns last night, there is no rational case for Colby's third title shot (off a win over #6) ahead of Belal (4 top 10 wins, 2 top 5 wins), without mentioning PPV draw.

The only half-hearted dogshit response the UFC could argue is that "Colby is #1 contender and, hey, we don't make the rankings". But then you have to make the Pavlovich fight over Stipe or make Izzy vs Rob III, so the UFC certainly doesn't want to commit to that position.

I would argue that if you cannot make a coherent case for someone without mentioning PPV sales, then it's not qualified or based on merit.
 
It’s been that way for over a decade. Maybe longer.
 
Why can’t it be both? MMA always has been a combo of the two. For every time something is deemed “entertainment first” 25 other fights are strictly competition based.
 
So the antics after the fight invalidate the actual fights? You may want to tell that to Dober after his face looked like he got hit with a bat last night. Wrong.

Secondly, the UFC, and MMA for that matter has always had fighters talk smack, use the heel angle for attention, and has been filled with petty beef.

Kimo with the cross. Tank Abbott. Ken leaving MMA for WWE along with Dan Severn. Sonnen cutting WWE promos pre and post fight. Ortiz and the grave digger and his Lion's Den beef. Chuck and Tito. Brock Lesnar. Both have existed hand in hand for a long while.

As usual just more reactionary takes in the moment without rational thought. Fighters have always entered the cage for face offs. Sometimes they talk smack. Sometimes they don't. Sometimes a guy grabs a red jacket and jumps atop the cage.

I guess new fans need to wake up and realize this isn't new.
 
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Why is this any different than when Shogun was clearly the best MW in PRIDE but would never fight Wandy. I think the tactics Aljo uses likely give Merab issues. Merab makes it sound like Aljo is always getting the better of him and credits him for his own success.
 
Carrotman23 said:
Yeah it's degenerating for sure (bloated, repetitive, lowering talent pool) an inevitable consequence of the sport getting more mainstream and being affiliated with ESPN and Disney along with the general fan base being unthinking yes-men(casuals) who are fans of the brand more then the sport.

It's a part of the overall trend of American culture in general too, is what it is.

It's not like other orgs presentation is any better though , I mean the most recent ONE event was fun and had variety but its presentation was corny and frankly cultish.
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I think all of us saw the trend a long time ago, but this past year has made me hardly even want to pay attention anymore. Everything feels so fake now, the matchmaking is soooo transparently phony.

People will bring up Brock or Conor or whoever, but it was a little more understandable to make SOME exceptions for once in a generation PPV draws… even Conor had to legit earn his first TS.

Now if you’re even slightly more of a draw they’re willing to rig everything for you… Colby ain’t selling PPVs… but we’re gonna give him his third unearned TS. Think of how many great fights could’ve happened at WW over the past few years… think of what Usman’s resume could be right now. Instead Usman actually has a kind of shitty reign because they wasted his prime on bullshit contenders… uck… I could rant about this forever.

I hope I can come to terms with it and love the sport again at some point lol. I didn’t even watch the fights last night I was so disgusted by Cejudo’s bullshit. Thank god he lost.
 
Zorro said:
Right? TS apparently didn't watch the actual fights last night, where both the main and co-main events were held between fighters at the very top of their respective divisions in highly competitive but not necessarily entertaining fights.
There have always been shenanigans and trash talking. This is nothing new at all. Young fans need to stop telling old fans what they need to do
<{nope}>
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How is Cejudo at the top of his division?

He hasn’t fought in years, and never did anything great at BW anyway.

That fight was completely meaningless because Cejudo’s current level at BW is completely unknown.
 
Bring that sweet and tight ass to Stirling like he asked for. Better do what daddy says!
 
Orochimaru 大蛇丸 said:
I think all of us saw the trend a long time ago, but this past year has made me hardly even want to pay attention anymore. Everything feels so fake now, the matchmaking is soooo transparently phony.

People will bring up Brock or Conor or whoever, but it was a little more understandable to make SOME exceptions for once in a generation PPV draws… even Conor had to legit earn his first TS.

Now if you’re even slightly more of a draw they’re willing to rig everything for you… Colby ain’t selling PPVs… but we’re gonna give him his third unearned TS. Think of how many great fights could’ve happened at WW over the past few years… think of what Usman’s resume could be right now. Instead Usman actually has a kind of shitty reign because they wasted his prime on bullshit contenders… uck… I could rant about this forever.

I hope I can come to terms with it and love the sport again at some point lol. I didn’t even watch the fights last night I was so disgusted by Cejudo’s bullshit. Thank god he lost.
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Pretty much agree . Like you said Colby getting a title shot is just so.... Well GROSS frankly . And this matchmaking combined with Slap Fighting-WWE characteristics just makes it so much worse.. like being 100% real to be honest watching UFC and other orgs (to a lesser extent to be fair) makes me feel like a pig gorging at the trough . The vibes... They are fucked lol.

Like when they had that 18 year old kid fight under the big lights because he won a DWCS match and predictably he fought like he was having a panic attack(I don't blame him to an extent).. like wtf are "we" doing here come on..
 
If older fans think this is new,they have a skewed version of reality.

However,that doesnt mean people cant get mad about undeserved title shots,rank squatting,and rank jumping.
 
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