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[Daellusx]

I actually am pulling for the UFC to be as big as Dana envisions it. I would like nothing more than for the UFC to become like the NFL. Instead of having the UFC itself be a fighting promotion I would love to see the UFC be the umbrella that all other organizations fight under. You could then have guys like Fedor fighting guys like Brock under the UFC umbrella but still remain under contract to other organizations.

[kickass32]

I kinda agree with the sentiment about ignorant fans, but you can't really compare NA fans in anything to Japanese...different culture, different expectations. As for pissing on the fans for chanting USA...I have no problem with that at all, don't find it classless is the least...you see it in every sport, hell you even see it to a certain extent in the "gentlemanly" sport of golf during the Ryder and President's Cup.

[DanC]

I'm really glad this thread hasn't collapsed into an argument, and we are all able to contribute to a discussion like this in a mature fashion. It's always a shame when someone slings mud at another poster and it all kicks off.

Personally I think that Dana White has been fantastic for the sport. For one, pre-Dana, MMA wasn't even considered a 'sport' by many. He has worked to legitimise it amongst other sports, quash the false pre-conceptions that many have about MMA (even though, sadly, they do still exist) and create an elite league of fighters.

When I was just a casual fan, I didn't like Dana's cut-throat attitude in regards to cutting fighters who don't perform consistently, but I actually believe that it is this no-nonsense approach that has meant that the fighters in the UFC are widely considered to be the best in the world, because if they don't meet the standards that White, and the fans, expect, then they don't fight in the UFC.

As for the issue of a monopoly and fighters pay - Personally, based on the growth of the UFC in recent year, I think the UFC will eventually absorb the other prominent organisations involved in the sport. The money behind the UFC is phenomenal and looks like it is only going to grow. The UFC has become synonymous with MMA, and is certainly the first organisation that new fans experience.

However, I think that if the UFC do absorb the other organisations, it would be a good move to keep them separate, almost as leagues that fighters are 'promoted' through if they perform well, moving from the "Third division organisation" (whichever that may be), through to the second, and on to the UFC. Obviously this is all complete fantasy, and speculative, but I think it would work as an effective way of ensuring the standard of the UFC fighters remains high.

On the other hand, the UFC having a monopoly could be very bad for the fighters if the pay does not improve. At the moment, the options for fighters to fight in other, smaller organisations, on a more regular basis than they could in the UFC, means they are able to make a comfortable living for themselves outside of the UFC. If the UFC was to absorb all of the other organisations, without paying it's fighters more, then fighters would not have the opportunity to earn anything other than what is offered to them by the Zuffa owned leagues.

If the pay of the fighters does increase along with the mainstream growth of the sport, then I'm sure a monopoly would not be too much of a problem and could have positive consequences for MMA.

[deadstealth]

dana was good to take it from where it was to where it is, but mma has outgrown dana, he is holding the sport back. Its going to take someone else to elevate it to mainstream status, big sponsors dont want to deal with that guy. The way he acts is emotional and totally unprofessional.

Shane mcmahon could take it where it needs to be. Other than him, the guy with the best business mind for this is probably unknown working. The thing is, how do you get dana out? If he have to wait for him to step down its never going to happen.

Anytime everything is under one promotion, its bad for the fighters, good for corruption/owner. They need options. There needs to be co-promotion between big companies. Multi-promotional GP tournaments. Thats the next level. The ufc will always be the biggest, but there needs to be a separate asian mma scene, as well as an alternative to the ufc. Dana has kept all of the top HWs out of the ufc, (barnett, overeem, fedor - ya some of those might do PEDS but so does everyone in the ufc already) he has handpicked matchups to benefit his golden boys (bisping, gsp, koschek, kimbo, brock) and he keeps great fighters down (henderson, randy, okami, nelson...everyone from pride except shogun)

They might as well have turnbuckles and pyro entrances, They already have angles. If you dont have an angle, you dont make it anywhere in the ufc. Its all about marketability now and not much about competition anymore.

[mma #1 fan]

its a fighting sport any one who is to soft would get eaten up . Dana just says what's on his mind and forgets to run it through the filter before it spews from his mouth.

[rivethead]

I actually can't think of anything dana has really done to bring the sport to the mainstream.

I think the sport is successful despite him, not because of him.

rh

[Dr. MMA]

Originally Posted by rivethead

I actually can't think of anything dana has really done to bring the sport to the mainstream.

I think the sport is successful despite him, not because of him.

rh

I think a lot of people forget the role Lorenzo played. Dana gets all the credit for the work that Lorenzo did just because he was the public figure of the company.

There are exactly three reasons why the UFC is as big as it is today:
[1] NSAC sanctioning it in 2001
[2] returning to PPV in 2001
[3] Ultimate fighter in 2002 (sadly but true)

- Let's start with point 1: Lorenzo was the only reason that the NSAC sanctioned it. He was the bloody commissioner of the NSAC for about 4 years. He had all the ties to the commission.
- The sanctioning led directly to point 2. If NSAC wasn't on board, PPV wouldn't have been either.
- On to point 3, it was Lorenzo's idea to have a reality show and Dana White was verrry against it. Go find the video of where he says this in an interview. The idea was bought by Spike TV, the only outlet who bought it I may add and a deal that the Fertitas negotiated.

Now let's move on to the present and the near future. What are the UFC's primary goal? Global expansion. Who is in charge of that? Lorenzo Fertita. He quit his position as CEO of station casinos to take on this task.

People have to get their head out of Dana's ass. He is clearly the public speaking figure of the company and gets credit for stuff that he played a minor role in. Deadstealth said it well. Let's say we even give Dana that credit (quite undeservingly I may add), his attitude and unprofessional behaviour will be the barrier for them to get to where they envision. He is hot headed and immature (which he clearly admitted) which has caused problems with a lot of big fighters: Tito, Randy, BJ, Rampage, Fitch to name a few and has also caused other fighters to not want to sign with him, i.e. Fedor and Barnett. The fighters which did come to terms with Dana negotiated their deal directly with Lorenzo.

nice topic joeodd2! You get my respect here.

[rodneykm]

All you have to do is look at boxing to see what would happen if there wasn't a single dominate promotion out there.

[joeodd2]

I'm sick of people trying to use Boxing as an example of why the UFC should own MMA. Remember something. Dana White was a boxing promoter himself, so if you think that alot of his tactics are really that different from a Don King or Bob Arum, you may want to look at his background. The fact of the matter is that Dana White claims credit for many of the decisions made, he also flip flops on a regular basis, and goes out of his way to run down fighters and as we saw with Ms. Hunt, the media as well if he doesn't like them. I don't like the idea of MMA just relying on the teen-early 30 crowd. I'd like to see the sport gain an appreciation from a wider fanbase that can take it to a new level of sportsmanship and class, right now, based on the current U.S fanbase we are not there yet. And the course the UFC is setting won't see us get there anytime soon. This is Mixed Martial Arts, Dana White seems to represent the exact opposite of what a Martial Artist should be. I'll say this about Chuck Norris's WCL, he made a pretty good spokes person. With the right people making the business decisions I think he would also make a great spokesperson for MMA. I'd love to see the revolt from Martial Arts fans if Dana tried to fuck with Chuck Norris the way he fucks with Scott Coker......

[kickass32]

It's sad, but unfortunately, if this was all about the "Martial Arts" I don't think the UFC, or any other Org. would be even close to being as big as they are now....it's about the showmanship, and salesmenship just as much or more than it is about the sport.