cagepotato.com - The UFC: In Order to Rebuild It, We Must Destroy It

I rented my first UFC event from the local Blockbuster video store back in 1999. I had seen many of the commercials advertising this No Holds Barred spectacle where “Two men enter, one man leaves”, and as a lifelong pro wrestling fan, I was interested to see this new entity. I paid $3.74 and went home with my VHS copy of UFC VI with visions of barbarism and gore dancing in my head, expecting to see nothing short of legalized murder.

What I got wasn’t far off. Immediately after seeing a portly bar brawler by the name of David L. “Tank” Abbott take eighteen seconds to knock a 400 lb. John Matua into a living death, I was hooked. I would go on to rent every single tape that I could get my hands on and started purchasing every PPV event I could (Ok, technically my girlfriend’s dad was unknowingly purchasing them but whatever…)

I mention this only to establish that I am not someone who is new to the UFC brand, nor am I what the hardcore fans would consider a “TUF Noob.” I was there when Frank Shamrock was ending hopelessly overmatched Russians in a matter of seconds. I was watching when Matt Hughes performed an unconscious powerbomb on Carlos Newton, beginning a reign of domination not yet seen in what would be referred to as the “New Era of Mixed Martial Arts.” I spent many of hours passionately defending the intricacies of Jiu Jitsu to my friends, who laughed and referred to talented fighters like Pat Miletich and Mikey Burnett as “a bunch of pantie grabbers.”

That being said, I want you to understand how much it pains me to make my next statement. As a loyal fan of the UFC, I must make the “Ultimate” sacrifice in order to help what I have loved so much for so long. I have to stop watching what has become one of my favorite forms of entertainment.

I have to stop watching UFC. Why, you ask? Well, let me tell you…

The problems that currently plague the UFC have been well documented. Everything from shady drug testing practices to the embarrassing representation of the company stemming not only from its fan base but its key public figure in Dana White have taken its toll on the company and the sport as a whole. The promotion’s ever-depleting amount of star power (outside of Ronda Rousey), ever-increasing injury-plagued cards, and oversaturation of the market by holding a lackluster card every week?has tarnished?the reputation of this once great company.

It wasn’t so long ago that the UFC had seen an upward surge of momentum, which indicated that we were mere moments away from an era where it would be seen as one of the major sports leagues in the country. The Ultimate Fighter had convinced a large portion of the ever important demographic of males ages 18-35 to tune into the product. Brock Lesnar jumped from the WWE to the UFC to become the biggest draw the UFC had ever seen, headlining four of the top ten drawing Pay-Per-Views (including the #1 show, UFC 100) in the history of the company. FOX finally jumped on the UFC hype train in 2011, signing a seven year deal with the company. Everything was finally coming up Milhouse.

When looking at the company’s financial status today, however, it appears that the damage is finally starting to take its toll on the company. PPV numbers are in decline and the shows that are given away for free just aren’t drawing people to their television sets. Look at last weekend’s Fight Night 60, which inexplicably placed a fight between Dan Kelly and Patrick Walsh on the main card, resulting in one of the worst fights of the year. Look at this weekend’s Fight Night 61, the majority of which would be better placed on the undercard of a Bellator event. Look at UFC 184, a card so weak that it is arguably downgrading Ronda Rousey’s brand by forcing her to carry it. It’s 2015 and Fight Night: Maia vs. LaFlare is a thing that is happening.

So why isn’t anyone doing anything about this? It’s not like the evidence isn’t there, begging to be acknowledged by the powers that be. However, it seems that Dana white seems fit to make excuses for his terrible behavior by claiming that he knows better than the rest of us, much like the partner in an abusive relationship does when defending their behavior from last night’s dinner.

And much like the enabling partner in said relationship, we keeping coming back to that dinner table every night, hoping that one day the other will finally come to their senses. That if we just duck our heads and take our licks, our love and support for the promotion will finally shine through and convince them to make the changes necessary to heal the relationship.

But we all know that’s not how it works. If we as hardcore fans of the UFC want any real change to occur, we have to do what we hoped would never have to happen. We have to separate from the brand and stop supporting the behavior that has led us to where we are now. This is the only way that we can truly communicate to the UFC that enough is enough and it’s time for a change. We have to stop purchasing the pay per view events, no matter how bad we may want to see them or how well hyped the main event might be. We have to stop paying our monthly Fight Pass fees. We have to stop purchasing products from UFC sponsors. Most importantly, we need to contact said sponsors and let them know exactly why we won’t be buying their products no matter how bad our Dudes need Wiping.

Instead, we should spend the time and money that we would have normally invested elsewhere to continue to support MMA as a whole. Support the different MMA leagues around, be it your hometown group or one of the more known groups like World Series of Fighting or Bellator. Join an MMA gym and become one of the many hobbyists that populate the mats. Write an article for your favorite MMA blog who may be desperate for material allowing any blowhard to get posted (I’m looking at you, Cagepotato)

No matter how we decide to spend our extra time and money, it needs to not be anything that supports an organization who so willfully stares into the face of logic and reason and spits at it. As much as we all love MMA and its most widely known organization, the only way we will see any progress is if we stand up and say “I’m mad as hell and I’m not gonna take it anymore!”

So will you join me?! Probably not, but it’s something worth considering.

http://www.cagepotato.com/the-ufc-in-order-to-rebuild-it-we-must-destroy-it/

Overall what the article is saying is good. It's what educated fans have been talking about for years.

Still nice to see more people slowly wake up.

LEGENDMMA=PRIDEFC wrote:
Instead, we should spend the time and money that we would have normally invested elsewhere to continue to support MMA as a whole. Support the different MMA leagues around, be it your hometown group or one of the more known groups like World Series of Fighting or Bellator.

World Series of Fighting?



World Series of Fighting is a joke, and has been discussed is very strongly aligned with Zuffa. If you're going to support WSOF you might as well just keep supporting the UFC.

LEGENDMMA=PRIDEFC wrote: I was there when Frank Shamrock was ending hopelessly overmatched Russians in a matter of seconds.

I almost stopped reading the article once I saw this.

Igor Zinoviev was a legit opponent. Very tough fighter and talented. Nice to see the author do his research or know what he's talking about(sarcasm alert).

Yes he lost, and lost quickly but it's not because he was a bum opponent.

That was a unification fight. Frank Shamrock(UFC champ) vs Igor "Houdini" Zinoviev(Battlecade Extreme Fighting Champion).

This article reminds me of something once upon a time.....



EVERYBODY knows what this guy got up to after his "yes we can" campaign....



Dana white and his mobster casino friends got powerful & fell in love with THEIR power. THEIR message changed from we give the fans what they want to FUCK THE FANS.

Now THEIR fans that is to say UFC FANS not mma fans want ufc to become popular again....?

I find it funny how dana white has become VERY quiet these days with the law suit against the ufc and all...the idea of helping these people is funny to me. Please crash burn & disappear ufc & ufc fans. The last time I bought a ufc ppv was Big Nog Vs Herring & they will NEVER get a penny from me again lol

Fatty...you are a great addition to g-mma. I appreciate you posting here.

The UFC is a garbage company and UFC fans/supporters are garbage people.

TeamJohnPerretti wrote:Fatty...you are a great addition to g-mma. I appreciate you posting here.

The UFC is a garbage company and UFC fans/supporters are garbage people.

Thanks. Sometimes the simple truth is needed.
Something "journalists" seem to have long forgotten. I wont be one of the shill propogandists.

Now which emoticon shud I use....?

This one just because.

TeamJohnPerretti wrote:

LEGENDMMA=PRIDEFC wrote: I was there when Frank Shamrock was ending hopelessly overmatched Russians in a matter of seconds.

I almost stopped reading the article once I saw this.

Igor Zinoviev was a legit opponent. Very tough fighter and talented. Nice to see the author do his research or know what he's talking about(sarcasm alert).

Yes he lost, and lost quickly but it's not because he was a bum opponent.

That was a unification fight. Frank Shamrock(UFC champ) vs Igor "Houdini" Zinoviev(Battlecade Extreme Fighting Champion).

That was a great fight leading up, I agree.  I ordered that one live on PPV and the quick Shamrock KO slam was an excellent finish.

I opt that we just destroy the UFC, burn it and spread its ashes from an airplane.

if this is ufc master plan because as soon as they go down some one else will jump in their place place . Wouldn't it be funny if it was m1 global That would really piss uncle fester off

I left this sewer by 2002. These MMA capitalists do what their ilk usually does: try to expand, expand, expand with no limits. The steep decline of the North American business is the real reason they have to try to fill arenas all around the world. But the TV money is in the US, and they are heading towards extinction with their vulgar, violent, drug-soaked, idiotic product. The writer of the above article may have loved the guys pissing on each other and acting drunk on TUF, but that was not what the originators of what was once a sport had in mind.

The writer sounds like a Zuffa Zombie to me. Why does he want UFC to be successful and make money and call himself a true mma fan at the same time?