Rank your top 5 non UFC Promotions since 1993

Overall talent & weight classes ,
SFORCE > PRIDE.

SFORCE
PRIDE

Then a significant drop

Todays bellator( near the top of most classes)

Affliction would've been really interesting if it gained traction instead of having a drop dead heart attack.

DREAM had its players.

Cage rage has had a plethora of stepping stone fighters.
 
immyaxl said:
Strikeforce really only had a 3 or 4 year run where they were a big time promotion but they they really put on some good fights in that time frame.
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Yeah but SFORCE brought the UFC to its highest ceiling .
 
Franklin U. said:
Overall talent & weight classes ,
SFORCE > PRIDE.

SFORCE
PRIDE

Then a significant drop

Todays bellator( near the top of most classes)

Affliction would've been really interesting if it gained traction instead of having a drop dead heart attack.

DREAM had its players.

Cage rage has had a plethora of stepping stone fighters.
Click to expand...

I'm shocked people don't know about or talk about Cage Rage more often. It gave us one of the best MMA fights ever with Cyborg vs Manhoef, and plenty of other great fights / highlights with name fighters. There was a time where they were picking up a lot of big talent while guys were between the big leagues, makes you think what could have happened had things gone a little differently. There were a few other similar small organizations at that time that were consistently getting big names vs. the other smaller orgs that would have a generally shit card with a big main event.

The open guard rule was also fantastic and should be considered for modern mma as a compromise for kicks / knees to a downed opponent.
 
thewilks said:
I'm shocked people don't know about or talk about Cage Rage more often. It gave us one of the best MMA fights ever with Cyborg vs Manhoef, and plenty of other great fights / highlights with name fighters. There was a time where they were picking up a lot of big talent while guys were between the big leagues, makes you think what could have happened had things gone a little differently. There were a few other similar small organizations at that time that were consistently getting big names vs. the other smaller orgs that would have a generally shit card with a big main event.

The open guard rule was also fantastic and should be considered for modern mma as a compromise for kicks / knees to a downed opponent.
Click to expand...
I mean the problem is people think kicking, kneeing and stomping down opponents is too barbaric - so being able to do it when your opponent is not against the cage isn't going to convince a lot of the suits still.
 
thewilks said:
The open guard rule was also fantastic and should be considered for modern mma as a compromise for kicks / knees to a downed opponent.
Click to expand...
They did it for a while in ONE.
If memory serves, they had allowed soccer kicks and stomps PRIDE style, then changed to the open guard rule, then after the chaos of Sylvia/Arlovski 4 (yes they had a 4th fight in ONE) they went back to PRIDE style.

Then eventually due to their Disney sponsors or TV station's pressure or requirements they got rid of them altogether, and also dropped 'fighting' from the name.
 
Katsumi Yamada said:
They did it for a while in ONE.
If memory serves, they had allowed soccer kicks and stomps PRIDE style, then changed to the open guard rule, then after the chaos of Sylvia/Arlovski 4 (yes they had a 4th fight in ONE) they went back to PRIDE style.

Then eventually due to their Disney sponsors or TV station's pressure or requirements they got rid of them altogether, and also dropped 'fighting' from the name.
Click to expand...


I remember this fight well, just never made the connection that those were the rules. ONE had to have been pretty new at the time, and I was not paying attention.
 
1 Pride 2001-2006 >>> UFC
2 Dream
3 Strike force
4 Bellator
5 WEC
 
Katsumi Yamada said:
They did it for a while in ONE.
If memory serves, they had allowed soccer kicks and stomps PRIDE style, then changed to the open guard rule, then after the chaos of Sylvia/Arlovski 4 (yes they had a 4th fight in ONE) they went back to PRIDE style.

Then eventually due to their Disney sponsors or TV station's pressure or requirements they got rid of them altogether, and also dropped 'fighting' from the name.
Click to expand...


I think the funniest thing about this is I totally forgot they even had a 3rd fight. God, the UFC was so boring back then.
 
Bellator is a work in progress - getting better all the time.
Pride was something really special.
 
UFC
ONE
PFL
Bellator
Rizin
ACA
KSW
M-1 Global
 
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