Non-threadworthy MMA Rumors/Quotes/Tweets/Etc., Vol. 5

Bernman · Post #41 » by **Bernman** » Thu Aug 2, 2018 1:02 am

I'd say even more than the watering down of the anticipation from so many events, it's how many different channels and platforms they're spread across, some obscured from the general public. That erodes name recognition. That's even true of the "hardcores". Remember when we used to do the confidence pool on here? Couldn't pull that off any more. Part of the fun was predicting fights and seeing if it played out that way. Fantasy sports is one of the main reasons football has become popular.

But I actually do think the action is better than ever because of the evolution of the sport and their virtual monopoly. They just aren't selling it properly.

Post #42 » by **lilfishi22** » Thu Aug 2, 2018 1:21 am

Bernman wrote:I'd say even more than the watering down of the anticipation from so many events, it's how many different channels and platforms they're spread across, some obscured from the general public. That erodes name recognition. That's even true of the "hardcores". Remember when we used to do the confidence pool on here? Couldn't pull that off any more. Part of the fun was predicting fights and seeing if it played out that way. Fantasy sports is one of the main reasons football has become popular.

But I actually do think the action is better than ever because of the evolution of the sport and their virtual monopoly. They just aren't selling it properly.

It's the whole package, including the watering down of fights. It's nothing against the fighters or the fights themselves, they are still exciting and I tune into the big fights. I just find it hard to get excited about Werdum v Volkov or JDS vs Ivanov or Machida vs Anders as main events when the rest of the card isn't strong enough to support itself. I really do think it's the watering down but it's true the multiple distribution channels also erode some of that recognition and also fan loyalty. They're really testing fans to see if they would follow the UFC to the ESPN's, to the UFC streaming while also plotting down for the fairly weak monthly PPV events.

Now when fights get set up, you don't know whether it's for an interim belt, whether it's for #1 contender, whether the interim guy is getting stripped ahead of a fight or anything like that. There's just no rules anymore.

NZB2323 · Post #43 » by **NZB2323** » Thu Aug 2, 2018 1:47 pm

lilfishi22 wrote:These new lows just doesn't surprise me anymore. It's clear that people just aren't tuning in with regularity as they once were. The product is watered down, the advertising is spent on the top 1% of UFC fighters and of those 1%, the hope is that 1 of those maybe 3-4 guys will pull in enough numbers to make 2-3 other low buy rate cards acceptable on the books.

I was a huge MMA fan and quite frankly, between the Stipe/DC card and the last card I watched before that, would have been a good month or two.

That's not even true because Jose Aldo is in the top 1% of fighters. If you had to rank how much advertising the UFC has spent on these 5 fighters in the past 4 years, this is how it would rank:

1. Ronda Rousey(retired)
2. Conor McGregor(doesn't defend his belts, his last UFC fight was in 2016, threw a chair at a UFC bus)
3. Jon Jones(tested positive for cocaine and PEDs, hit a pregnant woman in a hit and run while under the influence)
4. Brock Lesnar(tested positive for steroids, his last win was in 2010)

5. Every fighter on the card last Saturday combined, which included Jose Aldo, Joanna, and Eddie Alvarez. Hell, this list could be every other fighter in the UFC combined. Remember when DJ broke the record for title defenses in the UFC? Why didn't the UFC advertise the hell out of that? They're barely mentioning that he's fighting this weekend, and he's barely on the poster. Why have 2 title fights on one card when you don't promote one?

NZB2323 · Post #44 » by **NZB2323** » Thu Aug 2, 2018 1:52 pm

lilfishi22 wrote:
Bernman wrote:I'd say even more than the watering down of the anticipation from so many events, it's how many different channels and platforms they're spread across, some obscured from the general public. That erodes name recognition. That's even true of the "hardcores". Remember when we used to do the confidence pool on here? Couldn't pull that off any more. Part of the fun was predicting fights and seeing if it played out that way. Fantasy sports is one of the main reasons football has become popular.

But I actually do think the action is better than ever because of the evolution of the sport and their virtual monopoly. They just aren't selling it properly.

It's the whole package, including the watering down of fights. It's nothing against the fighters or the fights themselves, they are still exciting and I tune into the big fights. I just find it hard to get excited about Werdum v Volkov or JDS vs Ivanov or Machida vs Anders as main events when the rest of the card isn't strong enough to support itself. I really do think it's the watering down but it's true the multiple distribution channels also erode some of that recognition and also fan loyalty. They're really testing fans to see if they would follow the UFC to the ESPN's, to the UFC streaming while also plotting down for the fairly weak monthly PPV events.

Now when fights get set up, you don't know whether it's for an interim belt, whether it's for #1 contender, whether the interim guy is getting stripped ahead of a fight or anything like that. There's just no rules anymore.

When the main events are guys like Shogun and JDS who should be retired, I don't want to watch. I feel guilty and sad about watching, and I think this would ring true with the hardcore fans more than the casuals, who wouldn't be tuning in anyway.

cowboyronnie · Post #45 » by **cowboyronnie** » Thu Aug 2, 2018 4:34 pm

NZB2323 wrote:
lilfishi22 wrote:These new lows just doesn't surprise me anymore. It's clear that people just aren't tuning in with regularity as they once were. The product is watered down, the advertising is spent on the top 1% of UFC fighters and of those 1%, the hope is that 1 of those maybe 3-4 guys will pull in enough numbers to make 2-3 other low buy rate cards acceptable on the books.

I was a huge MMA fan and quite frankly, between the Stipe/DC card and the last card I watched before that, would have been a good month or two.

That's not even true because Jose Aldo is in the top 1% of fighters. If you had to rank how much advertising the UFC has spent on these 5 fighters in the past 4 years, this is how it would rank:

1. Ronda Rousey(retired)
2. Conor McGregor(doesn't defend his belts, his last UFC fight was in 2016, threw a chair at a UFC bus)
3. Jon Jones(tested positive for cocaine and PEDs, hit a pregnant woman in a hit and run while under the influence)
4. Brock Lesnar(tested positive for steroids, his last win was i

5. Every fighter on the card last Saturday combined, which included Jose Aldo, Joanna, and Eddie Alvarez. Hell, this list could be every other fighter in the UFC combined. Remember when DJ broke the record for title defenses in the UFC? Why didn't the UFC advertise the hell out of that? They're barely mentioning that he's fighting this weekend, and he's barely on the poster. Why have 2 title fights on one card when you don't promote one?

To be fair, a lot of those fighters have been totally unwilling to contribute. Aldo has never bothered to learn English, DJ is unwilling to predict he will win a given fight...

Jasen777 · Post #46 » by **Jasen777** » Thu Aug 2, 2018 4:59 pm

cowboyronnie wrote:DJ is unwilling to predict he will win a given fight...

How terrible.

Post #47 » by **lilfishi22** » Thu Aug 2, 2018 9:43 pm

NZB2323 wrote:
lilfishi22 wrote:These new lows just doesn't surprise me anymore. It's clear that people just aren't tuning in with regularity as they once were. The product is watered down, the advertising is spent on the top 1% of UFC fighters and of those 1%, the hope is that 1 of those maybe 3-4 guys will pull in enough numbers to make 2-3 other low buy rate cards acceptable on the books.

I was a huge MMA fan and quite frankly, between the Stipe/DC card and the last card I watched before that, would have been a good month or two.

That's not even true because Jose Aldo is in the top 1% of fighters. If you had to rank how much advertising the UFC has spent on these 5 fighters in the past 4 years, this is how it would rank:

1. Ronda Rousey(retired)
2. Conor McGregor(doesn't defend his belts, his last UFC fight was in 2016, threw a chair at a UFC bus)
3. Jon Jones(tested positive for cocaine and PEDs, hit a pregnant woman in a hit and run while under the influence)
4. Brock Lesnar(tested positive for steroids, his last win was in 2010)

5. Every fighter on the card last Saturday combined, which included Jose Aldo, Joanna, and Eddie Alvarez. Hell, this list could be every other fighter in the UFC combined. Remember when DJ broke the record for title defenses in the UFC? Why didn't the UFC advertise the hell out of that? They're barely mentioning that he's fighting this weekend, and he's barely on the poster. Why have 2 title fights on one card when you don't promote one?

Top 1% of a 300-400 fighter roster makes for 3-4 guys. And when I mean top 1%, I don't mean talent, I mean just marketability. There's like 3-4 fighters who has that high level marketability like GSP, Conor, Brock and of course, Jones. Ronda too but that's a bit in the past.

But I think we're on the same page in terms of the UFC pouring a ton of marketing dollars into already very marketable fighters. They neglect the other stars and fail at building stars. Fans just don't care as much now when it's clear the UFC have built up these superstars and fans now just are waiting to tune into the next *big* superstar fight. This lack of attention to the other stars on the roster has turned me more into a casual fan and that sucks because I love MMA but the product is severely watered down and they don't give enough exposure to make me care about the other fighters.

cowboyronnie · Post #48 » by **cowboyronnie** » Thu Aug 2, 2018 10:11 pm

Jasen777 wrote:
cowboyronnie wrote:DJ is unwilling to predict he will win a given fight...

How terrible.

There's nothing more exciting than a fight between two behemoths, where you can't imagine either guy losing (...and neither than can they). When there are two unstoppable forces.

Whereas, when one of those forces admits, "que sera, sera"...it loses a little edge.

Post #49 » by **Duke4life831** » Fri Aug 3, 2018 1:13 pm

Looks like Nate Diaz vs Porier on UFC 230.

Post #50 » by **spykelee** » Fri Aug 3, 2018 3:17 pm

Love that fight! Both guys will throw down hard and Diaz gets absolutely dismantled. Beautiful

Side note, I love how Nate thinks he's a draw now. Nobody cares about you bro. Two years without fighting and nobody has been campaigning to get you back in there.

Sent from my LG-H873 using RealGM mobile app

Nemesis21 · Post #51 » by **Nemesis21** » Fri Aug 3, 2018 3:26 pm

Duke4life831 wrote:Looks like Nate Diaz vs Porier on UFC 230.

FOTN candidate

Post #52 » by **Duke4life831** » Fri Aug 3, 2018 3:36 pm

spykelee wrote:Love that fight! Both guys will throw down hard and Diaz gets absolutely dismantled. Beautiful

Side note, I love how Nate thinks he's a draw now. Nobody cares about you bro. Two years without fighting and nobody has been campaigning to get you back in there.

Sent from my LG-H873 using RealGM mobile app

Ya Mendes vs Conor drew 825k, Aldo vs Conor drew 1.2 mil, Alvarex vs Conor drew 1.3 mil and I dont think anyone would call any of those 3 big time draws.

Now with that said, I dont think Nate is a huge draw but I do think hes a top 10 draw for the UFC. He was already very popular among hardcore MMA fans and he got plenty of talk and airtime with the 2 fights/conferences and the win over Conor.

But yes I just laugh whenever I hear Nate talking about himself like no matter who he fights now, its going to be a money fight haha.

Post #53 » by **Duke4life831** » Fri Aug 3, 2018 3:43 pm

Nemesis21 wrote:
Duke4life831 wrote:Looks like Nate Diaz vs Porier on UFC 230.

FOTN candidate

Oh for sure. Nate racks up the fight bonuses and Poirier is always a blast to watch. I can see that one ending in a bloody mess. 230 has some potential right now.

Nate vs Poirier
Jacare vs Branch (that one should be exciting)

(rumored)
Costa vs Yoel (the USADA defying fight)
Luke vs Weidman (I think Luke can have a big upswing in his career if he starts to wrestle more and use his dominant ground game)

That has a potential to have 4 good fights on that card. Hell could you imagine all 4 fights get signed and then the Khabib vs Conor fight doesnt get put together fast enough for the UFC 229 card and gets put on this one as the headline. Best card of the year.

cowboyronnie · Post #54 » by **cowboyronnie** » Fri Aug 3, 2018 5:38 pm

spykelee wrote:Love that fight! Both guys will throw down hard and Diaz gets absolutely dismantled. Beautiful

Side note, I love how Nate thinks he's a draw now. Nobody cares about you bro. Two years without fighting and nobody has been campaigning to get you back in there.

Sent from my LG-H873 using RealGM mobile app

Bro. Come on. You're a ridiculous hater. Nate has totally crossed-over. Like it or not. People love to see him fight and he is a definite pull. This is indeniable. It's not good for your credibility you would deny this. Dude has a hashtag on TMZ.

People talk about him like he's an actual great fighter, even. On the back of like a .600 record.

cowboyronnie · Post #55 » by **cowboyronnie** » Fri Aug 3, 2018 5:44 pm

Poirier is going to get messed up, I'm afraid. He doesn't have anything exceptional. Grit and hard work but not the agility, movement, fluidity or power of the top dogs. He is at his ceiling.

Plus, he loses his southpaw advantage and might relive that Donor pressure.

NZB2323 · Post #56 » by **NZB2323** » Fri Aug 3, 2018 8:46 pm

Speaking of watered down events, too many titles, and lack of promotion, did you guys know that someone named Nicco Montano is defending her belt on September 8th? I know I'm not the most hardcore fan, but I'm more than a casual, and I had never heard of her while looking ahead to future cards. Now I know her Wiki page, but beyond that, I couldn't tell you a single thing about her.

Bernman · Post #57 » by **Bernman** » Fri Aug 3, 2018 10:30 pm

Noteworthy happenings in last night's PFL event:

- Schulte swiveled to High's back and in one motion slapped on the choke from which High went out quickly from and while still unconscious got Mirgs in the muay thai plum and kneed him to the body. Rough competition for High. Schulte has impressed.
- Vinny has a good shot at winning the tourney, and may be worth another shot in the UFC. His setups to kick game are very strong at this point and of course is really nasty on the ground.
- Alibulatov drilled Spohn with 4 kicks to the nuts, the last couple really blatant. It's almost as they shouldn't have previously rewarded a fighter by awarding him a win by ball kick. They went to the cards and Spohn won, but I think Alibulatov was surprised. Still sets up future exploitation of that rule.
- Ill Will Brooks is back on the winning track, albeit in his unapologetic, boring, sticky fashion.

cowboyronnie · Post #58 » by **cowboyronnie** » Fri Aug 3, 2018 10:41 pm

NZB2323 wrote:Speaking of watered down events, too many titles, and lack of promotion, did you guys know that someone named Nicco Montano is defending her belt on September 8th? I know I'm not the most hardcore fan, but I'm more than a casual, and I had never heard of her while looking ahead to future cards. Now I know her Wiki page, but beyond that, I couldn't tell you a single thing about her.

I don't think this is on the UFC. It's a brand new belt, she won it via TUF tourney, and it has never been defended.

REDDzone · Post #59 » by **REDDzone** » Sat Aug 4, 2018 2:38 am

I hope you guys have cleared your old tweets. Seems like nobody is safe at this point. Disappointed in Sage.

Post #60 » by **Duke4life831** » Sat Aug 4, 2018 3:59 am

REDDzone wrote:I hope you guys have cleared your old tweets. Seems like nobody is safe at this point. Disappointed in Sage.

Dropping a hard F and staying up late on a school night to watch family Guy? Man I thought this kid was supposed to be a clean cut kid. If he can have these kind of skeletons in his closet, anyone can.