The Golden Age of MMA

[TankAbbott4Eva]

I've watched since 2008 (noobish fair enough) and I think the best era was 2013, GSP, Silva, Jones still in their heyday, Ronda on her way up, pre USADA, good times.

 

[OliveWar]

Glover - Jiri
Burns - Chimaev
Oliveira - Gaethje

The magic is still well and truly there

 

[Hotei]

Lets crunch some numbers to find out why..

In 2009 for example the UFC had 20 events and 215 fights in total..

In 2021 the UFC had 43 events and 509 fights total..

I think that tells you everything about why the product is so blah now..

I strongly disagree. The sheer number of fights is not enough to explain the watering down problem...it's about who is involved in all these fights.
During the golden age fighters were super active and 4 fights per year was the minimum (sometimes they had 2 matches in the same night)...today we doubled the number of fights but the top fighters are incredibly less active. That's a big part of why it all looks so bland and generic.

 

[Reach4theSky]

I strongly disagree. The sheer number of fights is not enough to explain the watering down problem...it's about who is involved in all these fights.

But it is. The reason they can have that many fights is because they have so many fighters..

More fighters = less talent..

If you look at the NBA there are 30 teams and 15 players per team. There is a total of 450 players in the league. If the NBA decided to expand by 2 teams there will be 480 players. That means there would be thirty extra players in the league that would have otherwise not made it. Thereby watering down the product..

 

[immyaxl]

When was the “golden age” of MMA when fighters fought to entertain the crowd?

For example i am talking when WAND stepped up and fought HW’s. That would NEVER happen these days on a weeks notice.

Open GP tournaments where fighters showcased their skills rather than sitting back and waiting for a year to defend their belts.

When did it lose its magic?

Does anyone think it is better today defending a belt once a year or in some cases never ?

Does anyone think the fighters of today are “managed” into promoting themselves rather than MMA and not showcasing their potential

Golden age was 2003-2013. There were points during that era that the UFC wasn't #1. Even once they became #1 there was still serious competition out there that kept them on their toes.

 

[Hotei]

But it is. The reason they can have that many fights is because they have so many fighters..

More fighters = less talent..

So it's not about the number of fights, it's about the number of fighters.