Europe is the future for combat sports

Most fans seem to think about what happens in the US but combat sports is far better in Europe. While Bellator has about 200.000 viewers on MTV2 and very few fans in attendance for their grey casino events KSW have several million viewers on polish tv and sold out sports arenas with a top quality production. M-1 had over 20.000 fans in attendance for Fedor vs Monson and over 10.000 for a sold out M-1 Challenge 31. Both events had over 1 million viewers on russian tv.

United Glory is a european (dutch) mma and kickboxing promotion that puts on mixed events called Glory World Series. It´s Showtime is another awesome dutch promotion that has kickboxing events. Fighters on these events are legends and world class fighters like Aerts, Le Banner, Spong , Kharitonov, Ghita, Manhoef, Schilt, Zimmerman, Hari ("Retired") etc..

Fans need to stop being negative about the future and present for combat sports because it´s f#cking great right now. Europe is the future for combat sports and I couldn´t care less about what happens in NA. Zuffa will never become #1 in Europe because it´s all about world class ring promotions here.

MMA is not the future of anything. Once the UFC settles into the niche that it will not escape from, no other MMA promotions will either.

It's not a country thing, it's a sport thing. The shock is over, there are few people interested in guys choking each other on the ground anymore. I doubt the UFC will die, but people are delusional if they believe that it will become bigger than any of the major sports. I cannot see MMA becoming any bigger than what it is right now. None of the organizations, NONE OF THEM, will become bigger than what the UFC is right now. The cap has been set.

I agree Johan. And Pride was the org that set the bar for what an MMA org can be. They were much bigger and more popular than the ufc has ever been.

I hope the best for the sports, and being positive i want what Johan said to happen. Unfortunately this world is fucked up so i'm afraid what Misowaman said has a big chance of happening instead.

Kinosis wrote:I agree Johan. And Pride was the org that set the bar for what an MMA org can be. They were much bigger and more popular than the ufc has ever been.

this is true.

Wolfman wrote:I hope the best for the sports, and being positive i want what Johan said to happen. Unfortunately this world is fucked up so i'm afraid what Misowaman said has a big chance of happening instead.

What I´m trying to say is mma and kickboxing are great in Europe right now and fans need to stop caring so much about what happens in the US.

Fans are all going bananas over UFC because all of europe is so disgustingly influenced by american culture. When I was in sweden, people all watch the SAME tv shows they do in the states, listen to the SAME music, watch the SAME movies, even name their kids with american names, then we have restaurants opening over there now like T.G.I Fridays. I was pretty saddened by this.

RussianTopTeam wrote:Fans are all going bananas over UFC because all of europe is so disgustingly influenced by american culture. When I was in sweden, people all watch the SAME tv shows they do in the states, listen to the SAME music, watch the SAME movies, even name their kids with american names, then we have restaurants opening over there now like T.G.I Fridays. I was pretty saddened by this.

True but swedish fans are also realizing how many great promotions we have in Europe. Soon people here will focus on M-1, KSW, United Glory and It´s Showtime. I´ve read on swedish forums how fans are planning on going to these shows.

Misowaman wrote:MMA is not the future of anything. Once the UFC settles into the niche that it will not escape from, no other MMA promotions will either.

It's not a country thing, it's a sport thing. The shock is over, there are few people interested in guys choking each other on the ground anymore. I doubt the UFC will die, but people are delusional if they believe that it will become bigger than any of the major sports. I cannot see MMA becoming any bigger than what it is right now. None of the organizations, NONE OF THEM, will become bigger than what the UFC is right now. The cap has been set.

Fans will lose interest in the cagefighting version of mma (UFC) but classy ring promotions will still be strong in Europe. Europeans are big kickboxing and boxing fans and United Glory, for example, will remain strong since they combine mma and kickboxing in their events. Most of the top kickboxers in the world are european and we will see them competing in both kickboxing and mma. Stay positive, the next golden era will soon be here and it will be in Europe.

There's a difference between 'positive' and 'delusional'. MMA isn't just magically going to die in the US, then suddenly thrive in Europe, it just isn't going to happen.

Misowaman wrote:There's a difference between 'positive' and 'delusional'. MMA isn't just magically going to die in the US, then suddenly thrive in Europe, it just isn't going to happen.

No that´s not my point. Like I said in the op KSW and M-1 had success in europe lately and there´s a market for them here. UFC will probably still be popular in North America but the european promotions I talked about will be strong here and hopefully dominate the market. M-1, KSW, United Glory and It´s showtime have a much better product than Zuffa imo.

Misowaman wrote:There's a difference between 'positive' and 'delusional'. MMA isn't just magically going to die in the US, then suddenly thrive in Europe, it just isn't going to happen.

Why not its happened before, look what happened with Pride and with MMA in Japan. It didn’t exactly die out completely but the sport in that region did regress back. So history says that a shift of that magnitude can and have happened before. UFC numbers have decreased by a huge amount in its home market, why do you think they have been frantically going around to different countries and frantically trying to get rich Arab backers?

I agree that Europe will be the next stronghold of MMA. I believe that M-1 will lead this charge. The most important reason for this is because M-1 is pushing MMA as a legit and proper sport, away from the entertainment WWE style UFC production. Ive always maintained that for MMA to remain strong it must be taken as a proper sport and has to be strong in multiple regions (like soccer). The last thing I want happen to MMA is to be strong in one region (in todays case in America) and weak everywhere else.

So the European organizations will be popular in Europe is your entire point?

Misowaman wrote:So the European organizations will be popular in Europe is your entire point?

Yes this thread is about how awesome the mma and kickboxing promotions are in europe. They have some of the best events in the world already and will only get better. Like I said Europe is the future. What did you think this thread was about?

ufc has blinded the easily fooled into thinking they are the biggest ever, its simply not true. Pride was so damn popular back in 2003 in asia and europe it makes modern day zuffa look like king of the cage. Nothing will ever be bigger or better the PRIDE. UFC is all hype and ppv buys thats it. I recall my first trip outside of the usa to seek mma training in Japan, grandma's were talking mma.

ufc is all smoke in mirrors, sure its big now but its actually getting smaller, casuals are started to get bored with it. That is a simple fact, ppv prices keep going up and people are tired of paying for them. Plus the lackluster cards on free tv do nothing to help them in fact it hurts them. The ONLY reason another company hasnt been able to get a foot in america isnt even money related tons of rich folks would back a nice mma org, but never get the chance as the zuffa mafia is in bed with the comissions and has the media by the balls, up and comers are bad mouthed by the mma media for no good reason other then the fact its not ufc, sheep all already brainwashed its zuffa or its shit.

Hopefully things will change one day, but if something doesnt happen within the next 2 years the simple fact is MMA is going down the FOOKIN toilet.
Fuck zuffa and dana whites gay steroid using ass.

PRIDE NEVER DIE wrote:ufc has blinded the easily fooled into thinking they are the biggest ever, its simply not true. Pride was so damn popular back in 2003 in asia and europe it makes modern day zuffa look like king of the cage. Nothing will ever be bigger or better the PRIDE. UFC is all hype and ppv buys thats it. I recall my first trip outside of the usa to seek mma training in Japan, grandma's were talking mma.

ufc is all smoke in mirrors, sure its big now but its actually getting smaller, casuals are started to get bored with it. That is a simple fact, ppv prices keep going up and people are tired of paying for them. Plus the lackluster cards on free tv do nothing to help them in fact it hurts them. The ONLY reason another company hasnt been able to get a foot in america isnt even money related tons of rich folks would back a nice mma org, but never get the chance as the zuffa mafia is in bed with the comissions and has the media by the balls, up and commers are bad mouthed by the mma media for no good reason other then the fact its not ufc, sheep all already brainwashed its zuffa or its shit.

Hopefully things will change one day, but if something doesnt happen within the next 2 years the simple fact is MMA is going down the FOOKIN toilet.
Fuck zuffa and dana whites gay steroid using ass.

Truth!

I think you guys are missing something here. 2 billion people and 5K years of martial art history. Martial arts are the 'true' national sports of east Asian countries. Their combat arts are embedded in their culture.

This market is 4-5+ times where the UFC has a foothold. MMA as a sport is just in its' infancy there. Do you think Tsui Lau and his other Chinese speaking buddies are gonna get excited by Amerowrestling ultimate fighting? Do you think they are gonna lust to watch Gray Maynard or GSP... Fuck no. They're gonna want to see great technical striking martial artists. Other than maybe Anderson or Lyoto in where the fuck are they gonna get that in the UFC???

Every one of east Asia's countries has world class fighters in a lot of regional martial arts with great punching technique and acrobatic kicks that not a freakin' American UFC fighter can do.

This in the long run will be the juggernaut of MMA. If the EU, eastern European and former-Soviet orgs can work together with these guys they will have the majority of the world at their feet.

The UFC will fall in on itself in its own footprint like Building 7 due to scandal and the Fertitta organized crime family being outed for securities fraud, fight fixing, bank fraud & more.

Id love to see Thai's showing their kicking game. Those guys are the export when it comes to kicks. Watching MT you see a clear stylistic difference between a Thai fighter and a western fighter.

^ It's amazing the amount of power the Thai's generate from their small frames.

monaroCountry wrote:Id love to see Thai's showing their kicking game. Those guys are the export when it comes to kicks. Watching MT you see a clear stylistic difference between a Thai fighter and a western fighter.

Agreed.