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[thebwit]

Breaking down UFC’s competition

We can all agree on UFC being #1. What isn’t clear is who the #2 organization is. In my opinion there are 3 candidates right now for the #2 spot: EliteXC, WEC, and HDNet Fights. Yes I know Zuffa owns WEC, but we will get into that in a bit.

Lets break down the organizations and what they are doing right and what they are doing wrong. First up is EliteXC. They signed some big names to their company for some good deals. Fighters like Kimbo, Nick Diaz, Robbie Lawler, Jake Shields, Antonio Silva, Ninja Rua, and many others. These are all top name fighters who most people who follow MMA will know. They also seem to be trying to put at least 1 fight card together per month and are getting good promotion from outside of their tv deal. Their tv deal is what is lacking. It is only on Shotime, which is a bit of a pain. Until recently I didn’t get Shotime because I don’t want to pay for it. Now I get it for free and I will probably cancel it once my free period is over. While they have the good names and some amazing fights that have been lined up (both past and future rumored fights), they are just about 1 step behind where they need to be in order to get up to the #2 spot.

Next up we have the WEC, which is a Zuffa property. Now by default a lot of people could argue that the WEC shouldn’t even be considered for this very reason. But I disagree. We haven’t seen very much cross promotion of the WEC from the UFC side. Every now and then a fighter or Rogan will mention it. The WEC has some outstanding talent, which makes it all the more interesting as to why Zuffa has chosen to not to try to promote it within the UFC. Fighters like Uriaja Faber, Jens Pulver, and Paulo Filho make up just some of the talent that is over here. In addition there are all the TUF guys who would do very well in the WEC. Zuffa is treating the WEC like a minor leagues of sorts, with the exception of the top fighters they have in their divisions. The WEC has a tv deal on versus which most people get, but they probably don’t realize they get it. For those with HD, check out the GolfHD channel when a WEC event is on – you will get it in HD which makes the tv deal kind of weird. Zuffa isn’t putting on nearly as many WEC cards as they could, which is really a bummer for us fans. Of course the cards they do put on tend to be stacked as they have 2-3 title fights per event. We just have to wait for it. If Zuffa did just a little bit more promoting of the WEC they could get the #2 spot, but like EliteXC they just aren’t there.

Finally we have HDNet Fights, which seems to be doing everything right. HDNet fights is funded by billionare Mark Cuban who really likes to spend his money on sports. But he made sure he did something right with HDNet fights. Not only do they have their own name fighters (such as Trigg and Miller) and their own fight cards, but they are also partnered with other organizations to bring us a lot of MMA. Right now they are partnered with Bodog, Maximum Fight Championship, IFL, and Strikeforce. All of these other promotions get to be aired on HDNet in glorious HD all for being an “HDNet fight”. The only issue with this is that an average fan might get confused over all the middleweight belt holders. But that’s ok. In addition to the fantastic partneringship they are doing, they also have one of the best tv shows about MMA – Inside MMA. With a round panel discussion that tends to change and the hosts of Bas and Kenny who know their stuff it is a really good show. On top of that, they even manage to promote other smaller organizations by showcasing up and coming fighters from across the world. All of this combined leads me to believe that HDNet Fights is the #2 promotion. They have probably the 2nd best tv deal, and they show us an event about once every 3 weeks it seems.

Now I know there are other organizations out there, especially in Europe and Asia, but here in the US, we don’t hear much about them. We hear of K1 every now and then, but mainly for a particular fighter. I intentionally left of M1 from the list because they haven’t really done anything other than sign Fedor. And if the reports are true, it looks like a giant front for his management company rather than an actual organization.

The question still remains; can any of these other organizations over take the UFC?

[Ramma]

Good break down, I like that you went a little all out on making this thread. Rather than just asking the question, you took it one step further.


Elite XC is probably the #2 right now. They fill the arena, they have controversy, they have good fights with good fighters, etc.

In all honesty, WEC needs a lot of work. Not that they would outdo the UFC.. but also, WEC is like the minor leagues of the UFC. That is how they are portrayed and that is how most people view them.

HDNet Fights also needs work, and even though they have the money, they are very far from being the UFC. They need to start building themselves up. Just being on HDNet doesn't help either. Most people who watch Inside MMA (like myself), probably do it via the website.

M1 has Fedor.. that is it right now.. they pose no threat till they sign some more people.

As for companies like Cage Rage, King of the Cage, etc... they are leagues away from the UFC.

IMO, no one is going to OVERTAKE the UFC.. if UFC goes down, they will have done it to themselves... if PRIDE couldn't out do the UFC, no one else is going to.

The only way I see Elite-XC losing the #2 spot is if HD or M1 sign Arlovski and/or Tito if they leave the UFC. If Elite-XC signs AA and Tito, they are going to be on the verge of giving UFC a run for their money.

[smoogy]

If there is a #2 its clearly Strikeforce. They are a self-sufficient show with major stars (Frank Shamrock, Cung Le) and legit contenders (Gil Milendez, Jorge Masvidal), and they are a local powerhouse in San Jose the same way UFC is a powerhouse in Las Vegas. It remains to be seen if they can expand to the rest of the country while maintaining a similar level of success, but with Tito Ortiz, Andrei Arlovski and others possibly in the wind soon, and Strikeforce's relatively deep pockets (they reportedly paid Shamrock $1m for his last fight), they are a more viable threat than EliteXC.

[Clint]

One thing that you mentioned that I think will play the biggest part in all of this is exposure levels. HD-Net has a fairly small subscriber base, Showtime has a bigger exposure level (but exc has less money), Versus has a bigger exposure level but has to play second fiddle to the UFC, etc.

[Diegonightmare]

Good thread, I think EXC is the #2. Good stable of fighters, good fights, solid entertaining cards that MMA fans can look forward to, great production values that are second (in North America) only to the UFC, being only on Showtime isn't that big of an issue, they have entertaining ShoXC cards filling a sort of "Bushido" role without the paralysis that TUF (which along with UFN is the UFC's "Bushido" equivalent" puts on the title picture.

As to whether any of these orgs will actually overtake the UFC? No, won't happen for a good long time. Too much talent in the UFC, too much name recognition, they are the first N. American widely-known player in their market and have been the only N. American widely-known player in their market for several years, they have great leadership (shredding on Dana notwithstanding) and a great mix of top-notch PPV cards and free UFN and TUF finale cards, plus lately a couple free international PPV-quality events on free TV as well.

Strikeforce that Smoogy mentioned is solid, but I think they suffer from both a lack of name recognition in all but the hardest core of MMA fans, plus no TV deal. They are a good org, but they clearly have more steps to climb than a WEC, EXC or HDNF.

[foundstarr]

Good thread, really well thought out and really left it open to discussion.

I think WEC is the number 2 just IMO, I know its a differing opinion. I just think that with Vs. being available to almost all cable subscribers they might have a bigger fan base then most might think.

I'm also biased so I'll admit that right away, I love WEC events I get really excited to see those guys fight. I haven't seen a boring WEC event yet, controversy sure but not boring.

Also EliteXC production value just doesn't appeal to me, and HDnet fights aren't even available to me so I'm limited on what I can say about them.

[perc10]

I think Elite XC puts on the best cards so far

[thebwit]

It sounds like what it comes down to is availability. If any of the orgs signed a deal with say NBC then that would auto catapult them to the front. Of course I doubt we will see MMA on network tv for a while.

[foundstarr]

Originally Posted by thebwit

It sounds like what it comes down to is availability. If any of the orgs signed a deal with say NBC then that would auto catapult them to the front. Of course I doubt we will see MMA on network tv for a while.

Unless you count wired which is on CBS at like 100 A.M.

[Ramma]

Originally Posted by Clint

One thing that you mentioned that I think will play the biggest part in all of this is exposure levels. HD-Net has a fairly small subscriber base, Showtime has a bigger exposure level (but exc has less money), Versus has a bigger exposure level but has to play second fiddle to the UFC, etc.

That was basically my point about HDNet Fights.. they have the money, but a small outlit.. until they move beyond HDNet.. I don't see how they are going to pull in viewers..