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[joeodd2]

1. Shots on the ground after a guy is knocked out. Yes I understand that fighters have "adrenalin" rushes and can't always stop themselves, but many lineman in the NFL had to learn how to control their aggression after the "ruffing the passer and late hit" rules were put into affect by the NFL. MMA fighters are, or should be, some of the most disciplined athletes in the world. The late hits after the fact flys in the face of the claim that these guys are highly disciplined marshal artists. and it's the first thing idiot politicians point at, especially that ass clown in New York, when talking about why MMA should be banned.

2. Arbitrary ranking systems within organizations. Instead of going off of some kind of mathematical system, most orgs just choose who they think deserves a title shot. Look at Brett Rogers Vs Alister Overreem or Chael Sonnen vs Anderson Silva 2. Especially in the case of Sonnen vs Silva 2, we see the title of "#1 contender" become a meaningless concept. You beat the champ for 4 1/2 rounds and then the champ finishes you. Oh well that's life...you should have to fight at least 2 more times before another title shot IMO. I think Bellator has a more sports like approach to who challenges for their titles. I hope the idea catches on. It would make MMA more of a legit sport, than just a "sports entertainment".

3. Lack of Co-promotion. Yes I know the money argument concerning the UFC and co-promoting. They are more interested in building the brand and making fighters come to them to fight than actually proving that their fighters are better where it really matters. But the UFC has almost done TOO good of a job promoting themselves and now many uneducated media people and politicians, refer to MMA as "Ultimate Fighting". This annoys me to no end because it's an uphill battle to separate the UFC and MMA the sport. Once the media understands that their are different organizations and champions, then the masses may start to understand the depth of our sport. Personally I think a grand Tournament Style Tournament to determine the Universal MMA Champions should be held. That's a pipe dream, but it would go a long way IMO in making helping the Masses see MMA more as a sport rather than a sports like distraction from "real sports".

4. More MMA on network and primetime. Strikeforce has done a good job in that regard. But we need more. Bellator is doing good too, if we had a MMA equalivant to Friday Night Fights, then I think MMA would grow leaps and bounds into the mainstream.


These are just opinions of course, I welcome all other thoughts on things that MMA as a sport should change in order to become more mainstream.

[SWIFTboy]

For me:

-Comissions that know what they are doing.

-The lack of organized training for refs.

-The lack of organized training for judges.

-The UFC choosing business strategies that benefit them in the short term but are bad for the long term (i.e. anytime they choose entertainment or the fans over the sport).

Note: I'm not anti-UFC. In fact I'm so pro-UFC I just hold them to a higher standard, because I feel them can single-handedly shape the sport of MMA either positively or negatively.

I actually think about this all the time at work during meetings when I'm not listening, haha.

[kickass32]

Originally Posted by SWIFTboy

-The UFC choosing business strategies that benefit them in the short term but are bad for the long term (i.e. anytime they choose entertainment or the fans over the sport).
.

Just curious as to specific examples....

[rivethead]

Good thread, and props for including co-promotion I could go on forever about this, but I'd add 5:

Hack Promoters
Sadly, the sport is saddled with ego-driven mooks who routinely sacrifice long-term credibility for short term gain; and/or have less-than credible characters. Coker and White are notorious for throwing the best-fight-the-best concept out the window when they can turn a buck; and has no personal credibility as a man, there are no shortages of shady figures to keep him company: Millen, the Shaws, the Fink, etc. Long-term credibility doesn't always equate to short-term profit, but nobody seems to care about that.

Lack of an Expectation of Professionalism from Staff
Again, dana leads the cast of characters here, with his wannabe-fighter demeanor that reeks of desperation for street credibility...but the young sport is full of fighters and administrators who simply can't conduct an interview. Clinton Portis was literally condemned by the NFL for a recent interview that wouldn't even have raised a lot of eyebrows in the MMA community. It's difficult, because while fans appreciate a tough, solve-problems-with-fists attitude/approach from their fighters, the mainstream does not...and the sport has outgrown the indie-status it once had and is garnering more mainstream attention daily.

Lack of a Centralized Training/Accreditation System for Officials
I can't remember a single card where I even came close to agreeing with judging or officiating. Again, ego's drive this out-of-control bus as SAC's don't want to surrender any modicum of power, and orgs don't want to work together to demand it as a unified industry...but wouldn't it be nice to never have to deal with Cecil Peoples again?

The 10 point-must system
works for boxing. Does not work for MMA. It needs to be thrown out. Preferably attached to Cecil Peoples.

TUF
Unfortunately, the reality show is entirely focused on attracting the 15-30 year old male demographic, and it shows in the stupid in-house bullshit they not only show, but highlight. Cut out 85% of the house melodrama and focus on the fighters, their backgrounds/families [kind of how TapouT used to...] and training, lose the drunken-trash-the-house-cliche and focus on healthy diets, etc. Sure, the casual [clueless] fan is going to miss upper deckers and footage of guys exchanging bodily fluids in new and unexciting ways, but they'd gain credibility over time.

rh

[killakem1]

idk i like the idea of instant rematches for title fight win or lose for the contenders/champions. reason being that working your way up to a #1 contender spot can get thrown out easily with someone comming off a desissive/impressive win. look at the whole hendo/belfort/nate ordeal. mainly their wasnt one their for the reason a.silva didnt wanna fight any of them.
also with the work up to a #1 spot your fighting more regulary than the champs and with a #1 contendership fight you could be fighting the champ within 3-4 months. i like what they did at 118 with the maynard/florian fight. establishing a #1 the same night as the weight class titile is being defended. gives equal oppertunity for the challenger to study and come up with a game plan for his next fight which he knows who it would be.
all in all this is mma and there is no set structure. you win get a #1 spot then next event a guy out classes your win and he now has the #1 spot. in the mind of dana white all it is bout is putting asses in seats and that sign hes always pursuing...$$$$$$$$$$$$$

[SWIFTboy]

Originally Posted by kickass32

Just curious as to specific examples....

Well to be honest, for me it's not about any one specific example, it's more about their overall business strategy. Any one example could be justified, but their strategy as a whole always seems short-term focused. In business, that is not ALWAYS bad, but in an infantile industry that still badly needs mainstream acceptance, I think the UFC, for both it's own self-interest and the growth of the sport, needs to focus on long-term.

Still, I know you want some specifics so I'll humour you, but I know anyone could easily disagree with any one of these points.

1) Putting a major emphasis on pre-fight smack talking. It's now the norm for fighters ot pretend to have animosity, even if they don't. To the point where they admit immediately after the fight that it was done solely in an attempt to 'sell' the fight. Fighters with ACTUAL animosity have to actually explain why it is real.
Sure, this tactic will sell fights. Anderson vs Chael generated PPV's based solely on his talking. However, this is unsustainable. Each time the bar needs to be raised (or in my opinion, lowered) to further extremes to keep these fans interested. So you'll either have every fighter in the UFC just saying the most ridiculous thing they can come up with in order to get noticed, these 'casual' (for lack of a better term) fans getting bored and moving onto the next fad, or more likely a combination of both.
Of course, you need to sell the personality of the fighters, but the fights themsleves should always remain the primary focus. It's how legitimate sports are run. Plus, to me MMA is awesome enough that the fights themselves should be what drives the hype, not pro-wrestling style personas.

2) This will be controvertial, but I'm sorry to say that if you don't understand the difference between the Shogun vs Machida / Penn vs Edgar rematch (which were legit) and the Sonnen vs Silva rematch (which isn't) then you won't agree with anything I say. Sonnen vs Silva II diminishes the sport, though it will do well business wise, for ONE PPV. That is just one example, which you may or may not agree with, but the point is I feel matchmaking is based on sales instead of sport. In fact, UFC doesn't even try to hide this fact. I just feel that is short term thinking. I feel that basing it objectively would actually make them more, in the long run.

3) TUF. Do I really have to explain this. Who is this catered to? I could come up with a better idea for a show in 5 minutes. It served it's purpose, now move on. Is there no one in Zuffa that can be creative, seriously? Spike? Someone?

I had like 5 points but this post is getting long enough. Basically I just feel that the UFC is the only promotion that is established enough where they don't need to appease casual fans in order to remain profitable, or to stay in business. Furthermore, I feel that if they used that fact to their advantage, they would be able to lift MMA as sport to higher levels, which in turn would help their bottom line. Sometimes a company can actually make more by growing their industry as opposed to their product, it's basic business, and I feel the UFC is in that position currently.

p.s. be careful what you wish for, haha.

[joeodd2]

Oh and how about this one?

Lack of Personality. Ya know Mohammad Ali was like a shot in the arm for boxing, his skill and persona elevated the sport to unprecedented levels. Most fighters are boring to listen to and come across as awkward when promoting fights. Not saying that fighters need to be like pro wrestlers, but sometimes I wonder what average fans are thinking when they hear those boring interviews. Maybe that's just the way it will always be, and maybe that's what makes guys like Sonnen, Don Frye, Bas Rutten, Jason Miller, and other personalities in MMA so special. But it would be nice if guys would show a bit more personality and not play it so safe in front of the camera, most fighters are probably pretty funny and personable when you get them away from a camera.....

[Mizzou]

How about bad Commentary (Gus Johnson, etc.)

[kickass32]

^^^^^Good Points^^^^^

I will add my 2 cents on the matter......I personally feel, the whole "internet, youtube tough guy thing" hurts the sport. Things like the backyard fights that Kimbo did, any of the "fighters" who throw their fights, or video "fights" and then throw them up on the "Net"

[joeodd2]

Originally Posted by kickass32

^^^^^Good Points^^^^^

I will add my 2 cents on the matter......I personally feel, the whole "internet, youtube tough guy thing" hurts the sport. Things like the backyard fights that Kimbo did, any of the "fighters" who throw their fights, or video "fights" and then throw them up on the "Net"

That is an excellent point! I admit I like to watch a good street fight, it's just a primal thing. But as a sport MMA is hurt when compared to those kinds of things. MMA still hasn't lived down the earliest days of the sport when it was advertised as "no holds barred", which btw was false advertising because some holds were barred, but anyway.....