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[Luc1an]

Originally Posted by Sakara=Excitement

It was long because I'm guessing that's what the author wrote.

People do know I don't write these right?

RJ stop writing such long articles. jeez. =)

[Sniggles]

Long boring ass article to rationalize why fights between a popular fighter who did not earn a title shot in his respective division and a champion are good for the sport.

Still do not agree.

Why? Because it looks at the title belt as a symbol of the brand rather than something to be earned by fighting the absolute best in the division at the present time.

[W.Silva>C.Norris]

Originally Posted by Sniggles

Long boring ass article to rationalize why fights between a popular fighter who did not earn a title shot in his respective division and a champion are good for the sport.

Still do not agree.

Why? Because it looks at the title belt as a symbol of the brand rather than something to be earned by fighting the absolute best in the division at the present time.

At this point, thats what the titles are. Until ranking and wins means title fights, not twitter followers equate title fights, at least. Unfortunately thats a not a sport, its simply entertainment.

To Bonesknows:

As a person who has used professional sports such as the NHL and the NFL as examples of what the UFC should be doing, I still stand by it. Yes, the UFC is different, but if we ever want it to move from UFC to MMA, ie from a spectacle to a sport, then the need to follow the examples set by older, established, and more popular "leagues"(for lack of a better term). If Zuffa wants their brand to represent the sport, they need to take steps to make it a sport.

[AnchorPunch]

This is an old argument, but people need to come to grips with what is bad for the sport. What is bad is when nobody cares, when the sport is not covered, and when people outside the MMA core fan base are barely aware it exists. That's bad. Bad ratings. Bad pay-per-view numbers. Television loses interest in promoting it past the fringe sport level. All bad."

Originally Posted by BonesKnows

^This x10000000

No. The supporting evidence is the lack of interest in the 135lb division.
It's well established that lighter fighters in MMA don't sell the same way as heavier fighters. Lack of nasty knock outs. Additionally, the lighter weight classes are newer to the UFC and have less recognition.
The idea of comparing Cruz to LWH in sales is just silly. Absolutely silly.

People comparing UFC with the NFL or Major League Baseball are the delusional ones. Those are established structured team sports with billion dollar television deals and can draw 30,000 or 60,000 fans on any given afternoon. UFC is a fight promotion. They only garner really big money when they present something that appeals to Joe Sixpack Monday Night Football Fan, who may check them out a few times a year. Fight promotions most often are preludes to economic tombstones. The few, like UFC, who have been the exception, do so because they are run as businesses.

Originally Posted by BonesKnows

Saw a few people on here in one of the threads compare the UFC to other pro events saying other teams in NHL/NFL/NBA have to earn a shot at the championship and thought this quote from the article would help those people out.

Again, no. Just no.

Part of building a brand is building a narrative. Creating a story and persons that people can engage with. It is well established that a sense of fair play is critical to positive engagement. Clear contenders, earning title shots: it's critical to establishing "fair" conduct and building a brand that people can engage with, stand by, and which resonate with their other basic human need for equity. (Yes, at a certain level, equity is a primary driver of human behavior, see equity theories of motivation.)

So, no. Just no. This is stupid.

[Sniggles]

Originally Posted by W.Silva>C.Norris

At this point, thats what the titles are.

Of course that is all the title is. I mean look at the Condit situation or Lesnar's 1-1 title shot, etc. Every time this happens it makes the UFC look more and more like sports entertainment rather than a legitimate sport league.

Dana used to rant and rave about how noone understood MMA and how legitimate it is, hence is the hypocrisy I despise.

If Dana plans to dominate the world with MMA, is this really the correct path to take rather than building it into a hype-machine or a respectable and honorable sport?

[Kimbo> Rampage]

Originally Posted by Sniggles

Still do not agree.

Why? Because it looks at the title belt as a symbol of the brand rather than something to be earned by fighting the absolute best in the division at the present time.

Odd... Jones said similar things when he was first asked about fighting Chael... He then was criticized for "ducking" Chael and "trying to pick who he fights"... We'll there you go, you got the fight you were crying about Jones turning down in the first place...

[JPeezy]

This is the old "no publicity is bad publicity" argument. I suppose there is some truth to that.

[lwbrewer]

Originally Posted by rampage9712

Odd... Jones said similar things when he was first asked about fighting Chael... He then was criticized for "ducking" Chael and "trying to pick who he fights"... We'll there you go, you got the fight you were crying about Jones turning down in the first place...

Your right a champ shouldn't pick who he fights, but the main reason people were mad was it canceled the show. Still making the Jones Sonnen fight per the reason people want to see it is fine, but I haven't heard one person on here say Sonnen earned a title shot They can fight for no title or win it for a title shot. Remember Lutter he missed weight still fought but for no title.

As Arm Wrestling it's double elimination, and being undefeated I wouldn't wrestle a person with a loss until they won there way through the losers bracket. Than being undefeated the person would need to beat me two times in a row to win the finals.

[Sniggles]

Originally Posted by lwbrewer

Your right a champ shouldn't pick who he fights, but the main reason people were mad was it canceled the show. Still making the Jones Sonnen fight per the reason people want to see it is fine, but I haven't heard one person on here say Sonnen earned a title shot They can fight for no title or win it for a title shot. Remember Lutter he missed weight still fought but for no title.

It is a waste of time trying to explain that to Rampage.

[Kimbo> Rampage]

True... but Jones was not training for Sonnen... His last week is devoted to cutting weight and doing media obligations... How fair was it to expect that of him... Anderson still fought Lutter, but he had trained for him...

The resulting backlash from that, is what created this fight...

Jones should have easily beaten Chael... but why risk it... Chael's wrestling cannot be overlooked... and I hope people dont actually beilve that Chael and Dan are even remotely similar...

"Chael is just like Hendo, without KO power" is what Iv seen several times...