How Do We Fix "Watered Down Cards?"

[Arrrrgh]

I hear the complaint that cards are too watered down a lot (but that's no excuse for this wall of text I'm about to fill your monitor with).

I sort of agree--well I understand what they mean when people say it anyway. Personally I think the quality of the fights on most cards today is pretty good and on par or better than the quality we saw a decade ago. So, I think calling the cards "Watered Down" is mischaracterizing the issue.

Redefining the Problem:

I think the problem people are really having is that it's difficult to be interested in fights/fighters they aren't familiar with and from one week to the next you will rarely if ever see the same fighters. It's a tough sport for newcomers to pick up. There isn't a team that plays every week or night. The same players are not in every big tournament like golf or tennis. And on top of that half of the events price a lot of younger fans and people who don't earn as much out of being able to watch (streaming aside). That was my biggest issue as a new fan. I was interested but in college and poor. I couldn't shell out the PPV cost and would lose interest after missing half (or all) of my favorite fighter's fights.

So, I don't think the solution is less cards. I don't think it's fighters fighting more times per year. I do think making it easier to follow the fights/fighters you like would help (meaning less ppv or an alternative subscription where you can pay in advance for all the ppvs in a year or something)... However, the real problem is people don't have a reason to tune in to a card where they don't know the fighters.
​

So, how do we generate interest?


Proposed Solutions:

• Teams?
• Tournaments?
• Themes? (like a middleweight only card or a newcomers/prospects vs aging vets... basically what they already sorta do but instead marketing it that way.)
• Fantasy MMA?
• Exhibitions on the previous week's event? (Maybe a showcase of disciplines like grappling only or kickboxing, wrestling, etc.)
• Half court shot contests? (But for MMA. Like punch/kick strength machine doing fan vs fighter or have submission/wrestling demonstrations with fans/coaches interacting during the card?)
• Multiple Octagons/Fights at the same time. (Basically the tennis format. If one fight is boring or a fan isn't interested they can watch whats happening in octagon 2 or 3? This would arguably waterdown events further though)

I am sure there are variations and combinations of those suggestions that could work but I'm hoping you guys may have better ideas. My main thing is I feel spoiled being able to watch events every week. I love it. I don't want it to change.

I used to tune in and just watch main cards/main events for the top ranked fighters. Now I gobble up as many fights as I can. I like watching as many styles as I can. If it's a Just Bleed throw caution to the wind chaos storm I am all in. A highly technical chess match? Sign me up (I'm not talking about boring shit fights like lewis vs ngannou). But it wasn't always that way. When I first became a fan I would miss most PPV events and catch some. It took me a couple of years to really get into the sport. Eventually I watched every numbered UFC event up to present (around the time UFC 100 was coming up) and then went back and watched every single Pride FC/Bushido event. It was a blast.

So my question to you fellow sherbros of the interwebs (get to the fuckin' point you long winded bastard) is what can we do to make the smaller cards more interesting to the casuals and new fans so they will have a reason to tune in (outside of more bullshit interim belts or "big name" fighters fighting 5+ times per year). More specifically, how can we make new/lesser known fighters/fights more interesting to casual fans?


TLDR; This thread doesn't really provide a solution. I am just trying to redefine the problem and hope that someone smarter than me can use that to come up with a good creative answer.

 

[I am your real dad]

I got a solution



Get rid of wmma.

 

[gdmclean]

You can’t.

After overpaying the Fertita brothers 4 billion the UFC has dug itself a hole and the only way out of that is pumping out UFC cards like McDonald’s meals.

 

[TankvsNelmark]

Stop watching the shit cards so numbers drop until Dana gets the point we don't wanna see no Korean zombie main events anymore

 

[Arrrrgh]

Stop watching the shit cards so numbers drop until Dana gets the point we don't wanna see no Korean zombie main events anymore

I can't remember a bad KZ fight.
You didn't like the KZ vs Yair main event?

In my opinion that fight was as good as they come.

More importantly, that's not really what I'm asking. I like all the cards. I want it to continue. I'm more curious how we can get people like you to be interested in good fights with fighters you may not know as well.

 

[Roy D Rayge]

50/50 draws via the internet

 

[boss429]

I hear the complaint that cards are too watered down a lot (but that's no excuse for this wall of text I'm about to fill your monitor with).

I sorta agree--well I understand what they mean when people say it anyway. Personally I think the quality of the fights on most cards today is pretty good and on par or better than the quality we saw a decade ago. So, I think calling the cards "Watered Down" is mischaracterizing the issue.

Redefining the Problem:

I think the problem people are really having is that it's difficult to be interested in fights/fighters they aren't familiar with and from one week to the next you will rarely if ever see the same fighters. It's a tough sport for newcomers to pick up. There isn't a team the plays every week or night. The same players are not in every big tournament like golf or tennis. And on top of that half of the events price a lot of younger fans and people who don't earn as much out of being able to watch (streaming aside).

So, I don't think the solution is less cards. I don't think it's fighters fighting more times per year. I do think making it easier to follow the fights/fighters you like would help (meaning less ppv or an alternative subscription where you can pay in advance for all the ppvs in a year or something)... However, the real problem is people don't have a reason to tune in to a card where they don't know the fighters.
​

So, how do we generate interest?


Proposed Solutions:

• Teams?
• Tournaments?
• Themes? (like a middleweight only card or a newcomers/prospects vs aging vets... basically what they already sorta do but instead marketing it that way.)
• Fantasy MMA?
• Exhibitions on the previous week's event? (Maybe a showcase of disciplines like grappling only or kickboxing, wrestling, etc.)
• Half court shot contests? (But for MMA. Like punch/kick strength machine doing fan vs fighter or have submission/wrestling demonstrations with fans/coaches interacting during the card?)
• Multiple Octagons/Fights at the same time. (Basically the tennis format. If one fight is boring or a fan isn't interested they can watch whats happening in octagon 2 or 3? This would arguably waterdown events further though)

I am sure there are variations and combinations of those suggestions that could work but I'm hoping you guys may have better ideas. My main thing is I feel spoiled being able to watch events every week. I love it. I don't want it to change.

I used to tune in and just watch main cards/main events for the top ranked fighters. Now I gobble up as many fights as I can. I like watching as many styles as I can. If it's a Just Bleed throw caution to the wind chaos storm I am all in. A highly technical chess match? Sign me up (I'm not talking about boring shit fights like lewis vs ngannou). But it wasn't always that way. When I first became a fan I would miss most PPV events and catch some. It took me a couple of years to really get into the sport. Eventually I watched every numbered UFC event up to present (around the time UFC 100 was coming up) and then went back and watched every single Pride FC/Bushido event. It was a blast.

So my question to you fellow sherbros of the interwebs (get to the fuckin' point you long winded bastard) is what can we do to make the smaller cards more interesting to the casuals and new fans so they will have a reason to tune in (outside of more bullshit interim belts or "big name" fighters fighting 5+ times per year). More specifically, how can we make new/lesser known fighters/fights more interesting to casual fans?


TLDR; This thread doesn't really provide a solution. I am just trying to redefine the problem and hope that someone smarter than me can use that to come up with a good creative answer.

I came here to say "start paying more attention to enjoying fights than focusing on names" but you covered that pretty quick so I guess I have nothing to offer but this pointless post, lol.

 

[Arrrrgh]

50/50 draws via the internet

I'm not sure exactly what you mean but it sounds like some sort of fan voting?
That could actually be pretty cool if done right. I wouldn't have the fans opinion on the outcome of the fight solely determine the winner--that has huge problems. However, fans opinion on the winner could count as 1 judge. We would need at least 5 judges though to balance out the fan opinion one when someone like Conor fights in a close fight. Or only have the fan polls on the prelims/new fighter stuff.

Better idea then what I came up with.

 

[DuncanFan819]

Build names from the ground up. There are going to be watered down cards from now on; it's unavoidable. Events occur weekly or bi-weekly making it impossible for consistently strong draws to headline/co-headline every card. However, if the undercards are consistently loaded with bangers and ground wizards from around the world, perhaps some hype will start to grow regarding the product and development of up-and-comers rather than just waiting to tune in for the next Conor/Bones/Khabib fight.

 

[Mixedfights]

Have less cards. Go back 12 years. Then bitch because there is no MMA for 3 months.

 

[BjPenn2017]

Getting rid of USADA would probably be a good start

 

[Arrrrgh]

Build names from the ground up. There are going to be watered down cards from now on; it's unavoidable. Events occur weekly or bi-weekly making it impossible for consistently strong draws to headline/co-headline every card. However, if the undercards are consistently loaded with bangers and ground wizards from around the world, perhaps some hype will start to grow regarding the product and development of up-and-comers rather than just waiting to tune in for the next Conor/Bones/Khabib fight.

Agreed, though I think the UFC is doing a pretty good job of that. There are a lot of good fights on cards where a casual won't even recognize the names in the main event. I don't think those "casuals" are the problem either. I used to be one of them as I try to detail in my long-winded OP... I think there is more we can do to make every card more interesting (I'm just not sure exactly how).

Building names helps for current fans but it doesn't really help new fans. Why should a new fan tune in next week? What can make the sport fun OUTSIDE of name recognition of the fighters?

Getting rid of USADA would probably be a good start

True. It's a mess. I don't care if they keep substances banned or not (okay so I have an opinion just not a strong one). What I really want is CONSISTENCY.

USADA is not that. All fighters have not been treated equally or fairly.

 

[TUFNewb]

I'm not sure exactly what you mean but it sounds like some sort of fan voting?
That could actually be pretty cool if done right. I wouldn't have the fans opinion on the outcome of the fight solely determine the winner--that has huge problems. However, fans opinion on the winner could count as 1 judge. We would need at least 5 judges though to balance out the fan opinion one when someone like Conor fights in a close fight. Or only have the fan polls on the prelims/new fighter stuff.

Better idea then what I came up with.

Not voting, 50/50 It is just a type of lottery held at sporting events. Attendees buy tickets, there is a draw, winning ticket gets 50% of the pot, other half goes to charity. In this case instead of charity it probably goes into Dana's driveway snow fund.

 

[Arrrrgh]

Not voting, 50/50 It is just a lottery that is done at sporting events. Attending fans buy tickets, there is a draw, winning ticket holder gets 50% of the pot, other half goes to charity.

Ah gotcha. I don't really gamble or get into the gambling side of the sport. So any suggestions in that area are over my head but probably good ideas since a ton of people love it.

 

[ChumpyKiwi]

Less cards. Cut WMMA

 

[GSP_37]

"We" can't do anything. They should do fewer cards and cut the shitty guys/gals. They should intro us to up and comers they just signed so we know why we should pay attention rather than consider them another anonymous card filler.

 

[louiscyphere]

I hear the complaint that cards are too watered down a lot (but that's no excuse for this wall of text I'm about to fill your monitor with).

I sort of agree--well I understand what they mean when people say it anyway. Personally I think the quality of the fights on most cards today is pretty good and on par or better than the quality we saw a decade ago. So, I think calling the cards "Watered Down" is mischaracterizing the issue.

Redefining the Problem:

I think the problem people are really having is that it's difficult to be interested in fights/fighters they aren't familiar with and from one week to the next you will rarely if ever see the same fighters. It's a tough sport for newcomers to pick up. There isn't a team that plays every week or night. The same players are not in every big tournament like golf or tennis. And on top of that half of the events price a lot of younger fans and people who don't earn as much out of being able to watch (streaming aside). That was my biggest issue as a new fan. I was interested but in college and poor. I couldn't shell out the PPV cost and would lose interest after missing half (or all) of my favorite fighter's fights.

So, I don't think the solution is less cards. I don't think it's fighters fighting more times per year. I do think making it easier to follow the fights/fighters you like would help (meaning less ppv or an alternative subscription where you can pay in advance for all the ppvs in a year or something)... However, the real problem is people don't have a reason to tune in to a card where they don't know the fighters.
​

So, how do we generate interest?


Proposed Solutions:

• Teams?
• Tournaments?
• Themes? (like a middleweight only card or a newcomers/prospects vs aging vets... basically what they already sorta do but instead marketing it that way.)
• Fantasy MMA?
• Exhibitions on the previous week's event? (Maybe a showcase of disciplines like grappling only or kickboxing, wrestling, etc.)
• Half court shot contests? (But for MMA. Like punch/kick strength machine doing fan vs fighter or have submission/wrestling demonstrations with fans/coaches interacting during the card?)
• Multiple Octagons/Fights at the same time. (Basically the tennis format. If one fight is boring or a fan isn't interested they can watch whats happening in octagon 2 or 3? This would arguably waterdown events further though)

I am sure there are variations and combinations of those suggestions that could work but I'm hoping you guys may have better ideas. My main thing is I feel spoiled being able to watch events every week. I love it. I don't want it to change.

I used to tune in and just watch main cards/main events for the top ranked fighters. Now I gobble up as many fights as I can. I like watching as many styles as I can. If it's a Just Bleed throw caution to the wind chaos storm I am all in. A highly technical chess match? Sign me up (I'm not talking about boring shit fights like lewis vs ngannou). But it wasn't always that way. When I first became a fan I would miss most PPV events and catch some. It took me a couple of years to really get into the sport. Eventually I watched every numbered UFC event up to present (around the time UFC 100 was coming up) and then went back and watched every single Pride FC/Bushido event. It was a blast.

So my question to you fellow sherbros of the interwebs (get to the fuckin' point you long winded bastard) is what can we do to make the smaller cards more interesting to the casuals and new fans so they will have a reason to tune in (outside of more bullshit interim belts or "big name" fighters fighting 5+ times per year). More specifically, how can we make new/lesser known fighters/fights more interesting to casual fans?


TLDR; This thread doesn't really provide a solution. I am just trying to redefine the problem and hope that someone smarter than me can use that to come up with a good creative answer.

Send the women to invicta

 

[Troy Nelson]

We either blow up the UFC or die

 

[Sansnom]

I hear the complaint that cards are too watered down a lot (but that's no excuse for this wall of text I'm about to fill your monitor with).

I sort of agree--well I understand what they mean when people say it anyway. Personally I think the quality of the fights on most cards today is pretty good and on par or better than the quality we saw a decade ago. So, I think calling the cards "Watered Down" is mischaracterizing the issue.

Redefining the Problem:

I think the problem people are really having is that it's difficult to be interested in fights/fighters they aren't familiar with and from one week to the next you will rarely if ever see the same fighters. It's a tough sport for newcomers to pick up. There isn't a team that plays every week or night. The same players are not in every big tournament like golf or tennis. And on top of that half of the events price a lot of younger fans and people who don't earn as much out of being able to watch (streaming aside). That was my biggest issue as a new fan. I was interested but in college and poor. I couldn't shell out the PPV cost and would lose interest after missing half (or all) of my favorite fighter's fights.

So, I don't think the solution is less cards. I don't think it's fighters fighting more times per year. I do think making it easier to follow the fights/fighters you like would help (meaning less ppv or an alternative subscription where you can pay in advance for all the ppvs in a year or something)... However, the real problem is people don't have a reason to tune in to a card where they don't know the fighters.
​

So, how do we generate interest?


Proposed Solutions:

• Teams?
• Tournaments?
• Themes? (like a middleweight only card or a newcomers/prospects vs aging vets... basically what they already sorta do but instead marketing it that way.)
• Fantasy MMA?
• Exhibitions on the previous week's event? (Maybe a showcase of disciplines like grappling only or kickboxing, wrestling, etc.)
• Half court shot contests? (But for MMA. Like punch/kick strength machine doing fan vs fighter or have submission/wrestling demonstrations with fans/coaches interacting during the card?)
• Multiple Octagons/Fights at the same time. (Basically the tennis format. If one fight is boring or a fan isn't interested they can watch whats happening in octagon 2 or 3? This would arguably waterdown events further though)

I am sure there are variations and combinations of those suggestions that could work but I'm hoping you guys may have better ideas. My main thing is I feel spoiled being able to watch events every week. I love it. I don't want it to change.

I used to tune in and just watch main cards/main events for the top ranked fighters. Now I gobble up as many fights as I can. I like watching as many styles as I can. If it's a Just Bleed throw caution to the wind chaos storm I am all in. A highly technical chess match? Sign me up (I'm not talking about boring shit fights like lewis vs ngannou). But it wasn't always that way. When I first became a fan I would miss most PPV events and catch some. It took me a couple of years to really get into the sport. Eventually I watched every numbered UFC event up to present (around the time UFC 100 was coming up) and then went back and watched every single Pride FC/Bushido event. It was a blast.

So my question to you fellow sherbros of the interwebs (get to the fuckin' point you long winded bastard) is what can we do to make the smaller cards more interesting to the casuals and new fans so they will have a reason to tune in (outside of more bullshit interim belts or "big name" fighters fighting 5+ times per year). More specifically, how can we make new/lesser known fighters/fights more interesting to casual fans?


TLDR; This thread doesn't really provide a solution. I am just trying to redefine the problem and hope that someone smarter than me can use that to come up with a good creative answer.

If there was an answer they probably would have thought of it already.

 

[Arrrrgh]

"We" can't do anything. They should do fewer cards and cut the shitty guys/gals. They should intro us to up and comers they just signed so we know why we should pay attention rather than consider them another anonymous card filler.

Well I don't want fewer cards.
I'd be down for more intro into up and comers but how? They do a little bit of it on the cards themselves and more with fighters from DWCS/TUF. Maybe ESPN stepping up and doing short 5-15 minute segments between programs about new fighters? Or a 30 for 30 style doc following new fighters and their struggles?

If there was an answer they probably would have tought of it already.

Yeah, possibly. But nobody thought of the iphone until someone did. Ideas do come from somewhere. This might not generate anything worth while but even that serves a purpose--weeding out my shit ideas