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The Ultimate Fighting Championship, UFC, is the most powerful entity in Mixed Martial Arts. They control the landscape of the fighting game and indeed, shape that landscape. So, why are they struggling to maintain their own momentum?
The answer, of course, is that they are victims of their own success. Since 1993, the fighting game has evolved and improved, become more streamlined. Gone are the days of the practitioners of such silly fighting stances as "Trapfighting" and in their place are true mult-dimensional grapplers and pugilists, who are state of the art athletes and combatants.
And with that, UFC has suffered, because their fighters are that damn good.
Gone are the days of undefeated streaks and crossover personalities (Ronda Rousey being the one exception currently) like Chuck Liddell, George St. Pierres, Anderson Silva and even Ken Shamrock. Sure, some of these fighters are still active and even reliable old stars, but the new generation of male fighters has yet to see anyone who's captivated the audience the way UFC did just a few years back.
Although UFC's fights have always been legitimate, it's far more likely than ever before that you'll see the fast-rising star knocked out before he has his chance to truly achieve fame, because the opposition continues to get greater and harder to compete with.
So, UFC loses momentum because with very few exceptions, there are no new stars being made. The Ultimate Fighter concept has run its course for the most part and while it's very important to continue to churn new talents into the roster through the reality series, it's not bringing in the numbers or the interest that it was five-six years ago.
There was a time where UFC and MMA were filling bars across the country with fraternity brothers and their girlfriends, anxious to see the next fight, the next knockout, the next big thing, but in recent years, that interest has been stretched. Part of it is the inability to create new bonafide superstars to be sure, but there's also the fact that there are far more shows that the average person can keep up with.
Name the main event of UFC on FOX 2? UFC 98? Ultimate Fighter's season finale 3 three years ago? I bet you can't do it, off the top of your head, unless you are truly an amazing, obsessive compulsive MMA fan (and if you are, I salute you!) but for the average layman - the guy who just wants to watch some fights this weekend or the frat brothers who want to socialize in the bar as someone gets knocked the hell out...well, it all blends together and loses it's, "WE GOTTA GO SEE THIS" appeal.
Of course, there's Ronda Rousey but she's a pretty unique figure in today's MMA marketplace. She's a fierce fighter, she's sexy as hell and she is nowhere as exposed as the other fighters - and because of that, she gets to maintain that aura.
Of course, with the loss of that aura comes a lack of faith in fighters. With that lack of faith and interest, it becomes harder to find someone to believe in or want to follow. A good portion of fight fans often bet on the fights and if they don't have a reason to believe, that certainly hurts the flow of the Vegas business or even some of the online betting sites, such as this one, which allows you to Bet on MMA.
Even more confounding is the title situation. There are far too many championships now. Can you name every champ in every division off the top of your head right now? Perhaps, but again, the average person on the street just wants to see a bunch of fights - he doesn't want to have to follow 8,10,12, 15 divisions. He wants to see winners and losers, which was a big part of why MMA took off the way it did - boxing had too many divisions and too many champions and too many controversies that left fans with empty-calorie fights. Pro wrestling has always failed to give a consistent clean finish to its audience, unless it's their biggest show of the year, Wrestlemania - and then even that show isn't as sacred as it used to be. UFC was sleeker, simpler, easier to follow. Only now, it's not. They've eroded that with all the additional divisions, fighters and contenders.
The biggest and most frustrating problem was just spotlighted this week. Jon Jones vs. Daniel Cornier had an explosion of interest due to their brawl at the press conference promoting the show. Unlike MMA's cousins, boxing and professional wrestling, physicality has never been the way Dana White and his band of merry men have ever tried to sell a show. Trashtalking and strong individual personalities? Absolutely, but you are never going to purposely see someone throwing a trash can or diving into the crowd to get to his opponent during a promotional appearance, much less a press conference. There's too much at stake - the legitimacy of the sport and the relationship UFC has cultivated with the Athletic Commissions.
But, for whatever reason, Cornier and Jones got into it and the issue exploded within the MMA media and social media, getting UFC some good mainstream coverage, although admittedly not the type of attention UFC management wants from it's fighters. In the end though, the coverage was good because it got a lot of fans talking and made a lot of people want to see the fight.
Then, Jon Jones got hurt training and is forced to undergo knee surgery.
Fight off, for now. Momentum lost, possibly for good.
That's the most frustrating part of wanting to care and follow and be a diehard UFC fan. The competitors have gotten so good and the training is so grueling that half the fight is actually getting to the Octagon without injuring yourself before they ever touch gloves.
It's not Jon Jones' fault he was injured, but how many fight fans wanted to see that fight and purchased tickets to go to UFC 178? How many were traveling to the card with the express interest in seeing Cornier vs. Jones. Instead, now, Flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson vs. Chris Cariaso is now the main event. That's great for them, but for the fans primed and ready and excited to see it all go down between Jones and Cornier, there's also a lot of letdown.
And the problem is that there's been a lot of fights postponed and a lot of letdowns in recent years and that leads to a lack of excitement and that leads to a lack of momentum.
That's the fight UFC is fighting now...and one they can't afford to lose.
Mike Johnson can be reached at MikeJohnsonPWInsider@gmail.com.
