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OT: WWE/MMA/Boxing Thread

Another interesting week in MMA...

Known intellectual giant Bryce Mitchell had some views about the Jews today...


View: https://x.com/lthomasnews/status/1884988660287725997

Wife Beater Dana White condemned him, but hid behind freedom of speech, as if Bryce Mitchell wouldn't have been shit-canned a decade ago before the UFC was in bed with all the biggest media corporations in America and still trying to fight for legitimacy.

But anyway...

Luke Thomas, who remains one of the rare voices in MMA that has journalistic integrity, had some thoughts on why other MMA organizations constantly fail. If you've kept up with John Nash & Paul Gift's work throughout the years, his video is heavily influenced on what they've wrote:


View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kihqUE1-Imc
 
He's right, but I'd argue that there's one avenue to challenging the UFC utilizing their one major weakness. They pay fighters, especially those early in their careers, absolute dick to the point of it being not a huge step up from bum fights. Yeah, once they're pen to paper on a UFC contract Dana has them caught in the automatic contract extension conveyor for most of their career, but if you are offering more than poverty wages to get them signed in the first place and you understand that challenging the UFC is going to take a fighter generation to happen and you have the finances to cover that, it could potentially happen. Whoever got involved in it on the money side would have to realize that Dana and the Fertitta's didn't cash out until 20+ years into the game and it was bumpy on the way up.

Fighter pay and associated items (kit sponsorships, etc) are absolutely the UFC's achilles heel.

As for legitimacy....when the UFC cuts guys, if you bring them over and they're getting dog walked by your in house talent the same they did in the UFC, the culture will notice.
 
I’ve thought something similar. Need to get them at grassroots and bring them into your organization. Fighters would kill for even a little support through ages 16-25. If you have good scouts and want to set up some training programs in major hubs around the world - you can likely steal a generation of fighters.
 
soco22 said:
I’ve thought something similar. Need to get them at grassroots and bring them into your organization. Fighters would kill for even a little support through ages 16-25. If you have good scouts and want to set up some training programs in major hubs around the world - you can likely steal a generation of fighters.
Click to expand...

Yeah, that's the only way imo. Start off with a better base rate, plus some sort of an earnings split, and let them do the old school style of chasing kit and other in ring sponsorships. Remember, once upon a time someone used to pay Brenden fucking Schaub of all people like 80-100K for being on his ring shorts.

Do all of your marketing through a social media department that just generates content and posts for all of your guys. More weight classes, less cutting. Make being a young fighter easier and more lucrative.
 
Bangtao in Thailand is an interesting example of how just having a training center and giving a fighter a place to rest is enough to have them commit to their gym for life. They aren’t even a fight organization and get committed fighters. (Now they have money to pay to have ufc stars rolling through the gym, which doesn’t hurt). Oliveira was the latest.

Imagine if a fight organization quietly did this. Dana wouldn’t see it coming.
 
And thanks to that, we're going to be getting Crawford - Boots instead of Crawford - Canelo.

A small sacrifice for the greater good, honestly. At this point, I don't know if Canelo's actually interested in doing anything other than the Mayweather retirement tour of fighting chumps for tons of cash.
 
GGpX said:
And thanks to that, we're going to be getting Crawford - Boots instead of Crawford - Canelo.

A small sacrifice for the greater good, honestly. At this point, I don't know if Canelo's actually interested in doing anything other than the Mayweather retirement tour of fighting chumps for tons of cash.
Click to expand...
Scratch that, looks like Canelo ended up signing with the Saudis and the Crawford fight is back on.

Crawford - Boots Ennis is a much more interesting for me, but whatever.
 
Easiest way to get me to quit combat sports entirely.

I've got zero interest in getting emotionally invested in fighters and watching them get CTE for 20% of what they're worth.
 
MindzEye said:
He's right, but I'd argue that there's one avenue to challenging the UFC utilizing their one major weakness. They pay fighters, especially those early in their careers, absolute dick to the point of it being not a huge step up from bum fights. Yeah, once they're pen to paper on a UFC contract Dana has them caught in the automatic contract extension conveyor for most of their career, but if you are offering more than poverty wages to get them signed in the first place and you understand that challenging the UFC is going to take a fighter generation to happen and you have the finances to cover that, it could potentially happen. Whoever got involved in it on the money side would have to realize that Dana and the Fertitta's didn't cash out until 20+ years into the game and it was bumpy on the way up.

Fighter pay and associated items (kit sponsorships, etc) are absolutely the UFC's achilles heel.
Click to expand...

I’d add that they should maybe look at it like organized football academy’s in Europe…..and in the spirit of your idea, train people from the ground up, maybe give under privileged youths who can’t afford MMA Gym memberships, a place to get off the streets and train for free, with the chance to earn a place on your cards down the line.

Likewise you structure contracts so they earn more than the UFC pays early on, and as they become marquee guys, get a bigger % of profits….you also let them retain all likeness rights, all sponsorship opportunities, etc.

MindzEye said:
As for legitimacy....when the UFC cuts guys, if you bring them over and they're getting dog walked by your in house talent the same they did in the UFC, the culture will notice.
Click to expand...

Pro Wrestling 101…..you use the old dogs to build your new stars by putting them over. If the old dog UFC guys win? Well now you set up a trilogy rivalry with said fighter so the young buck gets two more cracks, while utilizing the ex-UFC stars branding to help make your young buck a household name.

Absolutely how you do it.
 
soco22 said:
Bangtao in Thailand is an interesting example of how just having a training center and giving a fighter a place to rest is enough to have them commit to their gym for life. They aren’t even a fight organization and get committed fighters. (Now they have money to pay to have ufc stars rolling through the gym, which doesn’t hurt). Oliveira was the latest.

Imagine if a fight organization quietly did this. Dana wouldn’t see it coming.
Click to expand...

Didn’t read this before my post above, and actually wasn’t aware of what Bangtao in Thailand has going, so that’s incredible to hear.

Gonna check it out. 👍🏼
 
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