MMA Fighters are the reason the sport may fizzle out.

Ok. DISCLAIMER: This is a touchy issue. Especially since I'm a big MMA fan and absolutely love it. Since I've discovered MMA my life has actually gotten a bit better. I was introduced into BJJ and as a result got in shape and am now motivated enough to start training striking (where i'll go i dont know but right now its just for fun and to be in shape). Ok so now that i've established my legitimacy as a MMA fan let's get on to what my theory is.

In order for a sport to gain success it must be accepted by the majority and not just the minority. That being said the casual onlooker observes a peculiar sport. A sport in which elements of groundfighting and stand-up fighting are married. This sounds GREAT on paper but when it comes down to it alot of MMA fights don't live up to the hype.

How many MMA fights out of an MMA PPV are highlight worthy from START to FINISH? Very few. The last one being GG vs. CC, and before that Huerta vs. Garcia and GSP vs. Serra.

From the point of view of the onlooker a ground battle is methodical and boring. From the casual and ignorant person's perspective MMA is even somewhat homo-erotic. I base this not on personal opinion but PERSONAL EXPERIENCE with people who are watching MMA for the first time. People are immediatly repulsed by MMA when the fight turns into a groundbattle for over 10 seconds. When you have a fighter laying there and content to be in the guard.

This leads me to believe that Mixed Martial Arts just isn't exciting enough for the average asshole who swigs Coors Light and watches the superbowl. Then who is to blame? The FIGHTERS! There are fighters who are excellent and make for exciting battles. But then you have other fighters who are just BAD for the sport. Fighters who just don't push the pace of the fight, are unmotivated to finish, and who generally "lay and pray" or just get on their bicycle and are evasive. Boring Mixed Martial Artists are what's hurting the sport. How can this be remedied though?

The Elite XC's standup clock sounded like a horrible idea. But in retrospect, it actually wasn't misused and kind of worked. I think the promoters need to make a difference. The promoters need to TELL the fighters "look, if you dont push the pace, we'll drop you from our show" or "if you finish the guy and put up a good fight we'll add some more to your purse."

At this point MMA is at the DO or DIE point. These next few years will either make-or-break for mixed martial arts. Not everyone can be Fedor, or Chuck, but ANYONE who competes in MMA can push the pace a little more. I mean, it'd be better for the fans getting knocked out than loosing a boring unanimous or split decision.

We need more BARN BURNERS! If every fight were a Diaz-Gomi, Huerta vs. Garcia, or Henderson vs. Silva battle then this sport would be huge. If every PPV was a Pride 33 (everyone I show this ppv to is hooked!) then this sport would be bigger than all other combat sports, and could possibly be second ONLY to soccer. Hell even a sloppy Ramirez-Irvin slobber knocker is preferable over the crap that was Werdum-Arlovski where you have 2 big names but no one with enough balls to step in and commit.
The fans were going nuts when Ramirez and Irvin were just going at it. NOT ONE BOO and these are B LEVEL fighters! I think that fighters don't make the card. But fights make the cards. Fights make the fighter.

It's the fighters and their fighting style that will make or break MMA. They choose if they will be aggressive

I understand the point you are making from the perspective of the uneducated fan. The problem is when does the integrity of the sport trump the size of the audience you are trying to reach. The fact is BJJ isn't the most exciting thing to watch, but it is also the reason this sport exists. If any more measures are taken to prevent BJJ from working in the octagon then we might as well just call this kick boxing with small gloves.

What I am saying is I don't think any rules should be changed to promote striking. The only way I see fights like AA vs Werdum going away is how the UFC management motivates the fighters. Currently you double your fight purse if you win. Winning is also the only way to get invited back. This promotes winning a round then taking the lay 'n' pray attitude. Pride's approach to this has been much better in my opinion. They don't care if you win, but if you make it interesting you are coming back. They also dock 10% of your purse if you are stalling. Pride has had sucsess doing this, and haven't taken away from what this sport is supposed to be...REAL FIGHTING.

That being said boring fights are always going to happen. There are always going to be 2 name fighters that people want to see fight, but there styles/attributes cancel each other out. It happens in every sport, and can't be avoided.

The other problem is flooding the market. By July 7th there will be 11 major UFC cards in 2007. That is crazy to me. By the half way point of this year there will be more cards then the fans are used to in a full year. With the majority of these cards costing 40 bucks a pop. In combination with the TV show, the IFL, Bodog, Pride, Elite, and smaller shows the supply is far out weighing the demand. There also aren't enough top name fighter to support these shows. The proverbial "bubble" will pop no matter what these promotions do to keep the fights exciting.

Disagreed. While the average joe might find parts of MMA boring, look at A LOT of baseball games, and even football games. No individual sport will ever reach out the majority, it will always be based upon the interests of their respective minorities.

However, the main argument these days is, well the new viewers just haven't "taken the time to understand the ground aspect of MIXED martial arts." People aren't going to change to seek entertainment in something they are only fascinated partly with, the striking game. Us MMA fans will just have to accept this move on.

I see where you are coming from, but i disagree with mma needing to change rules or this being do or die. MMA is rapidly growing in the US just how it is. Even if say the UFC didnt gain or lose anymore fans they are still making killer money. Besides what would people move to? Boxing? no one cares about any of the fighters besides mayweather and de la hoya (their fight was almost as boring as werdrum arlovski) And i know that im not dishing out $59 for one boring fight. Id be happy to pay $39 for eight fights that have the possibility to be great

I like the idea of PRIDE's motivating payment style and i am surprised Dana hasnt come up with something similar, because he always gives losers who put on a good show another chance like putting emerson back in TUF

The BJJ groundgame has always been fascinating to me, at first it was one of the most boring things, which is why a lot of first timers are put off by it. But once I was more educated about it and started learning it, watching masters do it is exciting.
I am all for making the ground game stricter if both are just resting on each other, but if they keep busy (not necessarily striking, but passing guards, bettering positions, attempting submissions...) Plus taking out that technical aspect of the sport isnt going to do good for its reputation. Making it more striking oriented will make it seem more violent to critics. At this particular time MMA needs to be more acceptable to the common folk even more than it needs hardcore fans

I agree with pretty much everything johny was saying about they fact that this is MMA, not kickboxing with smaller gloves.

I think the main problems are

a) the fans that just want to see a blood bath. This not only promotes a bad image for MMA, but it also pushes MMA to be more stand-up

b) flooding the market. The UFC is literally being shoved down people's throats. If the market gets too saturated, then it will die off as a fad pretty soon. I think MMA (namely the big orgs) needs to slowly develop a stronger fan base. I still think there are too many people that are fans of MMA just because it's the 'in thing'.

c) More needs to be done to help people appreciate what goes on inside the ring/octagon. I think the UFC (or Pride) needs to have exhibitions or something in order to demonstrate some of the concepts in an MMA fight. i.e. basic strategies or why a fighter can (or cannot) do certain things in a fight.

d) the UFC is still too inbred. It is too reliant on the same fighters time and time again. I am also sick of seeing two fighters fighter each other 3 times in one year (or it at least seems that way)

e) a lot of the fighters are not interesting. They are more fixated on stupid gimmick nicknames, trash talk and victory dances. They need to be creative in the ring. All fighters should watch fights with Sakuraba and take a page out of his book.


I really like the idea of the winning bonus for the fighters. Some of these guys are getting paid too much to fight already. I think it has gotten to the point where some fighters don't care if they lose as long as they are making a quarter of a million dollars or more.

My biggest fear is that MMA will become kickboxing with smaller gloves. All I can say is, if that happens, I will not be watching it any more.


With regards to sports like baseball and such being boring. I agree they are boring, but they are also well established as being part of the culture. I'm pretty sure baseball was promoted as a place for a father and son to bond, stuff like that. Now that its established, it can afford to be boring because there is more to it than just the sport itself.

Something I am very surprised the UFC hasn't done to promote the sport, and the art of the ground game is have open seminars across the country. It doesn't take long to appreciate BJJ. One session gives you an instant respect to how hard it is. BJJ can also be the best rape prevention self defense there is. Free classes could not only protect women, but help bridge the gap to women watching the UFC. Every sport has done simililar things. If it is baseball building LL fields, football doing the United Way, basketball sending stars to the inner cities they all do it.