If the UFC was a pure meritocracy, how long could guys like Overeem stick around for?

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superpunch

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I could picture old zombie guys that win 2, lose 2 sticking around until their 50s. I think you'd have 50 year old Arlovskis and Overeems just getting KOd twice, then wall and stalling twice for decades.
 
It'd be very different really, there'd be a bunch of Russians and boring fighters that the UFC doesn't want there too.
 
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It's hard to see the UFC as a real sports organization for this reason. They give exciting strikers on losing streaks opportunity after opportunity. An elite, boring grappler loses one fight to another elite fighter and they get cut.

Overeem and Arlovski would be in the division forever because they alternate between winning and losing at the top. It's not their fault though. The division just keeps sucking more and more and allows them to stay competitive. A true evolving division would've had them out of the top years ago.
 
It's hard to say because Anderson Silva went 1-7, 1 NC in his last 9 fights and he's completely washed but would probably still be competitive against many of the up-and-coming unranked fighters.
Just hard to say what levels guys are at because they fight so infrequently, compared to sports like tennis where there might be a tournament every other week.
 
If meritocracy implies that the UFC has all of the best HW in the world, then Arlovski and Overeem are still out of the UFC IMO
 
superpunch said:
I could picture old zombie guys that win 2, lose 2 sticking around until their 50s. I think you'd have 50 year old Arlovskis and Overeems just getting KOd twice, then wall and stalling twice for decades.
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Reem would be ranked ten years from now.

Guys with chin and power like Ngannou and Lewis would be ranked into their 70s.

Randy Couture could come back and UD someone like Sakai and get ranked.
 
Hellowhosthat said:
It'd be very different really, there'd be a bunch of Russians and boring fighters that the UFC doesn't want there too.
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The UFC needs more Russians. Take out the foreigners, and all you are left with are zero-personality and douche-personality fighters.

Who's the fun guy in the room?
 
superpunch said:
I could picture old zombie guys that win 2, lose 2 sticking around until their 50s. I think you'd have 50 year old Arlovskis and Overeems just getting KOd twice, then wall and stalling twice for decades.
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Overeem and Arlovski could stick around for a long time. They are still at a high level and will still be able to get wins over ranked opponents. Only reason Overeem got cut is because his pay is too high post covid to keep around if he isn't in title contention. It's obvious they are cutting costs overall to turn profits post covid. They have to recover the losses from over a year of no live gates.
 
If the UFC was a “pure meritocracy” it would probably be boring as shit to watch cards where 90% of the fights would be wall and stall and point fighting.


Why would anyone take risks if there is no upside to winning via stoppage?

Guys up two rounds would coast, no bonuses for action in a pure meritocracy, right?
 
CannotWin said:
Overeem was winning more than losing, what do you mean by that? Moreover, he was a name and entertaining.
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I suspect a big issue was that he wasnt willing to further diminish his asking price as he knew there would be interest elsewhere, Bellator, Bare knuckle, Glory, etc.

In terms of relevance I think the problem at HW is that you've had so few genuinely elite contenders come though in recent years. A lot of the guys who've been top 10 fighters are for me at the kind of level that would have been more top 20-30 a decade or more ago.
 
jeff7b9 said:
If the UFC was a “pure meritocracy” it would probably be boring as shit to watch cards where 90% of the fights would be wall and stall and point fighting.


Why would anyone take risks if there is no upside to winning via stoppage?

Guys up two rounds would coast, no bonuses for action in a pure meritocracy, right?
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This, and why does it have to be a black and white math problem for so many Sherbros. If anything the UFC is operating on a meritocracy model now. Bigger draws, different styles, and different personalities are handled differently.

If you want something to change, IMO it should be the latitude refs are given in allowing stalling fighters to stay on the ground or against the fence. This isn’t the Olympics, it’s an entertainment business.
 
mma03 said:
This, and why does it have to be a black and white math problem for so many Sherbros. If anything the UFC is operating on a meritocracy model now. Bigger draws, different styles, and different personalities are handled differently.

If you want something to change, IMO it should be the latitude refs are given in allowing stalling fighters to stay on the ground or against the fence. This isn’t the Olympics, it’s an entertainment business.
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Meritocracy and releasing Gegard and Romero? The NBA, NFL, NHL and MLB are meritocracies.
 
UFC is a pure meritocracy. Fighter's merit is based on the capability to make money for UFC.
 
capnlarge said:
If meritocracy implies that the UFC has all of the best HW in the world, then Arlovski and Overeem are still out of the UFC IMO
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Overeem has 5 top 10 wins in his last 10 fights.. Considering that most fighters will never accomplish this at all in terms of meritocracy he should still be there
 
Half the year should be set up fights like we have now. Half the year should be a tournament like the Ultimate Fighter. Everyone but the top ranked would have to fight for the right to compete.
 
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