I said I would do it, and after more than four days of work, and one day of rest (even God rested), I finally settled on a layout I'm more or less happy with. I know it's not professional grade stuff yet, but it is levels above the eyesore it was before. Notice the easy to read text and sleek design. Marvel at the real time twitter feed and rotating YouTube library. I still have hundreds of ideas pouring out of my skull on what needs to be done so that you, as readers, can be proud to log in to this baby and read the constant nonsense that my brain seems to generate. It'll be an uphill battle to keep the design fresh and interesting, but I'm up for the challenge. Next up, an MMA events calendar so that you can always know who is fighting and when it's going to happen. You would think it'd be easy to find a customizable calendar that is ready to embed. I assure you, it’s not. But alas, these are not things you should be worrying about. On to the show!
It's been quite the weekend for MMA. There have been more big announcements in the last five days than there have probably been in the last five months. Fight cards have been reshuffled and matchups have been signed. The world of MMA has been operating on overdrive for almost a week and with good reason. As I'm sure you're all aware of, the biggest news coming out of this weekend was the behemoth of a network deal that the UFC signed with Fox. We're talking about the world’s largest MMA promotion partnering with one of the largest television networks on the planet. What does this mean for the state of MMA? It means that more than 99 million households will now have free access to MMA events year round. Ladies and gentlemen, MMA is finally going Mainstream!! Or is it?
Admittedly, I was excited to hear that MMA was finally hitting the big time. On the surface, this deal seems like a win/win for everyone. For the UFC, it means a larger scale audience and worldwide recognition. It also means a revamping of their programming. A fresh audience requires a fresh look and feel to the presentation. And let's be serious, we were all getting bored of the gladiator intro and the same old fight promos. This deal means the attraction of new investors and the potential for billions worth of advertising. All this extra revenue can translate in to higher paydays for the fighters. It's no secret that professional MMA fighters are among the worst paid professional athletes in the world. Fighters can make as little as $3000 per fight in a top tier promotion like the UFC. Hopefully, more money for the promotion means more money for the fighter. You still can't see the negative side of all of this, can you?
What does this mean for the fans? Well, it depends on which category of fan you fall into. For the hardcore fan (me), it means finally being able to talk about MMA and not have people look at you like you're that three eyed fish from the Simpsons. It means more free fights! Most of all, it means getting the big fights for free. In this case, Dana White has chosen to pull the main event from UFC 139 and make it the headliner of the FOX debut. Just in case you've been in an alcohol induced coma for the last few days, Cain Velasquez will defend his heavyweight title for the first time against long deserving number one contender Junior Dos Santos. It will be the one and only fight on the FOX debut assuming the fight does not end early. So there you have it, more reasons why this is a good idea. I'm not really making a good argument for the opposition am I?
If you fall in to the category of a casual fan, what does this mean for you? It means the possibility of seeing more big fights for free. The biggest hurdle in attracting the casual fan lies in getting them to shell out $50 every time there is a fight. Generall they'll wait for only the big fights to make a purchase. A fight like Velasquez vs JDS would probably have accumulated millions in pay-per-view buys. Instead of paying $50 like the casual fan might have done so to see a historic and amazing fight like the one I'm talking about, everyone now gets to see it for free. Damn, I really suck at this playing devil’s advocate thing.
I bet you're wondering what exactly is it that I'm trying to get at. So far it seems as though there is no downside to the UFC on Fox. Maybe it's the fact that I'm a purist. Maybe it's jealousy because I've ponyed up hundreds and hundreds of dollars year after year just so I could see the likes of Anderson Silva and Georges St. Pierre become household names. The next generation, it seems, won't be facing this dilemma. I will admit that it was difficult for me to play the other side on this one. But as I racked my brain for reasons why this could be a bad idea, two very big concerns began to form.
1. What if the world is not ready for MMA to go Mainstream? There are still millions of Americans that perceive MMA as human cock fighting. Will these people be willing to accept that MMA has developed in to a sport unlike any other in the world? Our sport is more technical than boxing, more intricate than Football, and by far more fun to watch than baseball. Will the average person give it a chance? What happens if the UFC debut on Fox becomes a bloody mess? Will it turn people off to the sport? Even worse, what happens if the fight turns out to be a snoozer? Cain Velasquez is a decorated wrestler who is coming off a year long layoff. If he can't stand with JDS there's a good chance he'll take him down and try to pound him out. Is the new MMA fan prepared to understand the nuances of grappling and fighting for position? Better yet, what if a potential new fan clicks over to Fox on November 12th and there's a lay and pray clinic being conducted? Dana White is taking a huge gamble with this deal. If the main event for the Fox debut doesn't turn out to be another Forrest Griffin vs Stephan Bonner 1, than there is the potential of turning away fans as opposed to gaining them. You still with me?
2. (Concern number) The greatest thing about MMA, hands down, is the fighters. Nine out of ten times they will do whatever it takes to put on a show for the fans. Lately, however, there's been a slowly growing faction of fighters that are less and less willing to engage their opponent. Guys like (I hate to point it out) Georges St. Pierre have lost the killer instinct that once made them show stoppers. I've pondered this for quite some time, and the only reason I can think of for this shift in the direction of boring, is money. Now don't get me wrong, I understand that a fighter’s job is to win and that this often means neutralizing your opponent’s strengths while capitalizing on yours. What guys like GSP do is amazing. I have a full appreciation for the level of skill it takes to take an opponent down repeatedly and maintain a dominant position. Anyone who’s ever trained Jiu-Jitsu or wrestling knows what I’m talking about. My concern here is that when a fighter becomes a superstar like GSP, they begin to make lots of money. With making money, comes the fear of losing it. So what you get is a fighter who has all the skills necessary to finish the guy standing across from him in the cage, but is afraid to take risks for fear of losing. Yes, I’m happy that MMA fighters will most likely finally be getting paid what they deserve. There’s a great lesson to be learned from situations like the NFL lockout though. Millionaires want to make more millions. Is the UFC on Fox poised to give us an entire generation of Floyd Mayweathers? I surely hope not.
Well, I know it seems strange that I would give you the other side of the coin, but someone has to do it! In all seriousness though, I’m hugely psyched for the UFC to be on FOX. I think Dana White made a great choice in making Velasquez vs. JDS the main event. I just don’t see how that fight can suck. I truly believe that those two will be the Lidell vs Couture of this generation. Prepare yourselves MMA fans!! The next few years should be quite the ride
I’m ready…… Are you?
Well, once again all good things must come to an end. Thanks for reading everyone. I hope I didn’t scare you…….
The next few months are jam-packed full of events, so don’t forget to come back for my pre-fight predictions and post-fight reactions. It all starts this Saturday with the semi-finals of the StrikeForce Heavyweight Grand-Prix.
As always, follow me on Twitter @TheGuardFighter.
One more thing before you go…..
Check out the new fight promo for UFC 135. This is just one more example of the new UFC marketing machine hard at work.
Enjoy!
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