Talk Sports' Mixed Martial Arts Thread

[dudeosu]

Apparently the WEC and UFC will be merging in January. This'll be nice to have more variety. Also, those lighter guys in the WEC really put on a good show, moreso than the bigger guys.

Dana White: WEC, UFC to Merge in 2011 -- MMA Fighting

[Jeremy Weimer]

I'm all for it.

[kenyan_cheena]

I don't understand the appeal of this sport. They spend a couple of seconds throwing a punch or two and then for the rest of the round they're on the ground hugging each other.

[CD1083]

Originally Posted by kenyan_cheena

I don't understand the appeal of this sport. They spend a couple of seconds throwing a punch or two and then for the rest of the round they're on the ground hugging each other.

In it's simplest form that what one sees.

Baseball is a bunch of guys scratching their nuts standing on bags for 20 minutes then they run for 5 seconds.

Football is a bunch of guys standing around and than they start running into each other.

I used to be unsure of the sport but the more I watch the more I enjoy it.
I'm still new, only a couple years.

[andjbock]

Originally Posted by kenyan_cheena

I don't understand the appeal of this sport. They spend a couple of seconds throwing a punch or two and then for the rest of the round they're on the ground hugging each other.

For me the appeal lies in the matching up of different styles. Boxing is too one dimensional, so adding, BJJ, MT, GRW, W, KB, J, etc makes for an exciting affair.

As for the merger, it's not like the UFC is fading, but this extra shot in the arm is a welcome addition.

The WEC routinely has amazing fights, so the addition of guys like Faber, Cruz, Aldo, and Torres will help propel the UFC into yet another level. Maybe it'll draw top talent from Sengoku and Dream as well. Regardless a belt will be on the line every show.

How awesome would a unification bout between Ben Henderson vs. Edgar/Maynard fighter at 130 be?

[dudeosu]

Originally Posted by andjbock

How awesome would a unification bout between Ben Henderson vs. Edgar/Maynard fighter at 130 be?

Bendo's gotta get past Pettis first, who looks really good so far. Whoever ends up in the unification fight, though, it should be a sight to see. I'd love to see a Henderson/Edgar fight, though I have a feeling Maynard's gonna do the same thing he already did to Edgar.

[Big Willis 16]

I really like Pettis. I'd love to see Pettis/Edgar. Either way, the new lightweight class is going to be very very exciting. I can't wait.

[TGH-Adfabre]

I am very excited about this. Hopefull my enthusiasm is well placed. The UFC has slipped down the priority list for the last year or two. I watched the fight last Saturady. That was the first I've seen in since Henderson made Bisbing his bitch. The matchups have not been very intriguing.
I also have had a hard time getting into the new fighters. Of the new guys GSP and Silva are about it. I really don't care about any of the other newer fighters. Their marketing has missed me somehow.

[CD1083]

Originally Posted by TGH-Adfabre

Of the new guys GSP and Silva are about it.

Which one?

[Erik W.]

GSP is new? I've been watching for about five years now and he had already had a UFC title shot when I started watching.

[dudeosu]

Guess I'll bring this thread back up...

I don't suppose anyone else watched Fedor lose again Saturday to Antonio Silva? I thought his submission loss to Werdum might've been a bit of a fluke at the time. Now, I'm not so sure. I wonder if the MMA game has passed Fedor by.

[Erik W.]

I watched it, and I think he's done, or at least close to it. The ease with which Silva controlled him on the ground was completely un-Fedor-like.

[statfreak]

One thing I've wondered is why there is so much time between fights for each fighter. I mean the Ultimate Fighter contestants can fight, what, 3-4 times in 6-8 weeks, but everyone else has to take 3 to 6 months or longer between fights.

This is a stupid take and I understand that, but I'd like to see fighters fight at least once every 2-3 months.

[dudeosu]

Originally Posted by statfreak

One thing I've wondered is why there is so much time between fights for each fighter. I mean the Ultimate Fighter contestants can fight, what, 3-4 times in 6-8 weeks, but everyone else has to take 3 to 6 months or longer between fights.

This is a stupid take and I understand that, but I'd like to see fighters fight at least once every 2-3 months.

While I'm not sure of the specific rules surrounding them, TUF fights are technically exhibition fights. Most normal fights end with something like 2 week mandatory suspensions for both fighters, win or lose. With a TKO, injury or just a generally rough fight those suspensions can last upwards of 6 months (Brock Lesnar was suspended that long for the cut on his face). Early medical clearance can be obtained from a doctor in most instances.

The other issue is the UFC maintains a roster of something like 200 contracted fighters. Scheduling an appropriate opponent and not a squash fight can mean it has to be done weeks or months in advance. There are exceptions, like Mike Thomas Brown fighting twice in January or Chris Leben having fights in two weeks last year.

Outside the UFC guys can fight more often. Jeff Monson fights all freaking time.

[dudeosu]

Another Fedor fight, another Fedor loss, though, with the caveat that the fight may have been ended a bit prematurely. Still, it's tough to see Fedor go through a rough patch like that, and he doesn't have the excuses of being too small or too old as Henderson is both smaller and older than he.

I think we just saw the last of Fedor Emelianenko.

On the flip side, talk about great win for Hendo. I think he just parlayed his latest three wins in to a UFC contract even if he wants to defend the SF title. Zuffa will push hard to have him back in the UFC I bet.

Speaking of, Zuffa buying out SF makes me wonder about them holding a near monopoly on any major talent. On one hand it should make for more interesting matchups including some we might not have otherwise seen. On the other, is this good for the fighters?

[Erik W.]

Originally Posted by dudeosu

On the other, is this good for the fighters?

I'd venture to say "yes". Better fights = bigger audience, and bigger audience = more money to pay the fighters.

Say what you will about Zuffa in general and Dana in particular, but they do try to translate revenue into fighter pay to some degree. Just look at any show where they have a bigger-than-normal gate or bigger-than-normal expected PPV showing. The bonuses given to the fighters go way up.

I do feel that the bottom-rung fighters are somewhat underpaid, but even those scales have gone up recently. About 5 years ago starting pay for an unknown fighter was 2K+2K. Now it's rare you see anyone with less than 8K+8K, particularly on PPV cards.

[TGH-Adfabre]

Originally Posted by The Chase Davis

Which one?

Sorry about the 10 month delay in responding.
Anderson. Lol

[TGH-Adfabre]

Originally Posted by Erik W.

GSP is new? I've been watching for about five years now and he had already had a UFC title shot when I started watching.

I am old, lol, we watched UFC 1 about a month, maybe 2, after it happened. I have been watching off and on since.

[dudeosu]

Originally Posted by Erik W.

I'd venture to say "yes". Better fights = bigger audience, and bigger audience = more money to pay the fighters.

Say what you will about Zuffa in general and Dana in particular, but they do try to translate revenue into fighter pay to some degree. Just look at any show where they have a bigger-than-normal gate or bigger-than-normal expected PPV showing. The bonuses given to the fighters go way up.

I do feel that the bottom-rung fighters are somewhat underpaid, but even those scales have gone up recently. About 5 years ago starting pay for an unknown fighter was 2K+2K. Now it's rare you see anyone with less than 8K+8K, particularly on PPV cards.

It's hard to look at the pay figures, even current ones, for MMA compared to the boxing figures. Granted, boxing works differently, but by total yearly viewership MMA has, I believe, surpassed boxing. Yet MMA fighters still make only a pittance compared to their boxing counterparts.

By all means the boxing promotional method is broken, else long ago we would have had Mayweather-Pacquiao, and the UFC is pretty consistently putting the best fighters against each other, except maybe in the heavyweight division. Yet how does boxing pay the fighters so much better? And how do the top MMA fighters make around a tenth or even a hundredth of the top boxers?

Considering the one-major promotion model for MMA, I wonder if a fighters' union isn't in the future.

I might be speculating, considering I don't know what the UFC's revenue stream looks like compared to boxing's, so maybe the pay scale is appropriate. Different business models and all.

[Erik W.]

Boxing's top-end payouts to fighters are much higher, but undercard fighters can actually make much less. On a PPV card, undercard fighters can make in the $1500 range. On smaller televised events (ESPN, Boxing After Dark, etc) 4-6 round fighters can make less than a grand.