Mousasi on why financial incentives in Pride favored exciting fights

[Pakman]

I don't fault "the UFC".
The sport evolved.

I hate that now it is a lot about money, but it is what it is.

Well, obviously the UFC does not help much, they are greedy as f*** and they are the ones allowed that fighters like Conor turn this about a money thing.
But times changes, and before it was about honor and the love for the sport.
But it makes sense that now (that MMA is more popular), fighters get paid better.

But UFC and some fighters just made it all about the money, and the sport is hurting because of it.

Yes, but, if the UFC shifted it's focus a bit, it too could have more fighters trying to actively look to finish fights as opposed to fighting safe to get the victory.

Yellow card system, perhaps it shouldn't dock 10% of a fighters pay, but, maybe a smaller number. It'll prevent stalling.

 

[eiyuu]

Found these Mousasi comments interesting on why financial incentives in Pride favored exciting fights while financial incentives in UFC encourages safe fights (timestamped):



"With Pride, it didn't matter if you lost or won, as long as you did a good fight, you will come back and fight. But here [in the UFC] sometimes you have pressure. If you lose, you're going to lose money, you're going to get kicked out, fans they're very fast at kicking you down. Japan, as you fight, you're a good fighter, you fight, you lost, you gave it your all, they appreciate it. But here it's very fast you know."

Except he's not quite right.

The UFC does reward exciting fights and fighters--not just with the "____ of the Night" bonuses.

Just ask Fabio Maldonado, Sean McCorkle, Michael Bisping, etc.

There's also the video of Dana White after an event where all the fights were exciting (can't remember what event) saying "We're writing some fucking checks tonight."

Now, this may have changed after the sale by Zuffa. Hope that's not the case . . .

 

[NaughtyBoy]

MOOSE KNOWS

 

[Shaddows]

You say the sport evolved and then say that it's more about money, but that's not what the post was about. It was about the company above the fights emphasizing different things as well as the cultures in both countries regarding fighting. UFC puts emphasis on winning, you get a win bonus, you have the opportunity to get paid more if you win, which puts incentive on fighting as safe as possible. Some people adhere to this, some don't, but that's what the emphasis is on in the UFC. PRIDE emphasized going out there and trying your best to put on good fights, and if you did, you would be brought back and given a place on their cards. It's why a guy like Daijiro Matsui kept getting fights, he went out there and he tried to win and it was entertaining even if he wasn't very good.

you can argue it's more about "sport", but then the UFC doesn't act like a sport, it acts like entertainment, but then the sport aspect contradicts it. It's a circle.

Well, not exactly.
first of all, yes, they do pay "win bonus". But they also have the "locker room bonus" and the FotN and SotN bonuses as well, so it is also about performance and how exciting you are.

But the sport is also a sport, and boring wins should count for something as well.
I mean, in any sport (like the NBA for instance) , it is not the most exciting team, or the team with most fans that goes to the finals. it is the one who wins most games during the season, then most games during playoffs that goes to the finals. Boring or not.

And let us not forget that some fighters remained a UFC employee even after going into some losing streaks exactly because they are exciting while some top fighters deemed boring were let go despite being the top of the ranking in their division (i.e. Okami, shields, etc.)

So no, I disagree with you. It is not all black or white.
UFC values exciting fighters as much as Pride did.
But now the world knows about MMA, and a champion of the UFC can make a lot more money outside of the UFC than he would as an exciting fighter inside the octagon, and that is a change you can't blame the UFC alone for that, the same way you can't really claim Pride had all the answers, given the fact they folded.

 

[Shaddows]

It's the strategy that revolves around the Unified Rules and winning 10-9 rounds that REALLY evolved.

THAT is the problem.
Many fans don't care for that and neither does UFC management.

The UFC needs to approach the commission again and rewrite the rules.
No reason surprise TD's, cage hugging, and in"significant strikes" need to be reevaluated. Basically everything Dom Cruz does to win rounds needs to be reevaluated.

I agree with that.
I always had an issue with this 10-9 crap.
If there are 10 points to be awarded, why the hell do they use only 10-9?
This is not binary code.

Make the points up to 5 and define when to score 5-0, 5-1, 5-2, etc and fighters will take more chances and won't be able to "take breaks" during fight.

 

[Shaddows]

Yes, but, if the UFC shifted it's focus a bit, it too could have more fighters trying to actively look to finish fights as opposed to fighting safe to get the victory.

Yellow card system, perhaps it shouldn't dock 10% of a fighters pay, but, maybe a smaller number. It'll prevent stalling.

I don't think it is legal to put such rule in US.
Conflict of interest...

 

[Franklin U.]

And the thing that is blowing my mind is about the whole situation is that it's not like the UFC is overstocked with bigger names right now. Look at the shitty PPV buys on their last two events, and tell me all the names that were bigger than Mousasi on there? WTF is the UFC thinking?

Fucking exactly and not only is Mousasi an exciting fighter but hes picked up his verbal game as he's been more than amusing in his previous pre- and post pressers. He, also, tells it like it is. I thought the F bombs that came out of him after the weidman tko were hilarious

 

[BForrester]

pride did pay their fighters well, but they also didn't know who they'd fight until the last second sometimes. it was run in the shade and eventually got exposed and went away. i do miss the show that pride put on. it was entertainment at its best.

Frankly, I prefer that. It makes it a fight, you know? When you were in HS and you got into a fight, did you have time to prepare for your opponent's style? Not training for a specific opponent made fights more entertaining, in my opinion. The fight became more about imposing your strengths and less on nullifying your opponent's.

 

[aunshi189]

another 'has been' wishing he could fight more japanese

That must be why he's signed with top Japanese organisation Berrator.

 

[dudefacemcghee]

He's totally right about MMA fans being fast to kick fighters down when they lose. As soon as you lose you're washed up, figured out etc. Most fickle fan base ever

Anyone whose ever been on this site can't deny this unless it's bj penn fans

 

[rearnakedchoke]

Makes sense. But moose is the most frustrating fighter to watch. Thank god i am not a fan.

 

[mmacasualviewer]

I don't remember seeing a single Pride highlight of Mousasi on the internet until he started getting hyped on here this year.

I looked at his record. He KO's bloated Japanese WWs.

 

[MescalineDreams]

Found these Mousasi comments interesting on why financial incentives in Pride favored exciting fights while financial incentives in UFC encourages safe fights (timestamped):



"With Pride, it didn't matter if you lost or won, as long as you did a good fight, you will come back and fight. But here [in the UFC] sometimes you have pressure. If you lose, you're going to lose money, you're going to get kicked out, fans they're very fast at kicking you down. Japan, as you fight, you're a good fighter, you fight, you lost, you gave it your all, they appreciate it. But here it's very fast you know."

This is something that many fans seem to lack today.
It's quite a sad state of affairs..

There is no respect for fighters anymore.

Think It's partially because the Japanese have a deep connection with martial arts where as many are just fans here. With no experience of their own. That makes a big difference.

 

[MescalineDreams]

I don't remember seeing a single Pride highlight of Mousasi on the internet until he started getting hyped on here this year.

I looked at his record. He KO's bloated Japanese WWs.

you are part of the problem..

 

[MescalineDreams]

He's totally right about MMA fans being fast to kick fighters down when they lose. As soon as you lose you're washed up, figured out etc. Most fickle fan base ever

worse than I've ever seen It. MMA has gotta have one of the worst fanbases in all of sports In that sense.

 

[Rampage_Jackson]

MMA will never be as fun as it was in the early-mid 2000s. We have to accept that