Is the UFC uniquely vulnerable right now

[toasty]

So HW is the attention grabber and you've got a young interim champion, two aging fighters probably at the end of their careers supposedly set for what is likely both of their last fights and the best HW in the world in another promotion and unlikely to need to come back because he made bank in boxing and has a huge beef with Dana.

Does TKO need to do absolutely everything they can to keep Tom happy especially if Stipe/Jones both retire? Would the winner of Stipe v Jon, especially if it is Jon coming off injury, be willing to face Tom and possibly get face planted into retirement?

Could Tom be lured into a match against Francis outside of the UFC and how much damage would that do to the UFC? Could Tom look at Tyson Fury and say "Time for me to make bank and possibly even be the first ever UFC & Boxing champion plus line his pockets?

I'm one that thinks casual interest in the UFC is WAAAAY down. i used to see shirts or talk to guys like my electrician and dentist that loved the sport but I don't find that to be the case anymore. I think the ESPN partnership has really hurt the visibility of the sport putting most of it behind a paywall, at least where I am, you couldn't even get the prelims free and I rarely see any past fights highlighted on anything but their HD which has an additional charge I'm unwilling to pay on my system. Plus Disney/ESPN itself is struggling to stay relevant and might not want to pony up big money in the future.

i think the recognizable stars of the past who might have crossed over into popular culture, dancing with the stars kinda stuff, no longer exist or have become toxic ala Connor.

So if I were a deep pocket Saudi sheik with a love of combat sports or a rival promoter with a sugar daddy investor, now would be a time to reach out to Tom Aspinall and say "What would it take?" I know Sherdogs know the sport deeply and can name 15 or 20 lighter fighters that they love, but how many people on the street can now versus when Randy Chuck & Tito were carrying it or even the Ronda Connor days?

Thoughts?

 

[Tweak896]

UFC will probably pay extra for the next couple years for anyone renewing their contract at HW. Also they aren't going to give them titleshots close to contract renewal. Even if Aspinall left he's only got 1 big fight with Ngannou and nothing after.

 

[capnlarge]

How many UFC HW could've been on Dancing With The Stars? Maybe Brock Lesnar or Randy Couture?

 

[JoeRowe]

UFC is dying

 

[MigitAs]

UFC would be smart to try to grab any decent HW and build the division as much as possible rn

 

[toasty]

UFC will probably pay extra for the next couple years for anyone renewing their contract at HW. Also they aren't going to give them titleshots close to contract renewal. Even if Aspinall left he's only got 1 big fight with Ngannou and nothing after.

I'm 30, I've had a devastating leg injury, my biggest name and money opponents are now outside of the UFC. i know this isn't a fighter's mindeset, but I think I'd strongly consider listening to a proposal that puts me up against francis for big money and then, assuming I win, I go after Fury or whoever is holding the Boxing belt, Look at Ryan Bader, then I take a zillion dollar payday beating up whoever the top youtube influencer is and ride off into the sunset with my money and health....If I'm a businessman that wants to take on TKO, well Tom is my target.

 

[Clark Rogers]

I'm 30, I've had a devastating leg injury, my biggest name and money opponents are now outside of the UFC. i know this isn't a fighter's mindeset, but I think I'd strongly consider listening to a proposal that puts me up against francis for big money and then, assuming I win, I go after Fury or whoever is holding the Boxing belt, Look at Ryan Bader, then I take a zillion dollar payday beating up whoever the top youtube influencer is and ride off into the sunset with my money and health....If I'm a businessman that wants to take on TKO, well Tom is my target.

I think the only issue with this is "biggest name and money opponentS"

That isn't a plural situation, there's only one name outside the UFC anyone cares about. Well see whether that continues after his next boxing match, or not. Wilder wins that with any kind of finish and Francis is doomed to the Sherdog motto "never that good"

 

[Tweak896]

I'm 30, I've had a devastating leg injury, my biggest name and money opponents are now outside of the UFC. i know this isn't a fighter's mindeset, but I think I'd strongly consider listening to a proposal that puts me up against francis for big money and then, assuming I win, I go after Fury or whoever is holding the Boxing belt, Look at Ryan Bader, then I take a zillion dollar payday beating up whoever the top youtube influencer is and ride off into the sunset with my money and health....If I'm a businessman that wants to take on TKO, well Tom is my target.

I mean it remains to be seen what really is up with his leg. If he's trying to cash out sure. But if he wants 5-10 more years of title fights he'll stay at UFC. It also will add the most credibility to his resume for his own legacy. I know money isn't the only reason people join, they want to be the best and beat competition. He still has Gane, Jones, Almieda at HW he hasn't fought.

 

[toasty]

How many UFC HW could've been on Dancing With The Stars? Maybe Brock Lesnar or Randy Couture?

That isn't really the heart of the question, the heart of the question is who might be the next UFC star with enough talent, charisma and appeal to break through into the US consciousness and "build their brand" and other than Tom I don't see that name on any of the rankings lists. Add to that Disney struggling with both ESPN and probably trying to figure out how the UFC fits in with cross promotions with things like ABC or kids movies, hint- it doesn't. I don't see what propels the sport to better viewership numbers..

 

[toasty]

i assume

I mean it remains to be seen what really is up with his leg. If he's trying to cash out sure. But if he wants 5-10 more years of title fights he'll stay at UFC. It also will add the most credibility to his resume for his own legacy. I know money isn't the only reason people join, they want to be the best and beat competition. He still has Gane, Jones, Almieda at HW he hasn't fought.

Jones and/or Stipe are not going to want that fight.. Gane with losses to both Francis & Jon isn't exactly a legendary win if tom get's it.. Almieda isn't going to excite the casual or catch the attention of the non-MMA press. From a purely business standpoint, tom would be smart to explore other options after he sees who wins jones/stipe and if they will agree to fight him soon thereafter.

the TKO tie up is also interesting.. both Dana & Vince have their warts and how many people are going to continue to put a lot of money on the line with them as your spokespeople?

 

[Tweak896]

i assume

Jones and/or Stipe are not going to want that fight.. Gane with losses to both Francis & Jon isn't exactly a legendary win if tom get's it.. Almieda isn't going to excite the casual or catch the attention of the non-MMA press. From a purely business standpoint, tom would be smart to explore other options after he sees who wins jones/stipe and if they will agree to fight him soon thereafter.

the TKO tie up is also interesting.. both Dana & Vince have their warts and how many people are going to continue to put a lot of money on the line with them as your spokespeople?

We'll see when these matchups come if people are bored or not, time will tell. I can just say besides Ngannou, nobody really is worth a name on a resume. Maybe Bader or Nemkov?

Dana has been spokesman for a long time and was part of the wme deal, they begged for him because they know guys like Coker don't bring business.

 

[Dr. Stoppage]

Star power is something the UFC takes very seriously and is willing to cherry pick opponents for guys like Potan and O'Malley to increase their chances of success. Chandler they thought would be Oliveria for the title but they had him set up nicely too.

As long as the UFC actively manages the opponents it will continue to build stars. If it forces guys to fight down in rank it won't.

 

[RichardPriors]

UFC puts on cards nearly every week, has a big media presence, draws celebrities to the events. More people probably know the name UFC than they do the term Mixed Martial Arts. While a charismatic young champion is a commodity, he's not bigger than the company.

The only way you'd see the UFC in trouble is if there was a mass exodus of talent and you have 10-15 of the biggest names leave at the same time.

 

[FreddieRoachsVoice]

Nope. The only part of this I agree with is that casual interest is way down but I honestly think that's sadly a big part of the UFC's current business model.

They know they have a rabid loyal fanbase who will keep paying for completely inferior products so they focus much more on milking the maximum out of their existing fans than they do growing the sport/attracting new fans. Anyone else who buys is just extra but this core group of easily exploitable marks is their bread and butter now that they've "made it"

- Minimize costs by underpaying fighters and repeating the exact same cookie cutter marketing every card
- Continually raise prices and get into any sort of sponsorship/hosting agreement no matter how inconvenient it is for viewers/fighters
- Water down cards because fans will attend for the "in person experience" regardless of who is fighting and will watch because they have little else to do

With this in mind, the UFC never wants to be in a position where a fighter becomes bigger than the sport because 1 fighter can help elevate the pay of others and thus upset the business model. Ngannou is a rare exception and he did get paid a lot elsewhere but it is highly unlikely he is able to keep that going long-term/that others would be able to replicate that success. How often are they really going to allow a champion to walk?

You'd think it'd be obvious that a promotion wants to build stars but nope... they want the belts to be the stars and the brand to be the attraction. That's why the "current fighter is the best ever" mentality is crammed down your throat... there is no money to be made from stars from the past and they want to be able to tear someone down as soon as they're not of use.

It's a sad, pathetic way to do business as we the fans suffer as a result but all of the "die hard fans" who keep buying every single card and flooding the company with money... this falls on you. The hatred of "casuals" and the need to "have some encyclopedic knowledge of who is on the prelims in order to enjoy" has forced mma to remain a niche sport dominated by a shrewd monopoly.

TL/DR: Lol @ Tom being "lured away" as if he is at all some mainstream star with any bargaining power. The UFC will continue on inexplicably making money despite being in a massive downfall for years because the die hard fans can't stop forking out money regardless of how bad the product is

 

[smiles mma]

Tom could be a huge star. He is a really good talker, has a great style and being he is a plus.
3 more wins he'll be household name. He already is popular among MMA fans, ESPN will give him a push

 

[Hellowhosthat]

You could see how much winning the belt meant for him. I doubt he's going anywhere.

 

[LostMyBlackBelt]

How many UFC HW could've been on Dancing With The Stars? Maybe Brock Lesnar or Randy Couture?

Randy, Chuck and Paige have been on it. Paige said it paid more than all her UFC fights put together.

 

[Corrado Soprano]

The biggest fight UFC has lined up is injured Jon Jones vs a 46 year old Stipe… It’s safe to say the company is dying.

 

[toasty]

UFC puts on cards nearly every week, has a big media presence, draws celebrities to the events. More people probably know the name UFC than they do the term Mixed Martial Arts. While a charismatic young champion is a commodity, he's not bigger than the company.

The only way you'd see the UFC in trouble is if there was a mass exodus of talent and you have 10-15 of the biggest names leave at the same time.

I guess that is kind of my question/premise....If they were to lose Aspinall after losing Francis, would those 10 to 15 bigger name guys also be willing to switch if the other promotion was promising bigger fight contracts and perhaps additional perks. Seems to me this would be a time I'd want to try to start that exodus if I were looking to try to rival the UFC.